How to Say “Evil” in Russian

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зло
zlo[zɫo]
The English word 'evil' can be translated into Russian as зло (zlo).
The term зло is the most common and straightforward way to express the concept of 'evil' in Russian. It can function as a noun to represent 'evil' as an abstract concept, or it can serve as the root for adjectives used to describe someone or something as being morally corrupt.
Meaning: morally corrupt (adj)

Which one should you use?

While зло functions as the noun for the concept of 'evil', you should use the adjective forms to describe specific people or things. For example, to describe an 'evil genius', you would use the adjective form rather than the noun. Additionally, while зло covers the general concept, other words have more specific nuances: злодейство refers specifically to a wicked act, нечестивость denotes sinfulness or immorality and пакость refers to mischief or petty malice.

Related words

Moral badness, wickedness (noun): зло, ли́хо, ху́до.

How does it change in a sentence?

The noun зло can be used as a standalone concept. When you need to use 'evil' as an adjective to describe a noun, the form changes based on the gender of that noun: use злой for masculine nouns, злая for feminine nouns and злое for neuter nouns. Related to this root, the noun злодей is used to mean 'villain' or 'evildoer'.

How do you pronounce it?

zlo

Did you know?

  • The Russian root зло is shared with the word здоровье, meaning 'health', through an ancient linguistic evolution involving the idea of 'strength' or 'wholeness'.
  • The term злосчастный (unfortunate) uses the root of 'evil' to describe bad luck, shifting the meaning from moral corruption to mere misfortune.
  • In Russian, the adjective злой can be used colloquially to mean 'angry' or 'mad' rather than just 'morally evil'.

Examples in context

  • Война это зло.
    War is evil.
    This sentence is useful for stating that war is a concept of evil.
    Tatoeba #4770317 by odexed, translation #1992143 by Spamster
  • Том – злой гений.
    Tom is an evil genius.
    This sentence shows how to use the adjective form to describe a person.
    Tatoeba #11185396 by marafon, translation #7067354 by Hybrid
  • Всё зло от денег.
    Money causes all evil.
    This sentence illustrates using the noun to express that money is the source of evil.
    Tatoeba #13420339 by marafon, translation #13420338 by jan_Lupelo
  • Очень злой
    Very evil
  • Чрезвычайно злое действие
    Extremely evil deed
  • Злая ведьма
    The evil witch
  • Он способен на большое зло.
    He is capable of great evil.
  • Зло в его сердце безгранично.
    The evil in his heart is boundless.
  • Они совершили неописуемое зло в отношении невинных.
    They committed unspeakable evil against innocents.
  • 76 more sentences on Tatoeba

Example conversation

Maria and Alexander are discussing a character in a movie.

  1. Мария Maria

    Этот персонаж делает только зло.
    Etot personazh delaet tol'ko zlo.
    This character only does evil.
  2. Александр Aleksandr

    Да, он действительно очень жестокий.
    Da, on deystvitel'no ochen' zhestokiy.
    Yes, he is indeed very cruel.
  3. Мария Maria

    Почему он выбрал путь зла?
    Pochemu on vybral put' zla?
    Why did he choose the path of evil?
  4. Александр Aleksandr

    Наверное, у него была тяжёлая жизнь.
    Navernoye, u nego byla tyazholaya zhizn'.
    Probably, he had a hard life.

Sources

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Mia Frances
Mia FrancesHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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