What’s correct: svékla or sveklá, truboprovód or trubóprovod?
Russian has many words where the stress is so tricky, even native speakers get it wrong. So it’s no surprise that it’s difficult for learners too.
For example, do you know where to place the stress in the word балуют? The correct pronunciation is балу́ют — the stress goes on the second syllable.
Mistakes with stress are very common.
But some words are especially confusing and are mispronounced almost all the time
Here are the top 10 Russian words with stress mistakes that happen most often:
| Word | Correct Stress | Common Mistake | Example in Context |
| тОрты | тОрты | тортЫ | Нужно заказать тОрты к празднику |
| бухгАлтеры | бухгАлтеры | бухгалтерА | Форум для бухгАлтеров пройдет в июне |
| Сливовый | слИвовый | сливОвый | Я люблю слИвовый сок |
| Каталог | каталОг | катАлог | Сегодня прочитал этот каталОг |
| Договор | договОр, договОры | дОговор, договорА, дОговоры | Sign the contracts by the end of the day today. |
| Кремень | кремЕнь | крЕмень | Он был стойким, как кремЕнь. |
| Свекла | свЁкла | свеклА | СвЁкла в этом году выросла большая. |
| Донизу, доверху | дОнизу, дОверху | донИзу, довЕрху | Склад был полон сверху дОнизу. |
| Прибыл | прИбыл | прибЫл | Поезд прИбыл на станцию. |
| Щелкать | щЁлкать | щелкАть | Люблю щЁлкать семечки. |
Tested yourself? Are you pronouncing all these words correctly?
Of course, there are many more Russian words where stress mistakes can creep in.
To help you check your pronunciation, we’ve added a list of online tools at the end of this article — not just for stress, but overall literacy too.
Why does stress matter?
Knowing how to speak and write in Russian isn’t always enough — true fluency means speaking correctly.
Proper pronunciation is what makes you sound educated and confident in your speech.
For bilingual children, this is especially important. They think and speak in two languages — but both should be accurate. Otherwise, what’s the point of fluency?
Grammar and spelling matter, of course. But at Palme School, we go further — we teach real literacy.
If a child learns the correct stress from the start, they’ll speak beautifully and correctly for life. That’s why learning Russian is important — even if your family lives abroad.
Fill out the form below to schedule a free introduction with our teachers and get to know the Palme School approach.
