чи́стый
čístyj
The Russian word for pure is чи́стый (čístyj).
чи́стый is used to describe something that is free of foreign material or pollutants. While it translates to pure, its most common everyday meaning is actually 'clean', such as describing a clean room or clean clothes.
Meaning: free of foreign material or pollutants (adj)
Which one should you use?
чи́стый is the standard term for pure or clean. For a more formal sense of something being untouched or pristine, you can use нетронутый. In informal settings, you may encounter the diminutive form чистенький.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective changes based on the gender and number of the noun it describes: use чи́стая for feminine nouns, чи́стое for neuter nouns and чи́стые for plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
čístyj
Did you know?
- The adverb чи́сто can be used as a filler word in youth slang, similar to how English speakers use 'basically' or 'simply'.
- In Russian, чи́стый is used to describe a 'pure' profit, meaning the net income after all expenses have been deducted.
- Russian speakers use чи́стый to describe a 'clean' sheet in sports, meaning a game where the opposing team scored zero goals.
Examples in context
- Он просто ищет чистую воду для питья.He is simply looking for pure drinking water.
- У тебя чистенькие ручки!Your hands are so clean!
- Это чистенький домик нашего котенка.This is our kitten's tidy little house.
- чи́стая водаPure water
- Здесь очень чи́стый воздух.Zdes' ochen' chistyy vozdukh.The air is very pure here.
- Это чи́стый спирт.Eto chistyy spirt.This is pure alcohol.
Example conversation
Ekaterina and Andrey are hiking in the mountains.
- Екатерина EkaterinaПосмотри, какой чи́стый снег!Posmotri, kakoy chistyy sneg!Look, what pure snow!
- Андрей AndreyДа, и воздух здесь очень чи́стый.Da, i vozdukh zdes' ochen' chistyy.Yes, and the air is very pure here.
- Екатерина EkaterinaАндрей, ты взял воду?Andrey, ty vzyal vodu?Andrey, did you take the water?
- Андрей AndreyДа, у меня есть чи́стая вода.Da, u menya yest' chistaya voda.Yes, I have pure water.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pure” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
