How do you say "brave" in Russian?

смелый

smelyj

Adjective Cyrillic

In Russian, "brave" is смелый (smelyj).

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Pronunciation

Sound it out as smelyj — with the weight of the word falling on "yj", so don't linger on the surrounding syllables.

Writing and usage

смелый is written using cyrillic. It's a adjective, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

Храбрая девочка спасла котёнка.

Hrabraja devochka spasla kotenka.

The brave girl saved the kitten.

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How to remember смелый

Attach "smelyj" to a quick image: not far from saying "smel" in a hurry, and the meaning "brave" should stick.

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about смелый

How do you pronounce смелый?

Sound it out as smelyj — with the weight of the word falling on "yj", so don't linger on the surrounding syllables.

Is смелый formal or casual?

смелый is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is смелый used in Russian?

смелый is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: Храбрая девочка спасла котёнка. (The brave girl saved the kitten.).

Where can I practice Russian words for free?

You can play free Russian minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Russian glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Brave" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Russian language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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