лека́рства
lekárstvaneuter, plural
The English phrase "medication" can be translated into Russian as лека́рства (lekárstva). Wiktionary also lists медикаме́нты (medikaménty).
Meaning: one or all the medicines regularly taken by a patient (noun)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| лека́рства | lekárstva | neuter, plural |
| медикаме́нты | medikaménty | masculine, plural |
The term лека́рства is the most general and widely used word for medication in Russian. Other terms exist for specific contexts: препарат is used when referring to medicine from a clinical or pharmaceutical perspective, while медикамент is a more formal way to say medication. If you are specifically talking about tablets or pills, use таблетка.
Which one should you use?
While both words refer to medication, лека́рства is the standard term for general use. In contrast, медикаме́нты is more formal and is typically used in medical, pharmaceutical or official contexts to refer to pharmaceuticals.
How does it change in a sentence?
The default form лека́рства is a neuter plural noun. The form медикаме́нты is a masculine plural noun.
How do you pronounce it?
lekárstva
Did you know?
- In a pharmacy, you might hear the word рецепт used for a prescription, which is a linguistic cognate to the English 'recipe'.
- Russian has a distinct word плацебо for a placebo, but in folk speech, an ineffective medication might be jokingly called мел meaning 'chalk'.
- If you want to say 'to take medication', Russians do not use the verb 'to take' (брать), but rather 'to receive' (принимать).
Examples in context
- Мне нужно лекарствоI need medication
- Это новый препаратThis is a new medication
Example conversation
Alexander and Anastasia are preparing for a trip.
- Александр AleksandrАнастасия, ты положила все лека́рства в сумку?Anastasiya, ty polozhila vse lekarstva v sumku?Anastasia, did you put all the medication in the bag?
- Анастасия AnastasiaДа, Александр, всё уже там.Da, Aleksandr, vsyo uzhe tam.Yes, Alexander, everything is already there.
- Александр AleksandrХорошо, нам нельзя забыть их взять.Khorosho, nam nelzya zabyt' ikh vzyat'.Good, we must not forget to take them.
- Анастасия AnastasiaНе волнуйся, я всё проверила.Ne volnuysya, ya vsyo proverila.Don't worry, I checked everything.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “medication” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
