Infinitive: жить — "to live (reside; be alive)" Aspect: imperfective (perfective partners are prefixed: прожи́ть "to live through / for a span," пожи́ть "to live a while" — separate verbs, covered below) Type: first conjugation, with a hidden -в- that surfaces in the present and imperative
жить is one of the first verbs every learner needs, and it hides a small surprise: a -в- that is invisible in the infinitive (жить) but appears throughout the present tense (живу́, живёшь…) and the imperative (живи́). The same thing happens in the past, where the -в- vanishes again (жил, not "живл"). Stress is marked on every form below, since this is a reference you'll consult for pronunciation. Note the end-stressed feminine жила́ — a recurring trap.
Present tense — the -в- appears
The infinitive жить loses its final stem consonant; in the present, a -в- comes back, and the verb is end-stressed throughout.
| Person | жить (present) |
|---|---|
| я | живу́ |
| ты | живёшь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | живёт |
| мы | живём |
| вы | живёте |
| они́ | живу́т |
Note the -ёшь / -ёт / -ём / -ёте with ё (always stressed) and the -у́ / -у́т of the first conjugation in the я and они́ forms. This is a regular first-conjugation set on the stem жив-; the only thing to remember is that the -в- is there at all.
Я живу́ в це́нтре, в двух остано́вках от метро́.
I live in the centre, two stops from the metro. — present живу́: a current state of affairs.
Они́ живу́т вме́сте уже́ де́сять лет.
They've been living together for ten years now. — живу́т: present for an ongoing situation (see use 1 below).
Past tense
The past drops the -в- again and is built on жи-. Watch the stress: the feminine жила́ is end-stressed, while masculine, neuter, and plural keep the stress on the root.
| Gender / number | жить (past) |
|---|---|
| masculine | жил |
| feminine | жила́ |
| neuter | жи́ло |
| plural | жи́ли |
This жил / жила́ / жи́ло / жи́ли stress pattern — end-stressed feminine, root-stressed elsewhere — is the same one you see in был/была́/бы́ло/бы́ли and пил/пила́/пи́ло/пи́ли. The negated past also shifts stress onto the particle in the masculine/neuter/plural: не́ жил, не́ жило, не́ жили, but не жила́.
Ра́ньше я жил в Каза́ни, а пото́м перее́хал.
I used to live in Kazan, and then I moved. — masculine жил: a past state that no longer holds.
Моя́ ба́бушка всю жизнь жила́ в дере́вне.
My grandmother lived in the village her whole life. — feminine жила́ (end-stress).
Future tense
жить is imperfective, so it forms the compound future with бу́ду + the infinitive. (For "to live through a period" you reach for the perfective прожи́ть; see below.)
| Person | жить → compound future |
|---|---|
| я | бу́ду жить |
| ты | бу́дешь жить |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет жить |
| мы | бу́дем жить |
| вы | бу́дете жить |
| они́ | бу́дут жить |
По́сле сва́дьбы мы бу́дем жить у его́ роди́телей.
After the wedding we'll live at his parents' place. — compound future бу́дем жить.
Imperative
The -в- returns in the imperative, which is end-stressed.
| Addressee | Form |
|---|---|
| ты (informal) | живи́ |
| вы (formal / plural) | живи́те |
Живи́ настоя́щим, не жале́й о про́шлом.
Live in the present, don't regret the past. — imperative живи́, in a piece of advice.
The plural живи́те also anchors the famous toast and well-wish Живи́те до́лго и сча́стливо ("Live long and happily").
Verbal adverb and participles
| Form | Russian | Note |
|---|---|---|
| verbal adverb (imperfective) | живя́ | "while living" — (literary / formal) |
| present active participle | живу́щий | "(one) living / residing" — (formal / written) |
| past active participle | жи́вший | "(one) who lived" — (formal / written) |
Don't confuse the participle живу́щий ("residing," a verb form) with the adjective живо́й ("alive, living, lively"), which is a separate word.
Лю́ди, живу́щие в больши́х города́х, ча́сто меня́ют рабо́ту.
People living in big cities often change jobs. — present active participle живу́щий agreeing with лю́ди.
Key uses & collocations
1. The present for ongoing duration ("have lived")
This is the use English speakers most often get wrong. Russian has no present perfect ("I have lived"). For a situation that started in the past and still continues, Russian uses the plain present tense — usually with уже́ ("already") and an accusative-of-duration phrase.
Я живу́ здесь два го́да.
I have lived here for two years (and still do). — present живу́, not a past tense: the living is ongoing.
Ско́лько лет вы живёте в Москве́?
How many years have you lived in Moscow? — present живёте for a still-current span.
Saying Я жил здесь два го́да (past) would mean you no longer live here — you lived here for two years and have since left. The duration phrase (два го́да, три неде́ли) sits in the accusative, the case of measured time spans; see accusative in time and duration.
2. жить = "reside" vs жить = "be alive"
жить covers both English senses. With a place it means "reside" (жить в Москве́, жить на у́лице Ле́нина — note на у́лице); on its own or with an adverb it means "be alive / get by."
Как живёшь? — Да норма́льно, потихо́ньку.
How's life? — Oh, fine, getting by. — Как живёшь? is a standard 'how are you doing?'.
3. The prefixed perfectives: прожи́ть and пожи́ть
жить has no plain perfective partner; instead, prefixes add specific shades. прожи́ть = "to live (out) a measured span / live through" (прожи́ть до ста лет — "live to a hundred"). пожи́ть = "to live a while" (the по- delimitative). The full extended-prefix family is on the жить — extended forms page.
Он про́жил до́лгую и счастли́вую жизнь.
He lived a long and happy life. — perfective прожи́ть: a whole completed lifespan (past про́жил).
Common Mistakes
❌ Я жил здесь два го́да. (meaning 'I have lived here two years and still do')
Wrong tense — for a span that continues into the present, Russian uses the PRESENT: Я живу́ здесь два го́да. The past would mean you've since moved away.
✅ Я живу́ здесь два го́да.
I've lived here for two years (and still do).
❌ Я живу́ в Москва́.
Wrong case — 'live in X' takes в + PREPOSITIONAL: в Москве́, not the nominative Москва́.
✅ Я живу́ в Москве́.
I live in Moscow.
❌ Она́ жил в Петербу́рге. / Он жила́ там.
Wrong agreement — the past agrees in gender: feminine жила́ (end-stress), masculine жил. Match it to the subject.
✅ Она́ жила́ в Петербу́рге.
She lived in Petersburg.
❌ Я живл там пять лет. / Я жиу там.
Wrong stem — the present inserts -в-: живу́, not 'живл' or 'жиу'. The infinitive жить hides this -в-.
✅ Я живу́ там пять лет.
I've lived there for five years.
Key Takeaways
- жить is imperfective; its perfectives are prefixed (прожи́ть "live through/out," пожи́ть "live a while").
- Present inserts -в- and is end-stressed: живу́, живёшь, живёт, живём, живёте, живу́т.
- Past drops the -в-: жил, жила́ (end-stressed feminine), жи́ло, жи́ли. Negative shifts stress to the particle (не́ жил) except feminine (не жила́).
- Future is compound: бу́ду жить, etc. Imperative: живи́ / живи́те.
- Use the present for "have lived / have been living" (Я живу́ здесь два го́да) — Russian has no present perfect; the duration sits in the accusative.
- "Live in X" = в + prepositional (в Москве́), but "live on X street" = на у́лице.
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- Everyday Verbs: Жить, Знать, Любить in the PresentA1 — Three ultra-high-frequency present-tense verbs taught as worked models. ЖИТЬ ('to live') inserts a в (живу́, живёшь, живёт…) and shows the present-for-duration use (Я живу́ здесь два го́да = 'I've lived here two years'). ЗНАТЬ ('to know') is perfectly regular (зна́ю, зна́ешь…). ЛЮБИ́ТЬ ('to love/like') is second-conjugation with the labial mutation in the я-form (люблю́, but лю́бишь, лю́бят). Together they front-load the whole conjugation system's main surprises into three words you'll use daily.
- Present Tense: First ConjugationA1 — The first-conjugation present paradigm: чита́ть → чита́ю, чита́ешь, чита́ет, чита́ем, чита́ете, чита́ют, with endings on the theme vowel -е-. Covers the -ать stem class (де́лать, рабо́тать), the stressed consonant-stem variant (жить → живу́, живёшь), and the -овать/-евать contraction (рисова́ть → рису́ю).
- Using the Present TenseA1 — One imperfective present form does the work of several English structures: ongoing action (Я чита́ю 'I'm reading'), habit (Я чита́ю ка́ждый день 'I read every day'), general truths, scheduled near-future (По́езд идёт в пять), and — the top transfer trap — duration still in progress, where English uses the present perfect: Я живу́ здесь два го́да 'I have lived here for two years'. Perfective verbs have no present; their present-shaped forms are future.
- Быть (to be)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for быть 'to be': the (almost absent) present with zero copula, the есть existential, был/была́/бы́ло/бы́ли past, the бу́ду future and its job as the imperfective-future auxiliary, the будь(те) imperative, and the instrumental predicate (Он был врачо́м).
- Accusative in Time and DurationA2 — Beyond the direct object, the accusative runs Russian's time system. The bare accusative gives duration (Я ждал час 'I waited an hour'); в + accusative gives days and clock times (в понеде́льник, в три часа́); за + accusative means 'within / in' a span (сде́лал за час 'did it in an hour'); на + accusative means 'for' a planned span (на неде́лю 'for a week'). The classic hurdle is keeping час (spent it), за час (in an hour), and на час (for an hour ahead) apart.
- Жить — extended formsB1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for жить 'to live' and its prefixed derivatives: прожи́ть (to live through / for a span), пережи́ть (to survive, to outlive, to go through), and пожи́ть (to live a while). A model of how prefixation builds aspectual and lexical relatives from a single high-frequency root — with the present живу́/живёшь, the suppletive-looking -в- present stem, and the shifting past жил/жила́/жи́ли.