такси
“такси” (taksi) — taxi in Russian. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. From the French taximetre, with Latin taxa, "a fee". It does not decline: vyzval taksi, sel v taksi — and it is neuter. In a live sentence: “Такси здесь, а автобус там” — The taxi is here, and the bus is there. Written with the characters т, а, к, с, и. One of 16 words in the set “transport” in the Russian course.
In short
| Written in Russian | такси |
| Read in Latin letters | taksi |
| Translation | taxi |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
From the French taximetre, with Latin taxa, "a fee". It does not decline: vyzval taksi, sel v taksi — and it is neuter.
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.
- Такси здесь, а автобус тамTaksi zdes, a avtobus tamThe taxi is here, and the bus is there
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".
- 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.
- контролёрkontrolyorticket inspectorKontrolyor proveryayet bilety — "the inspector checks the tickets" — the word carries its own stress: kontrol-YOR.
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 “taxi” in Russian?
From the French taximetre, with Latin taxa, "a fee". It does not decline: vyzval taksi, sel v taksi — and it is neuter.
- How do you say “passenger” in Russian?
Passazhir pokazal bilet — "the passenger showed the ticket" — the international word with the stress on the end.
- 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 “ticket inspector” in Russian?
Kontrolyor proveryayet bilety — "the inspector checks the tickets" — the word carries its own stress: kontrol-YOR.
- How do you say “bus stop” in Russian?
Avtobus stoit na ostanovke — "the bus stops at the stop" — the noun of stopping.
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 “taxi” in Russian?
«такси», read “taksi”. In a live sentence: “Такси здесь, а автобус там” — The taxi is here, and the bus is there. Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”; written with the characters т, а, к, с, и.
How is “такси” written in Latin letters?
taksi. 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?
From the French taximetre, with Latin taxa, "a fee". It does not decline: vyzval taksi, sel v taksi — and it is neuter. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.