Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "simply" 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.

просто

Meaning: simply, plainly, just, easily

Pronunciation: [PROHS-tuh]

Part of speech: adverb

Rank: #123 (see frequency list)

The cake is simply delicious!
Photo by Kanko*, licensed under CC GA 2.0

Example sentences:

Это о́чень про́сто.
It's very simple.
Ему́ бы́ло про́сто бро́сить кури́ть.
It was easy for him to quit smoking.
Торт - про́сто объеде́ние!
The cake is simply delicious!
literal The cake is simply overeating!
Ка́тя про́сто ничего́ не сказа́ла.
Katya simply didn't say anything.
На́до не про́сто говори́ть, а де́йствовать.
One must not merely talk but act.
literal It's needed not simply to talk but to act.
Ему́ про́сто ве́село.
He's just enjoying myself.
literal To him it's simply merrily.
Про́сто я не зна́ю, о чём с ней говори́ть.
I just don't know what to talk to her about.
Ава́рии так про́сто не происхо́дят.
Accidents don't occur for no reason.
literal Accidents don't occur simply so.
Я про́сто не могу́ жить без тебя́.
I simply can't live without you. (familiar)
Это не про́сто намёк.
That's not just a hint.
Про́сто я хочу́ убеди́ться в э́том.
I just want to make sure about that.
У него́ про́сто не́ было слов.
He simply didn't have anything to say.
literal At him there were simply no words.
Я про́сто обя́зан позвони́ть ей.
I am simply obliged to call her.

Idioms and set expressions:

про́сто так = quite ordinarily; for no special reason
literal simply so
э́то про́сто объеде́ние = this is simply delicious
literal this is simply overeating
Тебе́ про́сто говори́ть! = That's easy for you to say!

Related words:

легко́ = easy, simply
просто́й = simple (adjective)
простота́ = simplicity

Proverbs and sayings:

А ла́рчик про́сто открыва́лся.
The solution was quite simple.
literal The casket was easy to open.

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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