здоро́вье
zdoróvʹjeneuter
The English word "health" is translated into Russian as здоро́вье (zdoróvʹje). If unsure, use здоро́вье. Wiktionary also lists здра́вие (zdrávije).
Meaning: state of being free of physical or psychological disease, illness, or malfunction (noun)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| здоро́вье | zdoróvʹje | neuter |
| здра́вие | zdrávije | dated, neuter, poetic |
The term is used to describe the state of being free of physical or psychological disease, illness or malfunction. You can use the phrase как здоровье? to ask "How is your health?" when inquiring about someone's well-being. Additionally, Физическое состояние can be used to refer specifically to one's physical condition or physical health.
Which one should you use?
While здоро́вье is the standard modern word for health, здра́вие is a dated or poetic version of the word.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word здоро́вье is a neuter noun. If you want to use the adjective form for "healthy", use здоро́вый.
How do you pronounce it?
zdoróvʹje
When do people say it?
When someone sneezes, it is customary to say будьте здоровы as a polite way to say "be healthy".
Did you know?
- While здоро́вье means health, the adjective здоро́вый can also mean 'huge' or 'giant' when describing an object.
- The greeting Здра́вствуйте is not just 'hello', but is fundamentally a wish for the person to possess 'health' or 'well-being'.
- If you are speaking to a single friend, the sneeze response changes from the formal будьте здоровы to the informal будь здоров, shifting the grammatical number and case.
Examples in context
- Я желаю вам крепкого здоровьяI wish you good health.
- Он очень бережет своё здоровьеHe takes very good care of his health.
- Мы отправили пациента на обследование его физического состоянияWe sent the patient for a check-up of his physical condition.
- Он заботится о своём здоровье, чтобы быть активнымHe takes care of his health in order to stay active.
Example conversation
Sergey and Maria are talking about their lifestyle.
- Сергей SergeyМария, почему ты больше не куришь?Mariya, pochemu ty bol'she ne kurish'?Maria, why don't you smoke anymore?
- Мария MariaЯ хочу беречь своё здоро́вье.Ya khochu berech' svoyo zdorov'ye.I want to take care of my health.
- Сергей SergeyЭто очень правильное решение.Eto ochen' pravil'noye resheniye.That is a very right decision.
- Мария MariaДа, теперь я чувствую себя лучше.Da, teper' ya chuvstvuyu sebya luchshe.Yes, now I feel better.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “health” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
