осьмино́г
osʹminógmasculine
The Russian word for octopus is осьмино́г (osʹminóg).
осьмино́г is a noun used to refer to the cephalopod mollusc.
Meaning: mollusc (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
осьмино́г is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
osʹminóg
Did you know?
- In Russian literature and folklore, the осьмино́г is rarely a native symbol, as Russia's largest coastline is Arctic, where these warm-water creatures are not found.
- The term осьмино́г is sometimes used metaphorically in Russian to describe a person who manages many different tasks or controls many things at once, similar to 'having many arms'.
- The word осьмино́г is built from the root осьм, meaning 'eight', and но́г, meaning 'legs'. While English uses the Greek 'octo', Russian uses a native Slavic root for the number eight.
Examples in context
- В аквариуме можно увидеть о́сьминога.In the aquarium, you can see an octopus.
- Осьмино́г очень умный.Os'minog ochen' umnyy.An octopus is very smart.
- В аквариуме живёт большой осьмино́г.V akvariume zhivyot bol'shoy os'minog.A large octopus lives in the aquarium.
- Я видел осьмино́га под водой.Ya videl os'minoga pod vodoy.I saw an octopus underwater.
Example conversation
Andrey and Ekaterina are looking at animals in an aquarium.
- Андрей AndreyСмотри, какой классный осьмино́г!Smotri, kakoy klassnyy os'minog!Look, what a cool octopus!
- Екатерина EkaterinaДа, он очень необычный.Da, on ochen' neobychnyy.Yes, it is very unusual.
- Андрей AndreyЕкатерина, ты видишь его щупальца?Ekaterina, ty vidish' yego shchupal'tsa?Ekaterina, do you see its tentacles?
- Екатерина EkaterinaДа, они двигаются очень быстро.Da, oni dvigayutsya ochen' bystro.Yes, they are moving very fast.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “octopus” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
