Degree adverbs are the volume knob of the language: they tell you how much — very, too, quite, almost, a little. Russian has a small, high-frequency set you'll use in nearly every sentence, and most of them sit directly in front of the word they scale. The good news is that they're indeclinable and the word order is rigid (intensifier first, then the adjective/adverb/verb). The trap — the one that trips up nearly every English speaker — is that "very" and "too" are two completely different ideas in Russian, and о́чень cannot simply be slapped onto any verb. This page sorts the core set out and shows where each one belongs.
The core set at a glance
| Russian | English | What it scales |
|---|---|---|
| о́чень | very, very much | adjectives, adverbs, a few verbs of feeling |
| сли́шком | too (excessively) | adjectives, adverbs, quantity words |
| дово́льно | quite, fairly, rather | adjectives, adverbs |
| совсе́м | completely; (+ negation) at all | adjectives, adverbs, verbs |
| соверше́нно | absolutely, utterly | adjectives, adverbs |
| почти́ | almost, nearly | adjectives, adverbs, verbs, quantities |
| так / насто́лько | so (to such a degree) | adjectives, adverbs, verbs |
| чуть(-чуть) / немно́го | a little, slightly | verbs, comparatives, adjectives |
| гора́здо / намно́го | much, far (+ comparative) | comparatives only |
| как раз | exactly, just right | quantity, fit, timing |
о́чень — "very"
о́чень is the default intensifier for adjectives and adverbs: о́чень хорошо́ ("very well"), о́чень краси́вый ("very beautiful"), о́чень бы́стро ("very fast"). It also intensifies the verbs of liking and wanting — нра́виться, люби́ть, хоте́ть — where English uses "very much":
Мне о́чень нра́вится э́тот го́род, я о́чень хочу́ сюда́ верну́ться.
I like this city very much, I really want to come back here. (о́чень + нра́виться / хоте́ть — the liking/wanting exception)
Спаси́бо, всё бы́ло о́чень вку́сно.
Thank you, it was all very tasty. (о́чень + the predicative adverb вку́сно)
But о́чень does not intensify most ordinary verbs. You cannot say я о́чень рабо́таю for "I work a lot / very hard." For verbs of action and effort the intensifier is *си́льно ("strongly, a lot") or a quantity adverb like мно́го:
Он о́чень уста́л, потому́ что си́льно перенерви́ровал.
He's very tired because he got very stressed. (о́чень + the adjective-like уста́л, but си́льно with the verb)
сли́шком — "too" (excessive)
This is the great false friend. сли́шком does not mean "very" — it means more than is acceptable, the English "too." It always carries a negative judgement of excess:
Э́то пальто́ сли́шком до́рого, дава́й посмо́трим друго́е.
This coat is too expensive, let's look at another one. (сли́шком до́рого = excess, not 'very expensive')
Ты сли́шком мно́го рабо́таешь, тебе́ на́до отдохну́ть.
You work too much, you need to rest. (сли́шком scaling the quantity word мно́го)
The contrast with о́чень is sharp: о́чень до́рого = "very expensive" (a neutral fact), but сли́шком до́рого = "too expensive" (so much that I won't / can't buy it). Mixing them up changes the meaning of the sentence, not just its strength.
дово́льно — "quite, fairly"
дово́льно sits below о́чень on the scale: "quite, fairly, rather," a moderate, slightly understated degree. (Don't confuse it with the adjective дово́льный "satisfied" — same root, different word.)
Кни́га дово́льно интере́сная, но конце́ц сла́бый.
The book is quite interesting, but the ending is weak. (дово́льно = a moderate 'fairly,' with a 'but' hiding nearby)
совсе́м and соверше́нно — "completely / at all / absolutely"
совсе́м means "completely, entirely" — but its most useful job is under negation, where совсе́м не = "not at all":
Не волну́йся, э́то совсе́м не пло́хо — да́же о́чень непло́хо.
Don't worry, that's not bad at all — actually pretty good. (совсе́м не = 'not at all,' the standard negation booster)
Я соверше́нно забы́л, что сего́дня его́ день рожде́ния.
I completely forgot it's his birthday today. (соверше́нно = 'utterly, absolutely' — a touch more emphatic/formal than совсе́м)
соверше́нно ("absolutely, utterly") is the strong, slightly more bookish sibling — соверше́нно ве́рно ("absolutely right"), соверше́нно неве́рно ("completely wrong").
почти́ — "almost"
почти́ = "almost, nearly," scaling adjectives, verbs and quantities alike:
Мы почти́ прие́хали, оста́лось пять мину́т.
We've almost arrived, five minutes left. (почти́ + the verb прие́хали)
так / насто́лько — "so"
так is the everyday "so" ("so beautiful, so tired"); насто́лько is the more precise "to such a degree," usually setting up a result clause with что ("so… that"):
Я так уста́л, что засну́л пря́мо в кре́сле.
I was so tired that I fell asleep right in the armchair. (так + result clause with что)
чуть(-чуть) / немно́го — "a little"
At the low end of the scale: чуть-чуть and немно́го ("a little, slightly"). They modify verbs, comparatives and some adjectives:
Подви́нься чуть-чуть, пожа́луйста, мне немно́го те́сно.
Move over a little, please, it's a bit cramped for me. (чуть-чуть with the verb, немно́го with the predicative те́сно)
гора́здо / намно́го + comparative — "much"
These two are special: they scale comparatives only, never a plain adjective. "Much better" is гора́здо лу́чше or намно́го лу́чше — and you can't use о́чень here:
По́сле о́тдыха я чу́вствую себя́ гора́здо лу́чше.
After the rest I feel much better. (гора́здо + the comparative лу́чше — not о́чень)
See the full comparative system on the comparative and its adverbial twin on comparative adverbs.
как раз — "exactly, just right"
как раз is the idiom for "exactly the right amount / size / moment" — a perfect fit:
Э́ти ту́фли мне как раз, беру́.
These shoes fit me just right, I'll take them. (как раз = exactly the right size)
The distinguishing insight
English has one all-purpose intensifier — "very" — that piles onto almost anything, and a separate "too" for excess. Russian draws the lines differently in two places at once. First, "very" and "too" are unrelated words with unrelated meanings: о́чень is a neutral booster, сли́шком is a verdict of excess. Second, Russian sorts intensifiers by what they can attach to: о́чень for qualities and feeling-verbs, си́льно for action verbs, гора́здо/намно́го exclusively for comparatives. English lets "very" roam freely; Russian asks you to pick the intensifier that matches the target. Get those two distinctions right and the rest of the set falls into place. The finer points of "too / enough / almost" plus approximation words live on the adverbs of degree (detail) page.
Common Mistakes
❌ Э́то сли́шком краси́во! (meaning 'very beautiful')
Incorrect if you mean praise — сли́шком means 'too (excessively),' so this says 'it's excessively beautiful.' Use о́чень for neutral 'very.'
✅ Э́то о́чень краси́во!
That's very beautiful! (о́чень = neutral intensifier)
❌ Я о́чень рабо́таю.
Incorrect — о́чень can't intensify a plain action verb. Use си́льно or мно́го.
✅ Я мно́го рабо́таю. / Я си́льно уста́л.
I work a lot. / I'm very tired. (мно́го / си́льно for verbs)
❌ Сего́дня о́чень лу́чше.
Incorrect — comparatives take гора́здо / намно́го, never о́чень.
✅ Сего́дня гора́здо лу́чше.
Today is much better. (гора́здо + comparative)
❌ Я согла́сен, ты соверше́нно.
Incorrect — соверше́нно needs something to scale (соверше́нно прав 'absolutely right'); it can't stand alone like English 'absolutely.'
✅ Ты соверше́нно прав.
You're absolutely right. (соверше́нно + the short adjective прав)
Key Takeaways
- о́чень = "very" for adjectives, adverbs, and the feeling-verbs нра́виться / люби́ть / хоте́ть; for ordinary action verbs use си́льно or мно́го.
- сли́шком = "too (excessive)," a verdict of excess — never a stronger о́чень.
- дово́льно = "quite/fairly" (moderate); совсе́м = "completely," and совсе́м не = "not at all"; соверше́нно = "absolutely/utterly."
- почти́ = "almost"; так / насто́лько = "so" (насто́лько… что for "so… that"); чуть-чуть / немно́го = "a little."
- гора́здо / намно́го scale comparatives only (гора́здо лу́чше); как раз = "exactly, just right."
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- Too, Enough, Almost: Degree and ApproximationB1 — The fine-grained degree adverbs: сли́шком (too / excessively — a problem), дово́льно and доста́точно (quite / enough), почти́ (almost), едва́ (barely), чуть (slightly), and практи́чески (practically). The core trap for English speakers is сли́шком vs о́чень: сли́шком до́рого means 'too expensive' (more than acceptable), while о́чень до́рого means just 'very expensive'. Plus the approximation kit: приме́рно, о́коло + genitive, and где́-то 'about'.
- The ComparativeA2 — Russian has two ways to say 'more X'. The simple (synthetic) comparative is a single INDECLINABLE word in -ее/-ей (краси́вее, быстре́е, тепле́е) plus a closed set of irregulars (лу́чше, ху́же, бо́льше, ме́ньше, ста́рше, моло́же, доро́же, деше́вле, вы́ше, ни́же, да́льше, ча́ще, ра́ньше, по́зже); it works as a predicate or adverb. The compound comparative is бо́лее + a normal long adjective (бо́лее интере́сный), used attributively. 'Than' comes two ways: comparative + genitive (Он ста́рше меня́) or comparative + чем + nominative (Он ста́рше, чем я). 'Much more' is намно́го/гора́здо + comparative, and 'the more… the more' is чем… тем.
- Comparative and Superlative AdverbsB1 — How to say 'faster, better, more, further' and 'fastest of all.' The comparative adverb is the SAME -ее/-е word as the adjective comparative, just used adverbially: бы́стро → быстре́е, хорошо́ → лу́чше, мно́го → бо́льше, далеко́ → да́льше, ра́но → ра́ньше. 'Than' comes as comparative + genitive (бе́гает быстре́е меня́) or comparative + чем. The superlative adverb is the comparative + всех / всего́: быстре́е всех ('fastest of all'), бо́льше всего́ ('most of all'). Key insight: the comparative adverb and the comparative short adjective are literally the same word — лу́чше is both 'better (adj.)' and 'better (adv.)'.
- Adverbs of Quantity, Frequency, and SequenceA2 — The everyday adverbs that organise a sentence in time and amount. Frequency: всегда́, ча́сто, иногда́, ре́дко, никогда́ (не), обы́чно, постоя́нно, ка́ждый раз. Quantity: мно́го, ма́ло, немно́го, доста́точно, сли́шком, почти́, совсе́м. Sequence/time: снача́ла, пото́м / зате́м, наконе́ц, уже́, ещё, ско́ро, неда́вно, давно́, сра́зу, вдруг. Two contrasts to nail: уже́ vs ещё, and давно́ ('long ago' AND 'for a long time up to now,' with the present tense) vs неда́вно. Frequency words also flag aspect: ча́сто / обы́чно pull imperfective, while вдруг / наконе́ц / сра́зу pull perfective.
- Forming Adverbs from AdjectivesA2 — Most Russian adverbs of manner are made from adjectives by one tiny change: swap the ending for -о (хоро́ший → хорошо́, бы́стрый → бы́стро, ме́дленный → ме́дленно). This -о form is identical to the neuter short adjective and is told apart only by function. A second pattern, по- + -и, gives the 'in X manner / in X language' adverbs (по-ру́сски, по-дру́жески, по-мо́ему), and по- + -ому gives по-но́вому, по-друго́му. All adverbs are invariable — they never agree with anything.