Черно́быль
Černóbylʹmasculine
Черно́быль (Černóbylʹ) is the Russian word for the city of Chernobyl in Ukraine.
Meaning: city in Ukraine (name)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is Černóbylʹ.
Did you know?
- The Russian word чёрный means 'black', which forms the first part of Черно́быль. This creates a linguistic irony because the 'black' in the name refers to the dark berries of the plant, not the soot of a fire or radiation.
- Russian speakers often distinguish between the town Черно́быль and the city of Припять where the plant was located. Because the disaster is named after the town, people frequently use the word Черно́быль as a shorthand for the entire exclusion zone.
- In Russian, the name Черно́быль is often used as a synonym for a catastrophic failure or a 'disaster' in a professional context, even if the situation is not radioactive.
Examples in context
- Черно́быль находится в Украине.Chernobyl nahoditsya v Ukraine.Chernobyl is located in Ukraine.
- Мы когда-то посетили Черно́быль.My kogda-to posetili Chernobyl.We visited Chernobyl once.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a travel itinerary.
- Александр AleksandrАнастасия, мы посетим Черно́быль в среду.Anastasiya, my posetim Chernobyl' v sredu.Anastasia, we will visit Chernobyl on Wednesday.
- Анастасия AnastasiaЭто будет очень интересно.Eto budet ochen' interesno.That will be very interesting.
- Александр AleksandrНам нужно купить билеты заранее.Nam nuzhno kupit' bilety zaraneye.We need to buy tickets in advance.
- Анастасия AnastasiaХорошо, я сейчас их закажу.Khorosho, ya seychas ikh zakazhu.Okay, I will order them now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “chernobyl” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
