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Interjection · A2 · very common

ну

Translation of ну

well

Russian word in Latin letters: nu

Meaning of ну

Russian

Слово в начале фразы, когда думаешь или сомневаешься.

English

a word used to start speaking or to pause while you think

well

Pronunciation

Russian · Male
[nu]
Russian · Female

Traps and common mistakes

Ну or хорошо?

хорошо

хорошо = well, in a good way; also OK

Don't say «Хорошо, я не знаю». Hesitating — ну: «Ну, я не знаю»; doing something well or agreeing — хорошо.

Он очень хорошо поёт.

He sings very well.

Ну, может быть, завтра.

Well, maybe tomorrow.

Try translating it yourself

Translate these short sentences from English into Russian using the word you are learning. Then open one possible answer and compare it with yours. This is practice, not a test.

  1. Well, I'm not sure.

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    Ну, я не уверен.

  2. Well, what do you think?

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    Ну, а ты что думаешь?

ну synonyms

Related word breakdowns

What's the difference between ну, в общем, and итак

Advanced: broader words

В
🇷🇺Russian
в общем

Well, basically: to sum up

И
🇷🇺Russian
итак

More formal: to move on to a new point

Related words and lists for ну

Questions about this word

ну meaning: what does it mean?

a word used to start speaking or to pause while you think

ну pronunciation: how do you pronounce it?

ну is pronounced as [nu]. Audio is available on this page when the word has a recording.

ну definition and sentence examples: how is it used in a sentence?

Well, I'm not sure. Translation: Ну, я не уверен.

Audio practiceExamplesSmart repeats

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