How do you say "whistle" in Russian?

свистеть

svistet'

Verb Cyrillic

In Russian, "whistle" is свистеть (svistet').

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Pronunciation

Phonetically this lands near svistet', with "tet" 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

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

Example sentence

Он любит свистеть, когда работал.

On ljubit svistet', kogda rabotal.

He likes to whistle while he works.

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How to remember свистеть

Think of "svistet'" sounding a bit like svis, which nudges you toward "whistle". A quick repeat of this trick before bed cements it well.

Related words

Browse all Russian words in the glossary.

Questions about свистеть

How do you pronounce свистеть?

Phonetically this lands near svistet', with "tet" 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 свистеть formal or casual?

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

How is свистеть used in Russian?

свистеть is used the same way as the equivalent English verb. For example: Он любит свистеть, когда работал. (He likes to whistle while he works.).

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.

"Whistle" 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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