How do you say "rotten" in Russian?

гнилой

gniloj

Adjective Cyrillic

In Russian, "rotten" is гнилой (gniloj).

Listen to the pronunciation:

Free Russian learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games

Pronunciation

Phonetically this lands near gniloj, with "oj" carrying the main stress, while the other syllables stay light and quick. It helps to repeat it a few times before using it in a sentence.

Writing and usage

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

Example sentence

Яблоко сгнило.

Jabloko sgnilo.

The apple had gone rotten.

Test your Russian knowledge in our free browser games.

How to remember гнилой

Think of "gniloj" sounding a bit like gnil, which nudges you toward "rotten". A quick repeat of this trick before bed cements it well.

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about гнилой

How do you pronounce гнилой?

Phonetically this lands near gniloj, with "oj" carrying the main stress, while the other syllables stay light and quick. It helps to repeat it a few times before using it in a sentence.

Is гнилой formal or casual?

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

How is гнилой used in Russian?

гнилой is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: Яблоко сгнило. (The apple had gone rotten.).

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.

"Rotten" 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.

Noun Town language-learning game on PC, Mac and VR

The full experience

Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR

These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.

See the full game ▶

Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town