Он говорит чушь.

Говорит is the 3rd person singular present tense form of говорить.

• говорить = to speak, to say
• он = he
• so он говорит = he speaks / he is saying

There is no -ся here because the verb is not reflexive. Говориться is a different verb and would not be used in this sentence.

This is mainly about aspect.

• говорить is imperfective
• сказать is perfective

In a sentence like Он говорит чушь, Russian presents the action as something ongoing, repeated, or simply as a general fact: He is talking nonsense / He says nonsense.

If you used сказать, you would usually be talking about one completed act of saying something:

• Он сказал чушь = He said nonsense / He said something stupid

So говорит fits better for he’s talking nonsense or he speaks nonsense.

Чушь is in the accusative case here because it is the direct object of говорит.

The dictionary form of a noun is the nominative singular, and for чушь the accusative singular looks the same:

• nominative: чушь
• accusative: чушь

This happens because чушь is an inanimate feminine noun of the third declension.

So even though the form does not change, its role in the sentence does.

Чушь means something like:

• nonsense
• rubbish
• stupid stuff
• sometimes crap in a more informal translation

It is often used when what someone says seems foolish, absurd, or untrue.

Examples:

• Это чушь. = That’s nonsense.
• Не говори чушь. = Don’t talk nonsense.

The tone is usually colloquial and can sound dismissive.

Yes, it is completely natural.

It is a short, everyday way to say that someone is talking nonsense or saying foolish things. Russian often uses compact sentences like this without extra words.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• he is talking nonsense right now
• he tends to say nonsense
• what he is saying is nonsense

Russian has no articles, so nouns appear without words like a, an, or the.

So чушь by itself can mean:

• nonsense
• the nonsense
• some nonsense

The exact meaning depends on context, not on an article.

That is why Он говорит чушь is just literally:

• He says nonsense but naturally:
• He is talking nonsense

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, but changing it changes the emphasis.

Neutral order:

• Он говорит чушь. = neutral statement

More emphasis on чушь:

• Чушь он говорит. = Nonsense is what he’s saying

More emphasis on он:

• Он чушь говорит. = still natural, often slightly more conversational

For a learner, Он говорит чушь is the safest and most neutral version.

It is pronounced approximately like choosh, but with a Russian ч sound at the beginning and a hard ш at the end.

Stress:

• чушь — the stress is on the only vowel, у

A rough guide for the whole sentence:

• Он говорит чушь
• approximately: on guh-va-REET choosh

Also note:

• говорит is stressed on the last syllable: говорИт

Because Russian does not use a present-tense form of to be the way English does in sentences like He is a doctor or This is nonsense.

But in Он говорит чушь, the main verb is already говорит = says / is saying, so no extra is is needed.

Russian simply says:

• Он говорит чушь literally:
• He says nonsense

English often translates this more naturally as:

• He is talking nonsense

Yes, it can be.

Saying Он говорит чушь means you strongly reject what someone is saying as foolish or absurd. It is not the most vulgar expression, but it is definitely negative and can sound rude depending on tone and situation.

Softer alternatives might be:

• Мне кажется, это не совсем верно. = I think that’s not quite right.
• Это звучит странно. = That sounds strange.

So learners should understand it, but use it with awareness.