How to Say “Stop” in Russian

Ways to say it

The verbs in this group mean to not continue an action or state. In informal speech, the loanword стоп is frequently used as an interjection to tell someone to stop what they are doing or to halt a process. If you are looking for a noun, the terms ограничи́тель, остано́в and сто́пор refer to a device used to block a moving object. In the context of telegrams, the abbreviation тчк is used as a punctuation mark to indicate the end of a sentence.

Which one should you use?

The forms перестава́ть and переста́ть are used when a person or agent stops performing an action. In contrast, the forms прекраща́ться and прекрати́ться are intransitive and are more commonly used for natural phenomena or abstract processes that come to an end, such as saying the rain stopped. When using the перестать group, choose between the imperfective and perfective aspects based on whether you are describing a process or a completed act.

Related words

Telegrams: end of sentence indicator (punct): тчк.

Device to block a moving object (noun): ограничи́тель, остано́в, сто́пор.

How does it change in a sentence?

The imperfective form перестава́ть is used to describe the ongoing process of stopping or a habitual cessation of an action. The perfective form переста́ть describes the specific moment or the completed act of stopping an action. The intransitive forms ending in -ся (the прекрати́ться and прекраща́ться group) are used when something stops on its own.

How do you pronounce it?

perestavátʹ