How do you say "stumble" in Russian?

споткнуться

spotknut'sja

Verb Cyrillic

In Russian, "stumble" is споткнуться (spotknut'sja).

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Pronunciation

Phonetically this lands near spotknut'sja, with "nuts" 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

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

Example sentence

Он споткнулся и начал спотыкаться.

On spotknulsja i nachal spotykat'sja.

He tripped and began to stumble.

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How to remember споткнуться

Think of "spotknut'sja" sounding a bit like spotk, which nudges you toward "stumble". A quick repeat of this trick before bed cements it well.

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about споткнуться

How do you pronounce споткнуться?

Phonetically this lands near spotknut'sja, with "nuts" 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 споткнуться formal or casual?

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

How is споткнуться used in Russian?

споткнуться is used the same way as the equivalent English verb. For example: Он споткнулся и начал спотыкаться. (He tripped and began to stumble.).

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.

"Stumble" 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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