How do you say "unreliable" in Russian?

ненадёжный

nenadezhnyj

Adjective Cyrillic

In Russian, "unreliable" is ненадёжный (nenadezhnyj).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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

Pronunciation

Pronounce it nenadezhnyj; leaning into "ezh" as you say it, and the rest of the word stays relatively even. Once you've said it a couple of times it starts to feel automatic.

Writing and usage

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

Example sentence

Старая машина ненадёжна.

Staraja mashina nenadezhna.

The old car is unreliable.

Test your Russian knowledge in our free browser games.

How to remember ненадёжный

Link the sound "nen" in "nenadezhnyj" to something like the syllable "nen" in everyday English speech, since the word means "unreliable".

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about ненадёжный

How do you pronounce ненадёжный?

Pronounce it nenadezhnyj; leaning into "ezh" as you say it, and the rest of the word stays relatively even. Once you've said it a couple of times it starts to feel automatic.

Is ненадёжный formal or casual?

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

How is ненадёжный used in Russian?

ненадёжный is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: Старая машина ненадёжна. (The old car is unreliable.).

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.

"Unreliable" 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.

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