Action Экшн

10 Russian words on the topic of action — each with a picture, an audio recording and an example sentence. Chases, explosions and heroes — the vocabulary of every боеви́к (action movie).

English	Russian · Ру́сский	Notes
action movie	боеви́к	🔀 Several meaningsбоеви́к = an action movie AND a militant — context decides.
chase	пого́ня	🔗 Word familyFrom гнать 'to chase'. в пого́не за = 'in pursuit of', also figurative.
explosion	взрыв	🔀 Several meaningsAlso figurative: взрыв сме́ха 'a burst of laughter'. 🔗 Word familyThe verb is взорва́ться.
shootout	перестре́лка	🔗 Word familyFrom стреля́ть 'to shoot'; the prefix пере- marks a mutual exchange, as in перепи́ска 'correspondence'.
hero	геро́й	🔗 Word familySame Greek root as 'hero'. 🔀 Several meaningsAlso means 'protagonist': гла́вный геро́й. ⚠️ GenderFeminine: герои́ня.
villain	злоде́й	🔗 Word familyLiterally 'evil-doer': зло 'evil' + the root of 'do'. ⚠️ GenderFeminine: злоде́йка.
fight	ссо́ра	🔀 Several meaningsA verbal quarrel only — a physical fight is дра́ка. Note the double с in the spelling.
weapon	ору́жие	⚠️ GenderA collective singular — even for many weapons.
spy	шпио́н	🔗 Word familyRelated to 'spy' (via German Spion). 🌎 RegionPejorative — one's own agent is разве́дчик.
escape	побе́г	побе́г из тюрьмы́ = a prison escape. 🔀 Several meaningsThe same word also means a plant shoot.