Пчёлы редко жалят без причины, но оса может жалить, если её трогать.

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

That means:

• пчёлы = bees / the bees / bees in general, depending on context
• оса = a wasp, the wasp, or wasps in general

In this sentence, the nouns are being used generically:

• Пчёлы = bees as a kind
• оса = a wasp / any wasp

So the meaning comes from context, not from articles.

Both are being used in a generic way, but Russian can express that idea with either plural or singular nouns.

So:

• Пчёлы редко жалят... = Bees rarely sting...
• но оса может жалить... = but a wasp can sting...

English does something similar:

• Bees rarely sting without reason
• A wasp may sting if disturbed

The singular оса does not mean one specific wasp here. It means a wasp in general / any wasp.

They are two forms of the same verb: жалить = to sting.

• жалят = they sting
  This is the 3rd person plural present form.
• жалить = to sting
  This is the infinitive.

Why the difference?

• In Пчёлы редко жалят..., the verb is the main verb of the clause, so it must be conjugated: жалят.
• In оса может жалить, the verb comes after может = can / may, so Russian uses the infinitive: может жалить = can sting.

Жалить is imperfective.

That matters because the sentence describes:

• a general truth
• a habitual tendency
• what insects typically do

Imperfective verbs are the natural choice for that.

So:

• Пчёлы редко жалят без причины = bees rarely sting without reason
• оса может жалить, если её трогать = a wasp may sting if you mess with it / if it is touched

A perfective verb would suggest a more specific, completed event, which is not the main idea here.

Может is from мочь = to be able / can / may.

Here it means something like:

• can
• may
• is capable of

So оса может жалить means:

• a wasp can sting
• a wasp may sting

It is not just physical ability. It also suggests possibility or likelihood under certain conditions.

Её means her or it, depending on context.

Here it refers to оса, which is a feminine noun in Russian. Because трогать takes a direct object, the pronoun must be in the accusative form:

• nominative: она = she
• accusative: её = her

Since English uses it for animals in many neutral contexts, you can think of её here as it referring back to оса.

This is a common Russian way to express a general condition without naming a specific subject.

Literally, если её трогать is something like:

• if to touch it/her
• more naturally: if it is touched
• or in everyday English: if you touch it / if you mess with it

Russian often leaves the subject unstated in this kind of general statement. The meaning is not about one particular person. It means if anyone touches it.

So the structure sounds natural in Russian even though it feels incomplete if translated word-for-word into English.

Because the sentence is talking about a general repeated situation, not one single completed touch.

• трогать = imperfective, to touch / handle / bother
• тронуть = perfective, to touch once / to make contact

In если её трогать, the idea is:

• if you keep bothering it
• if you handle it
• if one touches it

So the imperfective fits better with the broad, general meaning.

Not always. Трогать can mean:

• to touch
• to handle
• to mess with
• to bother

In this sentence, a very natural sense is:

• if you touch it
• if you mess with it
• if you bother it

So it is a little broader than simple physical contact.

Because the preposition без = without requires the genitive case.

The noun is:

• причина = reason, cause

After без, it becomes:

• без причины = without reason

So this is a normal case pattern:

• без + genitive

Yes, Russian word order is fairly flexible, but the original order is the most neutral:

• Пчёлы редко жалят без причины

Here:

• редко = rarely
• it naturally goes before the verb жалят

You could change the order, but the emphasis would shift. For example:

• Редко пчёлы жалят без причины sounds more literary or emphatic
• Пчёлы жалят редко без причины is less natural

So the given order is the most standard and natural for everyday Russian.

Because Russian punctuation normally separates clauses quite consistently.

• но = but, joining two independent clauses
  So a comma is needed before it.
• если = if, introducing a subordinate clause
  So a comma is also needed before it.

That is why you get:

• Пчёлы редко жалят без причины, но...
• ...может жалить, если её трогать.

In this sentence, ё appears in:

• пчёлы
• её

Important things to know:

• ё is pronounced like yo
• it is always stressed

So:

• пчёлы sounds roughly like pchyó-ly
• её sounds roughly like ye-yó

Also, in many Russian texts, ё is often written as е, even though the pronunciation is still yo. That can confuse learners, so it is helpful that it is written explicitly here.