Have fun in Russian: How to say?

Jun 27, 2020 | How to say it in Russian?

The idea of having fun can be expressed in multiple ways in Russian.

The most straightforward ones are:

– весели́ться / повесели́ться
[vee-see-lée-tsa / pa-vee-see-lée-tsa]
to enjoy oneself, to amuse oneself, to make oneself merry, to have fun
comes from the word весе́лье – joy, merry, fun

– забавля́ться
[za-ba-vlyá-tsa]
to amuse oneself, to make oneself merry
comes from the word заба́ва – amusement, fun, pastime

The next one is a bit long but, probably, is the closest to the original meaning of “have fun”:

– хорошо́ проводи́ть вре́мя / хорошо́ провести́ вре́мя
[ha-ra-shó pra-va-déet’ vryé-mya / ha-ra-shó pra-vees-tée vryé-mya]
to have a good time

The next three are not so obvious but sometimes can be translated as “have fun” or used with a close meaning:

– ра́доваться / пора́доваться
[rá-da-va-tsa]
to be happy, to rejoice
comes from the word ра́дость – joy, gladness, pleasure

Sometimes ра́доваться means to enjoy something:

– ра́доваться прогу́лке
[rá-da-va-tsa pra-gúl-kye]
to enjoy walking

– отдыха́ть / отдохну́ть
[at-dy-hát]
to rest, to relax, to take a break

In the sense of having fun, отдыха́ть / отдохну́ть are often used with the word хорошо́ (good/well):

– хорошо́ отдохну́ть
[ha-ra-shó at-dah-nút’]
to have a good time, to have fun

– расслабля́ться / рассла́биться
[ras-lab-lyá-tsa]
to relax

When расслабля́ться / рассла́биться are used in the meaning “have fun”, it means mostly active types of relaxing, like letting go of worries or “cutting loose”.

The next expression is slang:

– отрыва́ться / оторва́ться
[at-ry-vá-tsa]
to have a good time, to have fun, to cut loose, to have a blast

Literally, отрыва́ться / оторва́ться means to come off, to tear off, to be torn off. You can learn more about this word here.

And the last one that comes from the word дура́к which means fool:

– дура́читься
[du-rá-chee-tsa]
to fool around

Listen to "Have fun" in Russian

The audio recording includes all the examples (in bold and blue) listed above.

Related Russian words

дура́читься

[durácheetsa] Verb , imperfective

to fool around, to play tricks, to play the fool

весели́ться

[veeseeléetsa] Verb , imperfective

to enjoy oneself, to have fun (a good time)

ра́доваться

[rádavatsa] Verb , imperfective

to be happy, to rejoice

рассла́биться

[raslábeetsa] Verb , perfective

to relax

Examples of "have fun" in Russian

Мы прико́льно отдохну́ли на да́че.

my preekól'na atdahnúlee na dáchye

We had a good time at the dacha.
Они́ весели́лись, дура́чились и соверше́нно не спеши́ли домо́й.

anée veeseeléelees', durácheelees' ee saveershénna nye speeshéelee damóî

They had fun, fooled around and were not in a hurry to go home.
Они́ весели́лись как де́ти.

anée veeseeléelees' kak dyétee

They had fun like children do.
Они́ танцева́ли и весели́лись всю ночь.

anée tantseválee ee veeseeléelees' fsyu noch

They danced and had fun all night long.
Зря ты вчера́ не пришёл, бы́ло ве́село.

zrya ty fcheerá nye preeshól, býla vyéseela

You missed out not coming yesterday, it was fun.
Лю́ди в Росси́и и пра́вда уме́ют весели́ться.

lyúdee v rasséeee ee právda umyéyut veeseeléetsa

People in Russia really know how to have fun.
Рассла́бься, мы обо всём позабо́тимся.

rasláp'sya, my aba fsyóm pazabóteemsya

Relax, we will take care of everything.