How do you say "sour" in Russian?

кислый

kislyj

Adjective Cyrillic

In Russian, "sour" is кислый (kislyj).

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Pronunciation

Try kislyj for the sound, with your voice pushing up on "lyj", so the ending comes out almost clipped. Take it slowly the first few times until the rhythm feels natural.

Writing and usage

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

Example sentence

Лимон на вкус очень кислый.

Limon na vkus ochen' kislyj.

The lemon tastes very sour.

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How to remember кислый

Let "kis" in "kislyj" act as a shortcut to "sour" in your memory. Say the mnemonic aloud a couple of times to lock it in.

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about кислый

How do you pronounce кислый?

Try kislyj for the sound, with your voice pushing up on "lyj", so the ending comes out almost clipped. Take it slowly the first few times until the rhythm feels natural.

Is кислый formal or casual?

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

How is кислый used in Russian?

кислый is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: Лимон на вкус очень кислый. (The lemon tastes very sour.).

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.

"Sour" 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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