How do you say "chess" in Russian?

Шахматы

Shahmaty

Noun Cyrillic

In Russian, "chess" is Шахматы (Shahmaty).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Sound it out as Shahmaty, breaking it into three beats, and lean into "ty", the last syllable, since that's where the stress naturally falls when Russians say it.

Writing and usage

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

Example sentence

Он снова обыграл меня в шахматы.

On snova obygral menja v shahmaty.

He beat me at chess again.

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How to remember Шахматы

Loop "Shahmaty" together with a flash image of a chess a couple of times, and the two will glue together in memory.

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about Шахматы

How do you pronounce Шахматы?

Sound it out as Shahmaty, breaking it into three beats, and lean into "ty", the last syllable, since that's where the stress naturally falls when Russians say it.

Is Шахматы formal or casual?

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

How is Шахматы used in Russian?

Шахматы is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: Он снова обыграл меня в шахматы. (He beat me at chess again.).

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.

"Chess" in other languages

Curated by Callan 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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