поку́пка
pokúpkafeminine
The English word "shopping" can be translated into Russian as поку́пка (pokúpka). Wiktionary also lists поку́пки (pokúpki) and шо́ппинг (šópping).
Meaning: activity of buying (noun)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| поку́пка | pokúpka | feminine |
| поку́пки | pokúpki | feminine, plural, plural normally |
| шо́ппинг | šópping | masculine |
| ку́пля | kúplja | feminine |
The term used depends on whether you are describing the social activity of browsing stores or the actual act of acquiring goods. Use поку́пка to refer to the act of a purchase or buying something. For a trip specifically focused on acquiring groceries or supplies, you might use the phrase идти за поку́пками, which literally means "to go for purchases".
Which one should you use?
The word поку́пка refers strictly to an individual purchase or the act of buying. In contrast, the loanword шо́ппинг is a colloquial term used to describe the modern, leisure activity of visiting malls or boutiques.
How does it change in a sentence?
Поку́пка is a feminine singular noun. Its plural form, поку́пки, is used when referring to multiple items bought or the general collection of things acquired.
How do you pronounce it?
pokúpka
Did you know?
- In some contexts, Russians describe the act of 'shopping' as соверша́ть поку́пки, which literally means 'to commit' or 'to perform' purchases.
- The word поку́пка is derived from the verb купи́ть, which shares a root with the word купе́ц, meaning 'merchant'.
- The word ку́пля is most frequently encountered today in the legal phrase ку́пля-прода́жа, which refers to a formal 'sale and purchase' agreement.
Examples in context
- Сегодня у меня запланирован поход в магазин.I have a planned trip to the store today.
- Давай сегодня закупимся продуктами.Let's go shopping for groceries today.
- Наша последняя поку́пка это новый стол.Nasha poslednyaya pokupka eto novyy stol.Our last purchase is a new table.
- Какая удачная поку́пка!Kakaya udachnaya pokupka!What a lucky purchase!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shopping” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
