Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "strength" 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.

сила

Meaning: strength, force, power

Pronunciation: [SEE-lah]

Part of speech: noun (feminine noun)

Rank: #164 (see frequency list)

Example sentences:

Зна́ние -- си́ла.
Knowledge is power.
Он облада́л большо́й физи́ческой си́лой.
He had great physical strength.
Он бежа́л изо всех сил.
He was running as fast as he could.
Три́ста лошади́ных сил.
300 horsepower.
Тепе́рь тебе́ пона́добится вся твоя́ си́ла во́ли.
You will now need all your will-power.
Америка́нские вооружённые си́лы состоя́т из наёмников.
U.S. armed forces are composed of mercenaries.
Зако́н всту́пит в си́лу че́рез девяно́ста дней.
The law will come into force after 90 days.
Я по́лон сил и уве́ренности.
I am full of strengh and confidence.
На Земле́ си́ла тя́жести в не́сколько раз бо́льше, чем на Луне́.
The gravity on the earth is several times greater than on the moon.
Да пребу́дет с тобо́й си́ла.
May the Force be with you. (Star Wars)
Де́лай всё, что в твои́х си́лах.
Do everything you are able to do.
literal Do everything that is in your strengths.
Стари́к напря́г все си́лы, что́бы вста́ть с крова́ти.
An old man strained every muscle to get out of bed.

Idioms and set expressions:

изо всех сил = with all one's strength
бежать изо всех сил = to run as fast as one can
кричать изо всех сил = to cry at the top of one's voice
приложить все силы = to do everything in one's power
сила воли = will-power
в силу привычки = by force of habit
сила тяжести = gravity
сила звука = sound intensity
вооружённые силы = armed forces
военно-воздушные силы = air forces
морские силы = naval forces
сухопутные силы = land forces
сила закона = validity / force of the law
вступать в силу = to come into force, take effect
оставаться в силе = to remain valid, in force
в силу обстоятельств = owing to the force of circumstances
рабочая сила = labor force, manpower
в силу (+genitive) = because of, by virtue of
не в си́лах (+ the infinitive) = unable to...
literal not in strengths
изо всех сил = with all one's strength; with all one's might
literal out of all strengths

Proverbs and sayings:

Сила есть, ума не надо.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Не в силе правда, в правде сила.
God is not in power but in truth.
Сила солому ломит.
Might goes before right.
Силой милому не быть.
You cannot force people to like you.

Other forms of the word (declensions):

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	си́ла	си́лы
Genitive	си́лы	си́л
Dative	си́ле	си́лам
Accusative	си́лу	си́лы
Instrumental	си́лой	си́лами
Prepositional	си́ле	си́лах

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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