пережива́ть
pereživátʹimperfective
The English verb 'survive' can be translated into Russian as пережива́ть (pereživátʹ) or пережи́ть.
Meaning: live past a life-threatening event (verb)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| пережива́ть | pereživátʹ | imperfective |
| пережи́ть | perežítʹ | perfective |
The phrase is used to express the act of living past a life-threatening event.
Which one should you use?
The perfective form пережи́ть focuses on the successful completion of surviving a specific event or period.
How does it change in a sentence?
The two forms provided are the imperfective пережива́ть and the perfective пережи́ть.
How do you pronounce it?
pereživátʹ
Did you know?
- The verb пережива́ть has a common second meaning that has nothing to do with survival: it means 'to worry' or 'to be anxious' about something.
- The root of пережи́ть is the prefix пере-, which means 'over' or 'across', and 'жить', which means 'to live'. Together, they literally translate to 'to live over' an event.
- If someone says Я это пережил in a casual context, they might not mean they escaped death, but simply that they endured a boring or annoying experience.
Examples in context
- Важно выжить в суровых условиях.It is important to survive in harsh conditions.
- Мы должны продержаться и выжить до конца.We must endure and survive until the end.
- Мне пришлось прижиться и выжить в новом городе.I had to settle in and survive in a new city.
- Люди должны уметь выживать в любых ситуациях.People must know how to survive in any situation.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “survive” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
