завести семью
“завести семью” (zavesti semyu) — to start a family in Russian. Phrase, level B1, topic — people and family. Oni khotyat zavesti semyu — "they want to start a family" — the family as something acquired. In a live sentence: “Они хотят завести семью” — They want to start a family. Written with the characters з, а, в, е, с, т, и, с, е, м, ь, ю. One of 203 words in the set “people and family” in the Russian course.
In short
| Written in Russian | завести семью |
| Read in Latin letters | zavesti semyu |
| Translation | to start a family |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Oni khotyat zavesti semyu — "they want to start a family" — the family as something acquired.
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.
- Они хотят завести семьюOni khotyat zavesti semyuThey want to start a family
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 start a family” in Russian?
Oni khotyat zavesti semyu — "they want to start a family" — the family as something acquired.
- 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 start a family” in Russian?
«завести семью», read “zavesti semyu”. In a live sentence: “Они хотят завести семью” — They want to start a family. Phrase, level B1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters з, а, в, е, с, т, и, с, е, м, ь, ю.
How is “завести семью” written in Latin letters?
zavesti semyu. 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?
Oni khotyat zavesti semyu — "they want to start a family" — the family as something acquired. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.