There are several words meaning "dog" in Russian. The word "dog" also exists in the Russian language but it means a dog of the Great Dane breed only.
In general, the Russian word for dog is “sobaka”. If you want to be more specific you can use some other words to say dog in Russian, as follows:
Capitals for stress, "O" like in "poll", "A" like "u" in "sun", "E" like in "bell"
DOG or FEMALE DOG - SOBAKA (so-BA-ka), СОБАКА
MALE DOG - PYOS (PYOS), ПЁС
MALE DOG - KOBEL' (ko-BEL', "l" palatalized), КОБЕЛЬ, if you want to emphasize sex
FEMALE DOG - SUKA (SOO-ka), СУКА, if you want to emphasize sex
DOGGIE - SOBACHKA (so-BATCH-ka), СОБАЧКА
PUPPY - SCHENOK (SCHE-nok), ЩЕНОК
PUPPIES - SCHENKI (SCHEN-kee), ЩЕНКИ
MONGREL - DVORNYAGA (dvor-NYA-ga), ДВОРНЯГА
After learning Russian for dog you'll be able to characterize your dog in Russian:
Capitals for stress, "O" like in "poll", "A" like "u" in "sun", "E" like in "bell"
BIG DOG - BOL'SHAYA SOBAKA (bol'-SHA-ya, "l" palatalized), БОЛЬШАЯ СОБАКА
VICIOUS DOG - ZLAYA SOBAKA (ZLA-ya), ЗЛАЯ СОБАКА
AFFECTIONATE DOG - LASKOVAYA SOBAKA (LAS-ko-vo-ya), ЛАСКОВАЯ СОБАКА
GOOD DOG - HOROSHAYA SOBAKA (ho-RO-shaya), ХОРОШАЯ СОБАКА (also see the Russian dog command "Molodets" - "Молодец")
BAD DOG - PLOHAYA SOBAKA (plo-KHA-ya), ПЛОХАЯ СОБАКА
SHEPHERD - OVCHARKA (ov-TCHAR-ka), ОВЧАРКА
HUNTING DOG - OHOTNICHYA SOBAKA (o-HOT-nee-chya), ОХОТНИЧЬЯ СОБАКА
SLED DOG - EZDOVAYA SOBAKA (ez-do-VA-ya), ЕЗДОВАЯ СОБАКА
Besides being able to qualify your dog in Russian you may also want to know some Russian "dog words" and phrases:
Capitals for stress, "O" like in "poll", "A" like "u" in "sun", "E" like in "bell"
FOR SALE - DLYA PRODAZHI (DLYA pro-DA-zhee), ДЛЯ ПРОДАЖИ
DOG LOVER - SOBACHNIK (so-BATCH-neek), СОБАЧНИК
I HAVE A DOG - U MENYA EST' SOBAKA (U me-NYA EST' so-BA-ka, "t" palatalized), У МЕНЯ ЕСТЬ СОБАКА
WHAT'S YOUR DOG'S NAME? - KAK ZOVUT TVOYU SOBAKU? (KAK zo-VOOT tvo-YOO so-BA-koo), КАК ЗОВУТ ТВОЮ СОБАКУ?
MY DOG'S NAME IS… - MOYU SOBAKU ZOVUT… (mo-YOO so-BA-koo zo-voot), МОЮ СОБАКУ ЗОВУТ...
MATING - VYAZKA (VYAZ-ka), ВЯЗКА
LITTER - POMYOT (po-MYOT), ПОМЁТ
DOG SHOW - VYSTAVKA SOBAK (vy-STAV-ka so-BAK), ВЫСТАВКА СОБАК
BREED - PORODA (po-RO-da), ПОРОДА
BREEDING KENNEL - PITOMNIK (pee-TOM-neek), ПИТОМНИК
DOG HOTEL - PEREDERZHKA (pe-re-DERZH-ka), ПЕРЕДЕРЖКА
DOG RACING - SOBACHYI BEGA (so-BA-tchyee be-GA), СОБАЧЬИ БЕГА
DOG FIGHTING - SOBACHYI BOI (so-BA-tchyee bo-YEE), СОБАЧЬИ БОИ
KENNEL - KONURA (ko-noo-RA), КОНУРА
Finally, here is the list of Russian breeds of dogs naming each dog in Russian:
BLACK RUSSIAN TERRIER - Tchiorny Terrier, Чёрный терьер
BORZOI - Russkaya Borzaya, Русская борзая
CAUCASIAN SHEPHERD - Kavkazskaya Ovcharka, Кавказская овчарка
CENTRAL ASIAN DOG - Sredneaziatskaya Ovcharka, Среднеазиатская овчарка
EAST EUROPEAN SHEPHERD - Vostochnoevropeiskaya Ovcharka, Восточноевропейская овчарка
EAST SIBERIAN LAIKA - Vostochnosibirskaya Laika, Восточносибирская лайка
MOSCOW WATCHDOG - Moskovskaya Storozhevaya, Московская сторожевая
MOSCOW WATER DOG - Moskovsky Vodolaz, Московский водолаз
RUSSIAN HARLEQUIN HOUND - Russkaya Pegaya Gonchaya, Русская пегая гончая
RUSSIAN HOUND - Russkaya Gonchaya, Русская гончая
RUSSIAN SPANIEL - Russkiy Spaniel, Русский охотничий спаниель
RUSSIAN TOY - Russkiy Toy, Русский той
RUSSIAN TSVETNAYA BOLONKA - Russkaya Tsvetnaya Bolonka, Русская цветная болонка
RUSSO EUROPEAN LAIKA - Russko Evropeiskaya Laika, Русско-европейская лайка
SOUTH RUSSIAN SHEEPDOG - Yuzhnorusskaya Ovcharka, Южнорусская овчарка
WEST SIBERIAN LAIKA - Zapadnosibirskaya Laika, Западносибирская лайка
Now that you know Russian for "dog" you may want to learn some Russian dog commands.
СОБАЧНИКА says
I’d love to find someone who loves dogs to chat with and improve my Russian! Is it true that there are dogs that live in the metro? I would love to meet some of them and pat them. Большое спасибо!
RussianDog says
Unfortunately, we can’t help you with the chat but there should be people like that on Facebook and other social media websites.
Миша Mii says
In addition to the transliterations, you should add the Cyrillic Russian. It may help people who can read Russian, but are still learning the language.
RussianDog says
Good idea. Thank you.
Sobachnika says
Thank you for the suggestion, adding the Cyrillic helped me very much! I am as you said – learning the language but can read Cyrillic. Thanks again!
RussianDog says
Glad to hear that. You are welcome!