спеши́ть
spešítʹimperfective
To hurry in Russian is to say спеши́ть (spešítʹ), торопи́ться or поспеша́ть.
Meaning: to do things quickly (verb)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| спеши́ть | spešítʹ | imperfective |
| торопи́ться | toropítʹsja | imperfective |
| поспеша́ть | pospešátʹ | imperfective |
These imperfective verbs are used to describe the act of doing things quickly or being in a state of haste. The noun спе́шка refers to a rushed action, while the noun поспе́шность describes the quality of acting with haste or speed.
Which one should you use?
The verb спеши́ть often carries a nuance of moving quickly toward a specific destination or goal. In contrast, торопи́ться focuses more on the general state of being rushed. The verb поспеша́ть is often used to describe the manner in which an action is being performed, implying that the speed itself might lead to mistakes.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb торопи́ться is a reflexive verb, indicated by the suffix –ся, which is a common pattern for Russian verbs describing a state or a self-directed action.
How do you pronounce it?
spešítʹ
Did you know?
- While торопи́ться is reflexive, using the non-reflexive form торопи́ть changes the meaning to 'to hurry someone else up'.
- The word спе́шка is the root of the common warning Поспе́шность вредна́, meaning 'haste is harmful'. This phrase is often used as a social correction when someone is rushing a decision.
- Russian uses the word торо́пливо to describe an action done in a hurry, which can imply a lack of grace or a certain level of clumsiness.
Examples in context
- Нам не ну́жно бы́ло торопи́ться.We didn't need to hurry.This sentence is useful for expressing that there was no necessity to use the form торопи́ться.Tatoeba #3234391 by Wayawa, translation #19658 by Swift
- Поторопитесь, у нас ограниченное время на этот проект.Hurry up, we have limited time for this project.
- Торопись, чтобы не пропустить поезд!Hurry up so you don't miss the train!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hurry” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
