How to Say “Die” in Russian

Ways to say it

The term for dying in Russian varies significantly depending on whether you are describing a completed event, an ongoing process, a violent death or using a specific social register.

Which one should you use?

Use погиба́ть and поги́бнуть specifically when referring to dying in a violent, accidental or catastrophic manner, such as in war or a disaster. For the standard act of dying, use the imperfective умира́ть to describe the ongoing process of dying or a repeated action and the perfective умере́ть to describe the completed event of death. The phrase приказать долго жить is an idiomatic way to say someone is dead, often used with a touch of irony or understatement.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

For a formal, euphemistic way to say someone has died, such as in official contexts or polite conversation, use сконча́ться. For slang, the idiom дать дуба is similar to the English 'to kick the bucket'. The informal word for "die" in Russian is сдохнуть. However, avoid сдыха́ть and сдохнуть in polite company, as they are highly disrespectful and are typically used for animals or to describe a person dying in a derogatory, dehumanizing way.

Related words

Device for cutting into a specified shape (noun): штамп.

Device used to cut an external screw thread (noun): пла́шка, ле́рка.

How does it change in a sentence?

Use the imperfective умира́ть to describe the ongoing process of dying. Use the perfective умере́ть to describe the completed event of death. Similarly, погиба́ть is the imperfective form and поги́бнуть is the perfective form for dying in a disaster.

How do you pronounce it?

umerétʹ