Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "general" in Russian

This Russian word is one of the top 1000 words in Russian. The complete list of most common Russian words is available here.

общий

Meaning: general, common

Pronunciation: [OHP-scheey]

Part of speech: adjective

Rank: #262 (see frequency list)

The general meeting is planned for tomorrow.
Photo by garethr CC-BY-SA-2.0

Example sentences:

О́бщее впечатле́ние у меня́ неплохо́е.
My general impression is not that bad.
Расскажи́те о прое́кте в о́бщих черта́х.
Tell me about your project in general terms.
На за́втра заплани́ровано о́бщее собра́ние.
The general meeting is planned for tomorrow.
Ми́ша - наш о́бщий знако́мый.
Misha is our mutual acquaintance.
О́бщими си́лами мы обустрóили двор.
We made the yard comfortable with joint forces.
literal
Мы с му́жем ника́к не мо́жем найти́ о́бщего языка́.
My husband and I just can't come to an understanding.
literal My husband and I just can't find a common language.
У вас с ма́мой одна́ о́бщая черта́ - упря́мство.
Your mum and you have a common trait, it's stubborness.
Опера́цию бу́дут де́лать под о́бщим нарко́зом.
The operation will be carried out under general anaesthesia.
В о́бщем, мы реши́ли пока́ рабо́ту отложи́ть.
In general, we decided to put off work.
По-мо́ему, они́ совсе́м не име́ют ничего́ о́бщего!
In my opinion, they just have nothing in common.

Idioms and set expressions:

о́бщее впечатле́ние = general impression
в о́бщих черта́х = in general terms, in outline
о́бщее образова́ние = general education
о́бщее собра́ние = general meeting
о́бщее мне́ние = general opinion
к о́бщему удивле́нию = to everyone's surprise
о́бщее бла́го = common good
о́бщее де́ло = common cause
о́бщий знако́мый = common acquaintance
о́бщими си́лами = with joint forces
о́бщими уси́лиями = by a joint effort
найти́ о́бщий язы́к = come to an understanding
literal to find a common language
име́ть о́бщие интере́сы = have interests in common
literal to have common interests
о́бщий враг = common enemy
о́бщий ребёнок = have a child together
literal common child
о́бщая су́мма = sum total
literal general sum
в о́бщем = in general
о́бщее ме́сто = common place
literal common place
в о́бщей сло́жности = in total
literal in common complexity
не име́ть ничего́ о́бщего = have nothing to do with

Related words:

совме́стный = common
о́бщество = society

Vocabulary lesson: By Russificate blog exclusively for MasterRussian

Phrase recordings: Copyright(c) 2011 MasterRussian.com. All rights reserved.
Word recordings: Copyright(c) 2006 Streit Goulnara, Streit Eric, Vion Nicolas. Copyright(c) 2007 S. Sakhno, N. Vion. Distributed under CC-BY.

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