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Learn Hardcore Russian: Он говорит чушь. - He is talking nonsense.

Hardcore Russian
/Choosing a coworking space
/Он говорит чушь.

Он говорит чушь.

Word

Он говорит чушь.

Meaning

He is talking nonsense.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Russian

Lesson

Choosing a coworking space

Breakdown of Он говорит чушь.

говорить

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Questions & Answers about Он говорит чушь.

Why is it говорит and not говоритcя or some other form?

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.

Why is говорить used here instead of сказать?

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.

What case is чушь, and why does it look the same as the dictionary form?

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.

What exactly does чушь mean?

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.

Is Он говорит чушь a natural sentence in Russian?

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

Can Russian omit a or the here? Why isn’t there any article before чушь?

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

Could the word order be changed?

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.

How is чушь pronounced?

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

Why is there no separate word for is in the sentence?

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

Could this sentence be insulting?

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.

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