свободное место
“свободное место” (svobodnoe mesto) — free seat in Russian. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. Eto svobodnoye mesto? — "is this seat free?" — the question of every crowded car. In a live sentence: “Это свободное место?” — Is this seat free? Written with the characters с, в, о, б, о, д, н, о, е, м, е, с… One of 16 words in the set “transport” in the Russian course.
In short
| Written in Russian | свободное место |
| Read in Latin letters | svobodnoe mesto |
| Translation | free seat |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Eto svobodnoye mesto? — "is this seat free?" — the question of every crowded car.
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.
- Это свободное место?Eto svobodnoe mesto?Is this seat free?
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- автобусavtobusbusThe international word, from Latin omnibus, "for all". Stress on the last syllable: avto-BUS.
- ехатьekhatto go (by vehicle)Riding: yedu na avtobuse, yedu v Moskvu. Its present also comes from a different root: yedu, yedesh, yedet.
- вокзалvokzaltrain stationThe word came from London: the Vauxhall pavilion outside Petersburg became the name for every station. English never found out — it says station.
- поездpoezdtrainFrom poyezdka and ekhat: the thing that rides. "Train" came from a different root, "to pull".
- таксиtaksitaxiFrom the French taximetre, with Latin taxa, "a fee". It does not decline: vyzval taksi, sel v taksi — and it is neuter.
- метроmetrometroShort for metropoliten, also French. It does not decline — na metro, bez metro — and the stress never moves.
- остановкаostanovkabus stopAvtobus stoit na ostanovke — "the bus stops at the stop" — the noun of stopping.
- пассажирpassazhirpassengerPassazhir pokazal bilet — "the passenger showed the ticket" — the international word with the stress on the end.
- сиденьеsideneseatNeuter, like most -e words. Moye sideniye u dveri — "my seat is by the door".
- порученьporuchenhandrailDerzhis za poruchen — "hold on to the handrail" — za plus the whom-what form of what you hold.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “free seat” in Russian?
Eto svobodnoye mesto? — "is this seat free?" — the question of every crowded car.
- How do you say “bus stop” in Russian?
Avtobus stoit na ostanovke — "the bus stops at the stop" — the noun of stopping.
- How do you say “train station” in Russian?
The word came from London: the Vauxhall pavilion outside Petersburg became the name for every station. English never found out — it says station.
- How do you say “handrail” in Russian?
Derzhis za poruchen — "hold on to the handrail" — za plus the whom-what form of what you hold.
- How do you say “metro” in Russian?
Short for metropoliten, also French. It does not decline — na metro, bez metro — and the stress never moves.
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 “free seat” in Russian?
«свободное место», read “svobodnoe mesto”. In a live sentence: “Это свободное место?” — Is this seat free? Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”; written with the characters с, в, о, б, о, д, н, о, е, м, е, с…
How is “свободное место” written in Latin letters?
svobodnoe mesto. 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?
Eto svobodnoye mesto? — "is this seat free?" — the question of every crowded car. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.