Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться.

In the evening I just want to relax.

Breakdown of Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться.

• я: I
• хотеть: to want
• вечером: in the evening
• просто: just
• расслабиться: to relax

Questions & Answers about Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться.

Why is it вечером and not в вечер or на вечер?

In Russian, time expressions like утром (in the morning), днём (in the daytime), вечером (in the evening), ночью (at night) use a special case form (historically instrumental) without a preposition to mean “at that time of day.”

So:

• вечер = evening (basic dictionary form)
• вечером = (in) the evening / this evening (adverbial use)

You do not say в вечер in this meaning. Common options are:

• вечером – in the evening / this evening
• сегодня вечером – this evening (more explicit)
• по вечерам – in the evenings / in the evenings generally (habitually)

На вечер exists, but it means something different, like “for the evening” in scheduling, e.g. планы на вечер – plans for the evening.

Does вечером mean this evening or evenings in general?

It can mean either, depending on context:

• In most everyday contexts, вечером alone will be understood as this coming evening (today’s evening), especially if you’re talking about today’s plans:

  • Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться.
    → This evening I just want to relax.

• For a habit or something you do regularly, Russians more often say:

  • По вечерам я хочу просто расслабиться.
    → In the evenings I just want to relax.

But even вечером by itself can be used in a general sense if the context clearly talks about a typical routine.

How does я хочу расслабиться work grammatically? Why infinitive?

The verb хотеть (to want) is followed by an infinitive when you say you want to do something:

• я хочу расслабиться = I want to relax

Structure:

• я – I
• хочу – want (1st person singular, present)
• расслабиться – to relax (infinitive)

You cannot say я хочу расслабляюсь or я хочу отдыхаю – that would be wrong. After хочу, you must use the infinitive for the action you want to perform:

• хочу есть – I want to eat
• хочу спать – I want to sleep
• хочу читать – I want to read
• хочу расслабиться – I want to relax

Why is it расслабиться (perfective) and not расслабляться (imperfective)?

Russian verbs come in aspects:

• Perfective (here: расслабиться) – focuses on the result, a single complete action: “to (get) relaxed.”
• Imperfective (here: расслабляться) – focuses on the process or repeated/habitual action: “to be relaxing,” “to relax (as an ongoing activity).”

With хотеть, both are possible, but the nuance changes:

• Я хочу расслабиться.
  → I want to relax (reach a relaxed state at some point this evening).
  Emphasis on achieving the result: become relaxed.

• Я хочу расслабляться.
  → I want to be relaxing / I want to spend time relaxing.
  This sounds more like wanting the process/lifestyle of relaxing, and in this sentence it would be less natural.

For “Tonight I just want to relax (and be done with it),” расслабиться (perfective) is the natural choice.

What’s the difference between расслабиться, расслабляться, отдохнуть, and отдыхать?

All are about rest/relaxation, but with different shades of meaning:

• расслабиться (perfective) – to relax, loosen up, unwind (reach a relaxed state).

  • Focus on the end state: stop being tense.

• расслабляться (imperfective) – to be relaxing/loosening up.

  • Focus on the process: you are in the middle of relaxing, perhaps with music, a bath, etc.

• отдохнуть (perfective) – to have a rest, to get some rest.

  • Broader than relaxation; could involve sleep, a trip, doing nothing, etc.
  • Focus on the result (being rested).

• отдыхать (imperfective) – to be resting, to be on vacation.

  • The process of resting; often used for holidays: мы отдыхаем на море – we are vacationing at the sea.

In your sentence, расслабиться emphasizes “I just want to unwind, de‑stress,” not necessarily “I want to sleep” or “I want to go on vacation.”

What does the -ся at the end of расслабиться mean?

The ending -ся (or -сь after vowels) marks a reflexive or middle verb form.

Basic idea: the action somehow comes back to the subject or doesn’t have a direct object.

For расслабиться:

• Base: расслабить – to relax (something/someone)
• расслабиться – literally “to relax oneself,” but in normal English we just say to relax.

In practice, here -ся simply makes it mean “to relax (oneself), to unwind”, no direct object:

• Я хочу расслабить мышцы. – I want to relax (loosen) my muscles.
• Я хочу расслабиться. – I want to relax (myself).

So you can think: расслабиться = to relax (no object).

What does просто add here, and can it go in other positions?

Просто here means “just” or “simply”.

In Я хочу просто расслабиться, it most naturally means:

• I want to just relax (do nothing else, not work, not go anywhere).

Changing the position of просто slightly shifts the nuance:

• Я просто хочу расслабиться.
  → I just want to relax (that’s all I’m asking for, don’t bother me with other things).
  Emphasis on the want being simple, not excessive.

• Я хочу просто расслабиться.
  → I want to just relax (not do anything else).
  Emphasis on the kind of evening: only relaxing.

Both are possible and common; intonation will also affect what feels emphasized.

Is the word order fixed? Can I move the words around?

Russian word order is more flexible than English. All of these are grammatically correct, but the focus/emphasis changes:

1. Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться.
   Neutral: focusing first on when, then on what you want.

2. Я вечером хочу просто расслабиться.
   Still quite neutral; я (I) first, then when.

3. Я хочу вечером просто расслабиться.
   Emphasis more on wanting, with when and how as details.

4. Я просто хочу вечером расслабиться.
   Emphasis on просто хочу – “I just want to relax in the evening, that’s all.”

5. Просто вечером я хочу расслабиться.
   Less common; sounds like you’re contrasting with some other time: “It’s only in the evening that I want to relax.”

The original Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться is a natural, neutral way to state an evening plan.

Can I drop я and say Вечером хочу просто расслабиться?

Yes, you can. Russian often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending tells you who the subject is:

• хочу can only be я (I).

So:

• Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться.
• Вечером хочу просто расслабиться.

Both are correct. Omitting я is common in informal speech and can sound a bit more casual or descriptive, like you’re thinking out loud: “This evening (I) want to just relax.”

How do you pronounce this sentence? Where is the stress?

Stresses:

• ВЕ́чером – ВЕ́-че-ром (stress on the first syllable)
• я – ya
• хоЧУ́ – хо-ЧУ́ (stress on the last syllable)
• ПРО́сто – ПРО́-сто (stress on the first syllable)
• расслаБИ́ться – рас-сла-БИ́-ть-ся (stress on БИ́)

Rough pronunciation (Latin letters):

• ВЕ́чером я хочу́ про́сто расслабИ́ться.
  → VYE-che-rum ya kha-CHU PRO-sta ras-sla-BI-tsa

Notice:

• х = a voiceless kh sound (like German Bach).
• ть in расслабиться is soft and not fully released; -ться is pronounced roughly -tsa (with a very light t).

Is starting with Я хочу… too direct or rude in Russian?

Я хочу… is not rude by itself; it’s a normal way to say what you want, especially when talking about your own plans:

• Вечером я хочу просто расслабиться. – totally fine and natural.

It can sound too direct in situations where English would also avoid “I want” with strangers (e.g., ordering in a restaurant, making polite requests). In those contexts, Russians often use:

• Я бы хотел / хотела… – I would like… (more polite, masculine/feminine)
• Можно…? – Could I / Is it possible…?
• Я хотел(а) бы…
  • infinitive – I would like to…

But for talking about your own evening plans, Я хочу просто расслабиться is perfectly natural and not impolite.