оле́нь
olénʹmasculine
The Russian word for deer is оле́нь (olénʹ).
оле́нь refers to an animal of the family Cervidae.
Meaning: animal of the family Cervidae (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
When оле́нь is the direct object of a sentence, it changes to оле́ня. The genitive plural form of оле́нь is оле́ней.
How do you pronounce it?
olénʹ
Did you know?
- In some Slavic traditions, the оле́нь was viewed as a psychopomp, a creature capable of guiding souls from the world of the living to the afterlife.
- A common Russian idiom как оле́нь на льду describes someone who is clumsy or feels completely out of place, literally meaning 'like a deer on ice'.
- There is a distinct word олениха specifically for a female deer, whereas English usually uses 'doe' or simply 'deer'.
Example sentences for Russian are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Ekaterina and Andrey are looking at a picture book about animals.
- Екатерина EkaterinaПосмотри, какой милый оле́нь!Posmotri, kakoy milyy olen'!Look, what a cute deer!
- Андрей AndreyДа, у него большие рога.Da, u nego bol'shiye roga.Yes, he has big antlers.
- Екатерина EkaterinaТы хочешь увидеть оле́ня вживую?Ty khochesh' uvidet' olen'ya vzhivuyu?Do you want to see a deer in real life?
- Андрей AndreyКонечно, поехали в заповедник!Konechno, poyekhali v zapovednik!Of course, let's go to the nature reserve!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “deer” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
