Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "already" 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.

уж

Meaning: already, really, so, indeed

Pronunciation: [oosh]

Part of speech: adverb, particle (See #44)

Rank: #143 (see frequency list)

It's really a lot of trouble cooking this dish.
Photo by silver marquis CC-BY-ND-2.0

Example sentences:

Ты уж зайди́ к нам в го́сти!
You must come to visit us sometime!
Он уж как два дня не спит!
He hasn't slept a wink for two days already!
Уж стемне́ло, а Миша ещё не пришёл.
It became dark, but Misha hasn't come yet.
Уж е́сли бра́ться за рабо́ту, то де́лать её хорошо́.
So if you undertake a job, you must do it well.
О́чень уж мно́го хлопо́т с э́тим блюдом.
It's really a lot of trouble cooking this dish.
literal Very really many troubles with this dish.
Cи́льно уж он возмуща́лся, но ремо́нт сде́лал.
He really resented but did finish the repairs.
Расскажи́те уж, как На́дя в Москве́ пожива́ет.
Tell me, how are things going with Nadya in Moscow.
Так уж и уе́хал Ви́ктор, не попроща́вшись?
Did Victor really leave without saying goodbye?
"Да уж, плохо́й из тебя́ врач"- сказа́ла моя ма́ма.
"You really are the worst doctor" - said my mother.
Уж не зря нас предупрежда́ли о што́рме, смотри́ каки́е волны!
No wonder we've been warned about the storm, look at the waves!

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.

Got questions?

Ask them in the Russian Questions and Answers — a place for students, teachers and native Russian speakers to discuss Russian grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and other aspects of the Russian language.