How do you say "kneel" in Russian?

преклонить колени

preklonit' koleni

Verb Cyrillic

In Russian, "kneel" is преклонить колени (preklonit' koleni).

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Pronunciation

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

Writing and usage

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

Example sentence

Они становятся на колени, чтобы посадить цветы.

Oni stanovjatsja na koleni, chtoby posadit' tsvety.

They kneel to plant the flowers.

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How to remember преклонить колени

Attach "preklonit' koleni" to a quick image: not far from saying "prek" in a hurry, and the meaning "kneel" should stick.

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about преклонить колени

How do you pronounce преклонить колени?

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

Is преклонить колени formal or casual?

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

How is преклонить колени used in Russian?

преклонить колени is used the same way as the equivalent English verb. For example: Они становятся на колени, чтобы посадить цветы. (They kneel to plant the flowers.).

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.

"Kneel" 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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