Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "in 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.

вообще

Meaning: in general, generally (speaking), actually, altogether, on the whole, at all

Pronunciation: [vahp-SCHEH]

Part of speech: adverb

Rank: #222 (see frequency list)

Generally speaking, that's a great idea!
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Example sentences:

Вообще́ мне нра́вится э́та иде́я: дава́й пое́дем в Швейца́рию.
Generally speaking, I like the idea: let's go to Switzerland.
Вообще́ э́тот райо́н счита́ется одни́м из са́мых прести́жных в го́роде.
Generally speaking, this district is considered to be one of the most prestigious in the city.
Мы говори́ли о де́тях вообще́ и о ва́шем сы́не в ча́стности.
We were talking about children in general and about your son in particular.
Вообще́ э́то иссле́дование заслу́живает высо́кой оце́нки.
In general, this research deserves a high mark.
Вообще́ ва́ши утвержде́ния справедли́вы, но в них есть спо́рные моме́нты.
In general, your statements are true, but they contain some arguable points.
Вообще́ на́ша кома́нда вы́ступила на соревнова́ниях по волейбо́лу непло́хо.
On the whole, our team performed quite well during the volleyball competition.
Али́на занима́ется спо́ртом, мно́го гуля́ет, пра́вильно пита́ется – вообще́ ведёт здоро́вый о́браз жи́зни.
Alina plays sport, walks a lot, eats healthy food – on the whole, she leads a healthy lifestyle.
У меня́ тако́е чу́вство, что ты вообще́ не понима́ешь, о чём я говорю́!
I have a feeling that you don't understand at all what I'm talking about!
Вы вообще́ не должны́ беспоко́иться об э́том.
You shouldn't bother about it at all.
Я вообще́ не знал о ва́шем разгово́ре.
I didn't know about your conversation at all.

Idioms and set expressions:

вообще́ говоря́ = generally speaking; as a matter of fact
и вообще́ = and in general

Related words:

вообще́-то (col.) = generally; in fact; as a matter of fact
о́бщий = general; common; mutual
в о́бщем = in general, all in all; on the whole
в це́лом = in general
совсе́м (не) = (not) at all

Vocabulary lesson: By RT: Learn Russian 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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