скуча́ть
skučátʹimperfective
The English verb 'miss' (to feel the absence of someone or something) can be translated into Russian. The default form is скуча́ть (skučátʹ). Wiktionary also lists недостава́ть (nedostavátʹ) and тоскова́ть (toskovátʹ).
Meaning: to feel the absence of someone or something, to feel the want or need of (verb)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| скуча́ть | skučátʹ | imperfective |
| недостава́ть | nedostavátʹ | imperfective |
| тоскова́ть | toskovátʹ | imperfective |
If you feel the emotional absence of a person or place, use скуча́ть or тоскова́ть. However, if 'miss' means that something is lacking, insufficient or does not reach a required amount, you must use недостава́ть.
Which one should you use?
скуча́ть is the standard, most common way to express missing a person or a place. In contrast, тоскова́ть is a much stronger, more poetic or more melancholic form of missing someone, often implying a deep sense of longing or sorrow. Finally, недостава́ть is used when 'missing' means something is lacking, insufficient or not reaching a required amount, rather than emotional longing.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
All the provided verbs for emotional 'missing' are imperfective, meaning they describe an ongoing state or a repeated feeling.
How do you pronounce it?
skučátʹ
Did you know?
- The verb скуча́ть is also the root for the noun ску́ка, which means 'boredom'. This reinforces that 'missing' someone in Russian carries a nuance of 'weariness' from their absence.
- The word тоскова́ть comes from то́ска, a uniquely Russian concept of spiritual anguish or yearning that is often described as having no direct equivalent in English.
- While скуча́ть is the standard word for 'miss', you cannot use it to describe missing a bus or a target. For those meanings, Russians use пропуска́ть or прома́хиваться.
Examples in context
- Девушка, где находится музей?Miss, where is the museum?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “miss” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
