Army А́рмия
11 Russian words on the topic of army — each with a picture, an audio recording and an example sentence. Ranks, orders and the battlefield — with the classic trap that прика́з is a military order while зака́з is what you place in a café.
| Picture | English | Russian · Ру́сский | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | army | а́рмия | Stress on the first syllable. служи́ть в а́рмии = to serve in the army. |
 | soldier | солда́т | 🔗 Word familyCognate of 'soldier'. ⚠️ GenderIrregular genitive plural with zero ending: пять солда́т, not солда́тов. |
 | officer | офице́р | 🔀 Several meaningsMilitary only — a police officer is полице́йский, not офице́р. |
 | general | генера́л | 🔀 Several meaningsOnly the rank; 'general' in the sense of 'common' is о́бщий. |
 | rank | зва́ние | 🔗 Word familyFrom звать 'to call' — literally 'what you are called'. A military rank is во́инское зва́ние. |
 | uniform | фо́рма | 🔀 Several meaningsфо́рма = both 'uniform' and 'shape/form'. |
 | rifle | винто́вка | 🔗 Word familyFrom винт 'screw' — named for the spiral rifling of the barrel, exactly like English 'rifle'. |
 | order | прика́з | 🔀 Several meaningsA command only; an order in a café/shop is зака́з, and 'order' (tidiness) is поря́док. |
 | base | ба́за | 🔗 Word familyCognate of 'base'. 🔀 Several meaningsAlso 'database' — ба́за да́нных. |
 | front | фронт | 🔀 Several meaningsMilitary (or weather) front only — the front of a building is фаса́д, not фронт. |
 | ambush | заса́да | Collocation: сиде́ть в заса́де 'to lie in ambush'. 🌎 RegionIn slang it also means 'a bummer, a jam'. |
See also:WarPlanes