How do you say "stingy" in Russian?

скупый

skupyj

Adjective Cyrillic

In Russian, "stingy" is скупый (skupyj).

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Pronunciation

Say it roughly as skupyj, landing hardest on the "yj" part, keeping everything else soft and unstressed. Take it slowly the first few times until the rhythm feels natural.

Writing and usage

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

Example sentence

Он был слишком скуп, чтобы оставить чаевые.

On byl slishkom skup, chtoby ostavit' chaevye.

He was too stingy to leave a tip.

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How to remember скупый

The chunk "skup" inside "skupyj" can remind you of something like the syllable "skup" in everyday English speech, tied to "stingy".

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about скупый

How do you pronounce скупый?

Say it roughly as skupyj, landing hardest on the "yj" part, keeping everything else soft and unstressed. Take it slowly the first few times until the rhythm feels natural.

Is скупый formal or casual?

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

How is скупый used in Russian?

скупый is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: Он был слишком скуп, чтобы оставить чаевые. (He was too stingy to leave a tip.).

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.

"Stingy" in other languages

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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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