держать слово
“держать слово” (derzhat slovo) — to keep one's word in Russian. Phrase, level B1, topic — people and family. Etot chelovek derzhit slovo — "this man keeps his word" — built just like English keep the word: keeping a promise, they say, is harder than making one. In a live sentence: “Этот человек держит слово” — He keeps his word — always. Written with the characters д, е, р, ж, а, т, ь, с, л, о, в, о.
In short
| Written in Russian | держать слово |
| Read in Latin letters | derzhat slovo |
| Translation | to keep one's word |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Etot chelovek derzhit slovo — "this man keeps his word" — built just like English keep the word: keeping a promise, they say, is harder than making one.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Этот человек держит словоEtot chelovek derzhit slovoHe keeps his word — always
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- семьяsemyafamilyOne root with semya, "a seed": the people from one seed. "Family" grew from the Latin for "household servants" — about the house, not the blood.
- отецotetsfatherAt home it is papa; otets is for documents and solemn occasions. The of-form ottsa shows up more often than the dictionary shape.
- мамаmamamomThe baby word, like mum and mama nearly everywhere. Papa also ends in -a yet stays masculine — gender is not the ending alone.
- ребёнокrebyonokchildIts plural comes from a different word, like "person" and "people": rebyonok — deti. The course table keeps rebyonka and rebyonku.
- пареньparenguy, young manThe colloquial word for a young man; the neutral one is molodoy chelovek. It does not map onto any single English word one to one.
- другdrugfriendChanges its consonant in the plural: drug — druz ya. Podruga is the word for a female friend; English "friend" serves both.
- продавецprodavetsseller, shop assistantThe one who sells; the one who buys is pokupatel. The -ets ending names the person by the deed.
- покупательpokupatelcustomer, buyerFrom pokupat, "to buy", plus the person-ending. Pokupatel khochet desyat yablok.
- человекchelovekperson, humanThe plural is a different word, lyudi — like "person" and "people". But after numbers chelovek stays: desyat chelovek.
- мужчинаmuzhchinamanEnds in -a yet grammatically masculine: muzhchina i zhenshchina pyut kofe.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to keep one's word” in Russian?
Etot chelovek derzhit slovo — "this man keeps his word" — built just like English keep the word: keeping a promise, they say, is harder than making one.
- How do you say “seller, shop assistant” in Russian?
The one who sells; the one who buys is pokupatel. The -ets ending names the person by the deed.
- How do you say “mom” in Russian?
The baby word, like mum and mama nearly everywhere. Papa also ends in -a yet stays masculine — gender is not the ending alone.
- How do you say “man” in Russian?
Ends in -a yet grammatically masculine: muzhchina i zhenshchina pyut kofe.
- How do you say “friend” in Russian?
Changes its consonant in the plural: drug — druz ya. Podruga is the word for a female friend; English "friend" serves both.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to keep one's word” in Russian?
«держать слово», read “derzhat slovo”. In a live sentence: “Этот человек держит слово” — He keeps his word — always. Phrase, level B1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters д, е, р, ж, а, т, ь, с, л, о, в, о.
How is “держать слово” written in Latin letters?
derzhat slovo. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Etot chelovek derzhit slovo — "this man keeps his word" — built just like English keep the word: keeping a promise, they say, is harder than making one. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.