On this page
Learn names of jobs and occupations, ask someone what they do, and describe how you work. Stress marks below are learning aids, usually omitted in ordinary Russian writing.
Names of jobs and professions
| English | Russian |
|---|---|
| Artist (visual artist) | худо́жник |
| Businessman | бизнесме́н |
| Cook | по́вар |
| Driver | води́тель |
| Doctor | врач |
| Engineer | инжене́р |
| Entrepreneur | предпринима́тель |
| Nurse (female) | медсестра́ |
| Police officer | полице́йский |
| Programmer | программи́ст |
Программист means “programmer”; it does not specify every aspect of a software engineer’s role. Медсестра is a female nurse; медбрат is a male nurse. Полицейский has the feminine form полицейская. Some grammatically masculine occupation nouns, including врач and инженер, can refer to women as well as men.
Masculine and feminine forms
Some occupations have established feminine forms with -к- or -ниц-. Others require changes to the stem. These are patterns to recognize, not suffixes you can attach to any profession. Forms and preferred usage can vary with the speaker and setting.
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| арти́ст | арти́стка | performer / actor / actress |
| студе́нт | студе́нтка | student |
| журнали́ст | журнали́стка | journalist |
| спортсме́н | спортсме́нка | sportsman / sportswoman / athlete |
| певе́ц | певи́ца | singer |
| писа́тель | писа́тельница | writer |
| учи́тель | учи́тельница | teacher |
Артист commonly refers to a performer; художник is the usual word for a visual artist. Notice the different stems in певец → певица. A woman can say Я врач (“I am a doctor”); past-tense agreement follows the person: Она работала врачом.
Useful conversational phrases
| Question | Example answer |
|---|---|
| Кто вы по профессии? — What is your profession? | Я программист. — I am a programmer. |
| Чем вы занимаетесь? — What do you do? | Я работаю учителем. — I work as a teacher. |
| Вам нравится ваша работа? — Do you like your job? | Да, мне нравится моя работа. Я работаю над важным проектом. — Yes, I like my job. I am working on an important project. |
After работать (“to work”), use the instrumental to name the role: учитель → учителем, врач → врачом. In Я учитель (“I am a teacher”), the occupation is nominative. Work on a project is работать над проектом: над takes the instrumental here. Чем вы занимаетесь? can also ask about someone’s activities rather than only their paid job.
Russian expressions related to work
| Russian example | Meaning and notes |
|---|---|
| Я работаю от зари до зари. | I work all day, from dawn to dusk. Заря can refer to morning or evening light; in other contexts от зари до зари can mean all night. It does not automatically mean a full 24-hour shift. |
| Я всю неделю трудился / трудилась как лошадь. | I worked like a horse all week: I worked very hard. Choose трудился or трудилась according to the speaker. |
| Она ушла с головой в учёбу. | She immersed herself in her studies. Literally, she went into her studies headfirst. |
| Работа не волк: в лес не убежит. | Work is not a wolf: it will not run off into the forest. A humorous saying that work can wait; it may also sound like an excuse for postponing it. |
| Я тружусь с утра до вечера как папа Карло. | I work very hard from morning to night. Папа Карло is a character in the Russian Buratino story. |
| Он работает спустя рукава. | He works carelessly. Literally, with his sleeves lowered; this is a fixed idiom. |
| Он привык работать не покладая рук. | He is accustomed to working tirelessly / without a break. Literally, without putting his hands down; not with his hands up. |
Fixed expressions such as спустя рукава and не покладая рук normally do not need a comma separating them from the verb. Learn the expression’s meaning as a whole, rather than treating a literal translation as an instruction.
Try describing your own work
Complete one sentence with your occupation: Я … or Я работаю … . Then choose an expression describing how you work or study. Use a recorded pronunciation model with our alphabet guide to practise the sounds.
