Saturday in Russian: суббота
Pronounced soo-BOH-tuh — literally “Sabbath (day of rest)”.
Saturday in Russian at a Glance
| Cyrillic | суббота |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | subbota |
| On Saturday | в субботу (v subbotu) |
| Pronunciation | soo-BOH-tuh (суб·бо́·та) |
| Literal meaning | Sabbath (day of rest) |
| Abbreviation | Сб |
From Hebrew Shabbat via Greek sábbaton: суббота is the ancient Sabbath, the same root behind Spanish sábado and Italian sabato. It reached Russian with Christianity in the 10th century.
How to Pronounce суббота
soo-BOH-tuh — syllable by syllable: суб·бо́·та.
- Unstressed o sounds like “ah” — that's why понедельник starts with “pah-”, not “poh-”.
- The soft sign ь has no sound of its own; it softens the consonant before it.
- Stress matters: stressing the wrong syllable can make a word hard to recognize.
Example Sentences with суббота
How to Say “Happy Saturday” in Russian
Russians wish each other a good day using the genitive case: the phrase literally means “(I wish you) a good Saturday”. It's common in texts and at the end of phone calls.
All 7 Days of the Week in Russian
Russian day names tell a story: three are numbers (second, fourth, fifth day), one means “middle”, one comes from the Sabbath, one means “resurrection”, and Monday literally means “the day after doing nothing”. The week starts on Monday in Russia.
| English | Russian | Transliteration | Pronunciation | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | понедельник | ponedel'nik | puh-nee-DYEL-neek | |
| Tuesday | вторник | vtornik | FTOR-neek | |
| Wednesday | среда | sreda | sree-DAH | |
| Thursday | четверг | chetverg | cheet-VYERK | |
| Friday | пятница | pyatnitsa | PYAT-nee-tsuh | |
| Saturday | суббота | subbota | soo-BOH-tuh | |
| Sunday | воскресенье | voskresen'ye | vuhs-kree-SYEN-yeh |
See the full guide: Days of the Week in Russian.
Cultural Notes: Saturday in Russian-Speaking Countries
A субботник is a (theoretically) voluntary Saturday of community work — a Soviet institution that survives in spring clean-up days across Russia. Otherwise суббота is the main day for dachas, errands and family.
Did You Know?
From Hebrew Shabbat via Greek sábbaton: суббота is the ancient Sabbath, the same root behind Spanish sábado and Italian sabato. It reached Russian with Christianity in the 10th century. Curious how English got its name for Saturday? See our guide to the origins of the days of the week.
How to Use суббота in a Sentence
Use в + accusative case for “on”: в субботу (v subbotu) = on Saturday. For “every Saturday” Russians say по субботам (po subbotam). The case ending changes for feminine day names, so memorize the в-phrase as a unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say Saturday in Russian?
Saturday in Russian is суббота (subbota), pronounced “soo-BOH-tuh”. It literally means “Sabbath (day of rest)”.
What does суббота mean in English?
From Hebrew Shabbat via Greek sábbaton: суббота is the ancient Sabbath, the same root behind Spanish sábado and Italian sabato. It reached Russian with Christianity in the 10th century.
How do you pronounce суббота?
It's pronounced “soo-BOH-tuh” — broken into syllables: суб·бо́·та. Use the audio button on this page to hear a recording.
Is суббота capitalized in Russian?
Russian weekday names are written in lowercase — суббота, not Суббота — unlike English. They're only capitalized at the start of a sentence.
How do you say “Happy Saturday” in Russian?
Хорошей субботы! (Khoroshey subboty!). Russians wish each other a good day using the genitive case: the phrase literally means “(I wish you) a good Saturday”. It's common in texts and at the end of phone calls.
How is Saturday abbreviated in Russian?
Saturday (суббота) is abbreviated Сб on Russian calendars and schedules.
How do you say “on Saturday” in Russian?
в субботу (v subbotu) — the preposition в plus the accusative case. For “every Saturday”, use по субботам (po subbotam).
How do you write Saturday in Russian Cyrillic?
суббота — and remember it's lowercase in Russian unless it starts a sentence. The calendar abbreviation is Сб.
How do you say “today is Saturday” in Russian?
Сегодня суббота (Segodnya subbota). Russian drops the verb “to be” in the present tense, so it's literally just “today Saturday”.