Ведьма живёт в лесу.

A natural pronunciation is:

VYEDʹ-ma zhi-VYOT v lye-SOO

A few key points:

• Ведьма → stress on the first syllable: ВЕдьма
• живёт → stress on -ёт
• лесу → stress on the last syllable: лесУ

Notes:

• ё is pronounced yo, so живёт sounds like zhi-vyot, not zhi-vet.
• The дь in ведьма is soft.
• в is often pronounced very quickly, almost attached to the next word.

живёт is the 3rd person singular form of the verb жить (to live).

So:

• я живу = I live
• ты живёшь = you live
• он / она живёт = he / she lives
• мы живём = we live
• вы живёте = you live
• они живут = they live

Since ведьма means witch and is a singular noun, Russian uses живёт = lives.

Because after в when it means in for location, Russian usually uses the prepositional case.

• dictionary form: лес = forest
• in the forest: в лесу

So:

• лес = forest
• в лесу = in the forest

This is something you will just learn as part of the noun’s case forms. For this noun, the location form is лесу, which is a very common pattern with some masculine nouns.

Russian prepositions often require a specific case.

Here, в means in and shows location, so it takes the prepositional case:

• в доме = in the house
• в школе = in the school
• в лесу = in the forest

Be careful: в does not always take the same case.

For example:

• в лесу = in the forest → location
• в лес = into the forest → direction/motion

So the case changes depending on the meaning.

Russian has no articles.

So Ведьма живёт в лесу can mean:

• The witch lives in the forest
• A witch lives in a forest
• sometimes even The witch lives in a forest or A witch lives in the forest

Which one sounds best depends on context. Russian leaves that information unstated unless the speaker adds other words to make it clearer.

Yes. ведьма is a feminine noun, and the ending -а is a strong clue.

Many Russian nouns ending in -а or -я are feminine:

• женщина = woman
• девочка = girl
• ведьма = witch

In this sentence, the verb is in the present tense, so it does not show gender.
But in the past tense, gender would matter:

• Ведьма жила в лесу. = The witch lived in the forest.

The verb жила is feminine to match ведьма.

ведьма usually means witch.

Depending on context, it can be:

• a literal witch in stories, folklore, fantasy
• a strong insult for a woman
• a playful or dramatic description, depending on tone

So it is a normal translation of witch, but like in English, tone and context matter.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English.

The neutral, basic order here is:

• Ведьма живёт в лесу. = The witch lives in the forest.

But you might also hear:

• В лесу живёт ведьма. = In the forest lives a witch / A witch lives in the forest.
  
  • This often emphasizes where she lives.
• Живёт ведьма в лесу.
  
  • Less neutral, more stylistic or story-like.

So the original order is the most straightforward one for learners, but other orders are possible.

The correct full spelling is живёт.

However, in many Russian texts, especially informal typing or printed material, ё is often written as е:

• живёт → fully marked spelling
• живет → common simplified spelling

Even if you see живет, it is still pronounced живёт, not живет.

For learners, it is very helpful to pay attention to ё, because it shows pronunciation and stress clearly.

The dictionary forms are:

• ведьма = witch
• жить = to live
• лес = forest

In the sentence:

• ведьма stays in its basic form
• жить changes to живёт
• лес changes to лесу because of the preposition в

This is a good example of how Russian sentences are built from dictionary forms plus grammatical changes.

Here it means to live somewhere / to reside.

So:

• Ведьма живёт в лесу = The witch lives in the forest.

But жить can also have the broader meaning to live in the sense of to be alive / to lead a life, depending on context.

Examples:

• Я живу в Москве. = I live in Moscow.
• Он хочет жить. = He wants to live.

So the verb is the same, but the context tells you which meaning is intended.

Because Russian uses в with places that are understood as enclosed spaces or areas you are in, and a forest is treated that way.

So:

• в лесу = in the forest

Using на here would be wrong in standard Russian.

This is similar to:

• в городе = in the city
• в доме = in the house
• в лесу = in the forest

You simply learn that forests take в, not на.

You would change the noun form:

• в лесу = in the forest
• в лес = into the forest

So compare:

• Ведьма живёт в лесу. = The witch lives in the forest.
• Ведьма идёт в лес. = The witch is going into the forest.

This is a very important Russian pattern:

• where? → usually prepositional after в
• where to? → often accusative after в