Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "to stand" 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.

стоять

Meaning: to stand, to be, to stop, to stay, live

Pronunciation: [stah-YAHT']

Part of speech: verb (imperfective aspect)

Rank: #98 (see frequency list)

Example sentences:

Я не могу стоять на месте.
I can't stand still.
Ма́льчик стои́т на ле́стнице.
A boy stands on the stairs.
Они стояли в очереди с шести утра.
They have been standing in line since 6 a.m.
На этой станции поезд стоит 10 минут.
The train stops ten minutes on this station.
После Октябрьской революции большевики уже твёрдо стояли у власти.
Bolsheviks were firmly holding power after the October Revolution.
Мои часы стоят. Сколько времени?
My watch has come to a standstill. What time is it?
На улице стоит мороз.
There is a frost outside.
Солнце стоит высоко на небе.
The sun is (standing) high in the sky.
твёрдо стоять на ногах
to be firmly established
На докуме́нтах должна стоя́ть его по́дпись.
There must be his signature on the documents.

Idioms and set expressions:

стоять у руля = to be at the helm
стоять на якоре = to be at anchor
стоять в очереди = to stand in a queue / line
стоять на повестке дня = to be on the agenda
стоять насмерть = to stand to the last man
стоять во главе = to be at the head of
стоять над душой у кого-либо = to pester; to worry the life out of somebody
стоять на четвереньках = to be on all fours
стоять на коленях = to kneel
Стоять горой за кого-либо. = To stand for somebody through thick and thin.
Стоять двумя ногами на земле. = To have one's feet firmly planted on the ground.
Твёрдо стоять на ногах. = To stand on one's own two feet.
Стоять на своём. = To hold one's own.
Стоять одной ногой в могиле = to have one foot in a grave
Стоять как пень. = To stand as if rooted to the ground.
Стоять как вкопанный. = To stand stock-still.

Proverbs and sayings:

Скрипучее дерево два века стоит.
A creaking door hangs long on its hinges.

Verb conjugation:

Present Tense

I	стою́
you (singular)	стои́шь
he, she, it	стои́т
we	стои́м
you (plural)	стои́те
they	стоя́т

Past Tense

I, you (singular), he	стоя́л
she	стоя́ла
it	стоя́ло
we, you (plural), they	стоя́ли

Future Simple Tense

The imperfective verb стоять is not used in the Future Simple Tense. Use the perfective verb постоять instead.

Future Compound Tense

I	буду стоя́ть
you (singular)	будешь стоя́ть
he, she, it	будет стоя́ть
we	будем стоя́ть
you (plural)	будете стоя́ть
they	будут стоя́ть

Imperative Mood (Command Form)

you (singular)	сто́й
you (plural)	сто́йте

View full conjugation table for the verb pair стоять/постоять

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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