Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| учи́ться | učítʹsja | imperfective, intransitive |
| учи́ть | učítʹ | imperfective, transitive |
| изуча́ть | izučátʹ | imperfective |
| изучи́ть | izučítʹ | perfective |
| обуча́ться | obučátʹsja | imperfective |
The concept of studying to acquire knowledge is covered by several forms. You can use these words to describe being a student, memorizing specific information or conducting in-depth academic research.
Which one should you use?
The choice of verb depends on whether you are describing your status as a student or the specific subject you are focusing on: * учи́ться is used to describe the general process of studying or the state of being a student. It is intransitive, meaning it cannot take a direct object. * учи́ть is used when you are studying a specific subject or memorizing something. It is transitive and requires a direct object. * изуча́ть implies a more intensive, academic or scientific study of a subject compared to the more general учи́ться or учи́ть.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In the form учи́ться, the suffix –ся indicates that the verb is reflexive, which is a common way to form intransitive verbs in Russian.
How do you pronounce it?
učítʹsja
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the intransitive учи́ться with a direct object, such as saying Я учусь русский for 'I study Russian'. In Russian, you must use the transitive forms учи́ть or изуча́ть when you have a direct object.
Did you know?
- The verb учи́ть is related to the word учи́тель, which means 'teacher'. Both stem from a root that refers to the act of instruction rather than the act of learning itself.
- While учи́ть means 'to study', it is also the primary word for 'to teach'. To distinguish between the two, Russians rely on the word order and the case of the nouns in the sentence.
- The reflexive form учи́ться can also be used to mean 'to learn' a skill, such as 'to learn to swim', rather than just academic study.
Examples in context
- Я изучаю историю РоссииI study Russian history
- Я обучаюсь в медицинском колледжеI study at the medical college
- Я зубрил материал на экзаменI crammed the material for the exam
- Я учусь в медицинском университетеI study at the medical university
- Она изучает иностранные языкиShe studies foreign languages
Sources
- Wiktionary, “study” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
