Mastering Russian Verbs of Motion: A Guide for Learners

If you’ve started learning Russian, you’ve probably come across verbs of motion, which work in a very unique qay in Russian, and can thus be confusing for Russian learners. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This is one of the trickier parts of Russian grammar, but once you understand the concept, it opens up a whole new level of fluency and nuance, and can actually be very fun to use.

In English, we just say “I go,” “I walk,” “I run,”. But in Russian, there are different verbs of motion for different situation depending on if you do them regularly, or just once, with which method (by bike, walking, in a car, etc.) and in one direction, or round-trip. This is true for many types of verbs of motion, from going/walking, to flying, running, swimming, and many others.

Most Russian verbs of motion come in pairs and change form depending weather you are doing something regularly, or just once. You can call these two categories in the following way:

1. Unidirectional (Determinate): Movement in one direction, typically toward a destination or goal.

2. Multidirectional (Indeterminate): Movement in various directions, habitual movement, or back-and-forth.

   
   

For example:

• Я иду в магазин. (I’m going to the store — one specific trip, in one direction.)

• Я хожу в магазин. (I go to the store [regularly] — a habitual action.)

  
  

Here’s a list of the most commonly used verb pairs, with explanations and examples:

Unidirectional (Determinate)	Multidirectional (Indeterminate)	Meaning
идти	ходить	to go (on foot)
ехать	ездить	to go (by vehicle)
бежать	бегать	to run
лететь	летать	to fly
плыть	плавать	to swim / to sail
нести	носить	to carry (on foot)
везти	возить	to carry/transport (by vehicle)
вести	водить	to lead, guide
тащить	таскать	to drag, pull, haul

Here are some examples for how to use each pair of verbs of motion correctly:

1. идти / ходить (to go on foot)

• идти — one trip, one direction, right now or planned

  • Я иду в школу. — I’m walking to school (right now).

• ходить — repeated, habitual, or multidirectional

  • Я хожу в школу каждый день. — I go to school every day.

2. ехать / ездить (to go by vehicle)

• ехать

  • Мы едем на дачу. — We are going (by car) to the country house (right now).

• ездить

  • Мы часто ездим на дачу летом. — We often go to the country house in summer.

    
    

3. бежать / бегать (to run)

• бежать

  • Он бежит на работу. — He is running to work (right now).

• бегать

  • Он бегает по утрам. — He runs in the mornings (habitual).

    
    

4. лететь / летать (to fly)

• лететь

  • Самолёт летит в Москву. — The plane is flying to Moscow (right now).

• летать

  • Он часто летает в Москву. — He often flies to Moscow.

    
    

5. плыть / плавать (to swim / sail)

• плыть

  • Рыба плывёт по реке. — The fish is swimming down the river.

• плавать

  • Я люблю плавать в море. — I like swimming in the sea (in general).

    
    

6. нести / носить (to carry on foot)

• нести

  • Я несу сумку. — I am carrying the bag (right now, one trip).

• носить

  • Я ношу сумку в школу каждый день. — I carry the bag to school every day.

    
    

7. везти / возить (to carry/transport by vehicle)

• везти

  • Такси везёт меня домой. — The taxi is taking me home (right now).

• возить

  • Он возит детей в школу. — He drives the kids to school (regularly).

    
    

8. вести / водить (to lead, guide)

• вести

  • Учитель ведёт детей в музей. — The teacher is leading the kids to the museum.

• водить

  • Я вожу детей в музей каждый месяц. — I take the kids to the museum every month.

    
    

9. тащить / таскать (to drag or pull)

• тащить

  • Он тащит мешок домой. — He is dragging the sack home.

• таскать

  • Он таскает мешки каждый день. — He drags sacks every day (habitually).

    
    

A few things to keep in mind when using verbs of motion: use determinate (unidirectional) when talking about one trip or movement toward a specific destination; use indeterminate (multidirectional) for:

• Repeated or habitual actions

• Movement around a place

• General statements about ability (Я хорошо плаваю — I swim well).

Some verbs change their prefix depending on direction or motion aspect (but that’s another blog!).

Russian verbs of motion might seem intimidating, but they’re actually one of the coolest features of the language. Once you master them, you can describe movement with incredible precision!

Keep practicing by thinking about how you move every day and narrating it to yourself in Russian. “Я иду домой… Я хожу в спортзал… Он едет на работу…”

Your Russian will sound way more natural, and you’ll feel like you’ve unlocked a whole new level of expression. Want help practicing these verbs in sentences or exercises? Let us know in the comments!

Russian verbs of motion are tricky, but once you master them, they can really take you places!