To say "I'm going to work by bus," English uses one verb ("go") and tacks on "by bus." Russian does two things at once that English doesn't. First, the motion verb itself already tells you the means: идти́ is on foot, е́хать is by ground vehicle, лете́ть is by air, плыть is by water — you choose the verb before you name the vehicle. Second, the specific vehicle is added with на + prepositional (на авто́бусе) or the more formal bare instrumental (авто́бусом). So "I'm going to work by bus" is Я е́ду на рабо́ту на авто́бусе — е́ду already means "by vehicle," and на авто́бусе specifies which one. This page ties the verb choice to the transport phrase. The unidirectional/multidirectional split of these verbs lives on е́хать vs е́здить and идти́ vs ходи́ть; here we focus on how you travel.
The verb encodes the means
Before any vehicle word, the verb has already committed to foot, ground, air, or water.
| Means | Unidirectional | Multidirectional | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| on foot | идти́ | ходи́ть | walking |
| ground vehicle | е́хать | е́здить | car, bus, train, metro, tram, bike |
| by air | лете́ть | лета́ть | plane, helicopter |
| by water | плыть | пла́вать | boat, ship, ferry |
Я иду́ домо́й пешко́м, тут недалеко́.
I'm walking home, it's not far. (идти́ = on foot; пешко́м makes it explicit)
За́втра мы лети́м в Берли́н.
Tomorrow we're flying to Berlin. (лете́ть = by air — the verb itself means 'fly')
The practical upshot: you cannot use идти́ for any vehicle trip. Riding a bus is е́хать, never идти́, even though English says "go" for both.
On foot: пешко́м
When you go on foot, the foot verb идти́/ходи́ть already says so, and you can reinforce it with the adverb пешко́м ("on foot," "by foot"). пешко́м is your explicit "no vehicle" word — useful precisely because Russian's foot verbs don't force you to mention walking.
— Ты на маши́не? — Нет, пешко́м.
'Are you by car?' 'No, on foot.' (пешко́м = the standalone 'on foot' answer)
До це́нтра мо́жно дойти́ пешко́м за два́дцать мину́т.
You can walk to the centre in twenty minutes. (пешко́м with a foot verb)
By ground vehicle: на + prepositional
The everyday way to name a ground vehicle is на + the prepositional case. This is the construction you'll use most. Learn these as fixed phrases:
| Vehicle | на + prepositional | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| маши́на | на маши́не | by car |
| авто́бус | на авто́бусе | by bus |
| по́езд | на по́езде | by train |
| метро́ | на метро́ | by metro (метро́ never changes) |
| такси́ | на такси́ | by taxi (такси́ never changes) |
| трамва́й | на трамва́е | by tram |
| велосипе́д | на велосипе́де | by bicycle |
Я е́ду на рабо́ту на авто́бусе.
I'm going to work by bus. (е́ду = by vehicle; на авто́бусе = which vehicle)
Мы е́здим на да́чу на маши́не ка́ждое ле́то.
We drive to the dacha by car every summer. (multidirectional е́здим + на маши́не)
Бы́стрее всего́ — на метро́, без про́бок.
The metro is fastest — no traffic jams. (на метро́; метро́ is indeclinable)
Note that метро́ and такси́ are indeclinable — borrowed words that never change ending. на метро́, на такси́ look like they "should" decline but don't.
The bare instrumental: по́ездом, авто́бусом
There is a second, more formal or slightly bookish way to say by which vehicle: the bare instrumental with no preposition — авто́бусом, по́ездом, самолётом. It means exactly the same as на + prepositional but feels tidier and more written; you'll see it on tickets, in timetables, and in careful speech. (The instrumental of means is the general tool described on the instrumental of means.)
| Everyday (на + prep.) | Formal (bare instrumental) |
|---|---|
| на по́езде | по́ездом |
| на авто́бусе | авто́бусом |
| на самолёте | самолётом |
Мы пое́дем по́ездом — так удо́бнее с детьми́.
We'll go by train — it's more convenient with the kids. (bare instrumental по́ездом, neutral-to-formal)
До́браться мо́жно авто́бусом и́ли на маши́не.
You can get there by bus or by car. (авто́бусом instrumental alongside на маши́не — both fine)
By air and by water
Flying uses лете́ть / лета́ть with на самолёте (or instrumental самолётом). Travelling by water uses плыть / пла́вать with на + prepositional (на корабле́, на ло́дке, на паро́ме).
Из Москвы́ в Сочи́ мы лети́м на самолёте.
We're flying from Moscow to Sochi by plane. (лете́ть + на самолёте)
Тури́сты плыву́т на корабле́ вдоль бе́рега.
The tourists are sailing along the coast by ship. (плыть + на корабле́)
на маши́не vs в маши́не
This pair trips up nearly every learner. Both translate loosely as "in the car," but they answer different questions:
- на маши́не = by car, as a means of travel — the answer to "how did you get here?"
- в маши́не = inside the car, a physical location — the answer to "where is it?"
Я прие́хал на маши́не.
I came by car. (means of travel → на маши́не)
Мои́ ключи́ оста́лись в маши́не.
My keys are in the car. (physical location inside → в маши́не)
Boarding and getting off
Getting onto a vehicle is сади́ться / сесть ("to take a seat / board"). Which preposition you use depends on the vehicle:
- на + accusative for vehicles you "get on": сесть на авто́бус, на трамва́й, на по́езд, на самолёт ("catch / board the bus, tram, train, plane").
- в + accusative for vehicles you "get into": сесть в маши́ну, в такси́ ("get into the car, taxi"), and often в по́езд, в ваго́н.
Getting off / out is выходи́ть / вы́йти из + genitive.
| Action | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| board (get on) | сесть на + acc. | сесть на авто́бус |
| get in | сесть в + acc. | сесть в маши́ну |
| get off / out | вы́йти из + gen. | вы́йти из авто́буса |
Сади́тесь на двадца́тый авто́бус, он идёт до вокза́ла.
Take the number 20 bus, it goes to the station. (сесть на + acc. for boarding)
Сади́сь в маши́ну, я тебя́ подвезу́.
Get in the car, I'll give you a lift. (сесть в + acc. for getting into a car)
Вам ну́жно вы́йти из авто́буса на сле́дующей остано́вке.
You need to get off the bus at the next stop. (вы́йти из + gen.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Я иду́ на рабо́ту на авто́бусе.
Wrong verb — идти́ is on foot only; any vehicle trip needs е́хать.
✅ Я е́ду на рабо́ту на авто́бусе.
I'm going to work by bus. (е́ду = by vehicle)
❌ Я е́ду в авто́бусе на рабо́ту.
Says 'while inside the bus' — for the means of travel use на авто́бусе, not в авто́бусе.
✅ Я е́ду на рабо́ту на авто́бусе.
I'm going to work by bus. (means → на авто́бусе)
❌ Мы лети́м самолётом в по́езде.
Contradictory and wrong — plane is лете́ть/самолётом; don't mix in 'on a train'. Pick one means.
✅ Мы лети́м в Сочи́ на самолёте.
We're flying to Sochi by plane. (лете́ть + на самолёте)
❌ Я е́ду на метре́.
Wrong — метро́ is indeclinable; it stays метро́: на метро́.
✅ Я е́ду на метро́.
I'm going by metro. (метро́ never changes)
❌ Я сел на маши́ну.
Wrong preposition — you get into a car with в (сесть в маши́ну); на is for buses, trams, trains you board.
✅ Я сел в маши́ну.
I got into the car. (сесть в + acc.)
Key Takeaways
- The motion verb encodes the means: идти́ (on foot), е́хать (ground vehicle), лете́ть (air), плыть (water). You cannot use идти́ for a vehicle trip.
- On foot = идти́/ходи́ть, optionally with пешко́м.
- Which ground vehicle = на + prepositional (на авто́бусе, на по́езде, на метро́, на такси́) — the spoken default — or the more formal bare instrumental (авто́бусом, по́ездом).
- метро́ and такси́ are indeclinable: always на метро́ / на такси́.
- на маши́не = by car (means); в маши́не = inside the car (location). Don't confuse them.
- Board with сесть на + acc. (bus/tram/train) or сесть в + acc. (car/taxi); get off with вы́йти из + gen.
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- Ехать vs Ездить (Going by Vehicle)A2 — The vehicle counterpart to идти́/ходи́ть. Е́ХАТЬ (unidirectional) is one trip by vehicle, in progress or planned — Я е́ду в Москву́, Куда́ вы е́дете? Е́ЗДИТЬ (multidirectional) is habitual trips and past round trips — Я ка́ждый год е́зжу к роди́телям; В про́шлом году́ я е́здил в Япо́нию ('I went and came back'). Russian obligatorily distinguishes foot from vehicle, and the imperative is the irregular поезжа́й — never *ехай.
- Идти vs Ходить (Going on Foot)A2 — The single most frequent motion pair in Russian. ИДТИ́ (unidirectional) is a trip on foot in progress toward one goal — Я иду́ домо́й ('I'm on my way home') — and covers the planned near future (За́втра я иду́ в теа́тр). ХОДИ́ТЬ (multidirectional) covers habits, round trips, general walking ability, and 'attend' — Я хожу́ в спортза́л три ра́за в неде́лю. Plus the idioms идёт carries: Дождь идёт, Вре́мя идёт, Фильм идёт.
- Verbs of Motion: OverviewA2 — Russia's most distinctive verb subsystem. A handful of motion meanings come not as aspect pairs but as pairs of IMPERFECTIVE verbs split by directionality: unidirectional (one trip, one direction, in progress — идти́, е́хать) vs multidirectional (round trips, habits, general ability — ходи́ть, е́здить). Я иду́ в шко́лу (I'm on my way) vs Я хожу́ в шко́лу (I go / attend). The eight core pairs, why both members are imperfective, and how prefixes later build the perfective system.
- Instrumental: Means and InstrumentA2 — The instrumental's namesake job: it marks the tool or means by which an action is done — and it does so with NO preposition. Писа́ть ру́чкой (write with a pen), е́хать по́ездом (go by train). Beware: с + instrumental means 'together with' (чай с са́харом), so never insert с for a tool. The case also gives time-of-day adverbs (у́тром, ве́чером) and is required by verbs like занима́ться and интересова́ться.
- Motion vs Location: The Case-Switching PrepositionsA2 — Four everyday prepositions — в, на, за, под — each take two cases, and the case answers one question: are you moving TO a place (motion) or already AT it (location)? Motion-to always takes the accusative (в шко́лу, на рабо́ту, за стол, под стол); location takes the prepositional for в/на (в шко́ле, на рабо́те) and the instrumental for за/под (за столо́м, под столо́м). The verb's directionality picks the case, and the 'from' direction is из/с + genitive.
- Motion-Verb ErrorsB1 — The three deadliest motion-verb mistakes English speakers make: using идти́ (on foot) for a trip you'd take by vehicle (Я иду́ в Москву́ → е́ду/лечу́), using идти́ for a daily routine instead of multidirectional хожу́ (ка́ждый день), and using the perfective пошёл for an ordinary round-trip outing where Russian wants ходи́л. Plus the imperative trap: е́хать has no *Е́хай — say Поезжа́й!