После ссоры нам нужно объясниться.

Because после (after) requires the genitive case in Russian.

• ссора = quarrel / argument
• Genitive singular: ссоры

So:

• после ссоры = after the quarrel / after an argument

This is a common pattern:

• после урока = after the lesson
• после работы = after work
• после встречи = after the meeting

Нам is the dative case of мы (we).

• мы = we
• нам = to us / for us

In the pattern кому-то нужно + infinitive, Russian uses the dative to show who needs to do something.

So:

• нам нужно объясниться = we need to talk things over / we need to explain ourselves to each other

Literally, it is closer to:

• to us, it is necessary to explain ourselves / clear things up

Compare:

• мне нужно уйти = I need to leave
• тебе нужно отдохнуть = you need to rest
• ему нужно позвонить = he needs to call

Нужно means necessary / need to.

In sentences like this, it is often used in an impersonal construction:

• кому-то нужно + infinitive

So:

• нам нужно объясниться = we need to explain ourselves / talk things over

This is one of the most common ways to say need to in Russian.

Compare:

• мне нужно учиться = I need to study
• нам нужно поговорить = we need to talk

In this sentence, нужно and надо are very similar, and in many situations they are interchangeable.

• нам нужно объясниться
• нам надо объясниться

Both can mean:

• we need to talk things over

A rough tendency:

• надо often sounds a bit more conversational
• нужно can sound slightly more neutral or formal

But in everyday speech, both are very common.

Here объясниться does not simply mean to explain something. It usually means something like:

• to explain oneself
• to clear things up
• to talk things out
• to have it out
• to make things clear between people

In the context of После ссоры (After the quarrel), it strongly suggests:

• we need to talk and sort things out between us

So the sentence is not just about giving an explanation; it is about repairing communication after conflict.

Because объяснить usually takes an object and means to explain something:

• объяснить правило = to explain the rule
• объяснить ситуацию = to explain the situation

But объясниться has a different meaning:

• to explain oneself
• to clear things up with someone
• to talk things out

So:

• нам нужно объясниться = we need to clear the air / talk things over
• нам нужно объяснить... would feel incomplete unless you say what needs to be explained

For example:

• нам нужно объяснить свою позицию = we need to explain our position

That is a different structure and meaning.

The -ся ending often adds a reflexive or sometimes mutual / interactional meaning.

With объясниться, it changes the verb from:

• объяснить = to explain something

to something like:

• объясниться = to explain oneself / sort things out with someone

In this sentence, it has a strong sense of mutual clarification between people, especially after an argument.

So the -ся is important: it helps create the meaning to clear things up between us, not just to explain an object.

This is a question of aspect.

• объясняться = imperfective
• объясниться = perfective

In this sentence, the perfective объясниться is used because the speaker means a single completed action/result:

• we need to have that clarifying conversation
• we need to sort this out

The focus is on reaching a result: clearing things up.

If you used объясняться, it would sound more like an ongoing process or repeated behavior, which is less natural here.

Yes, very much so.

In context, нам нужно объясниться usually implies:

• we need to explain ourselves to each other
• we need to talk things out between us

Russian does not need to add друг с другом here, because the meaning is already built into the situation and the verb.

If you wanted to make it extra explicit, you could say:

• нам нужно объясниться друг с другом

But that is usually unnecessary.

Yes. Depending on context, объясниться can also mean:

• to explain oneself
• to declare one’s feelings (especially in romantic contexts)

For example:

• Он наконец объяснился ей в любви. = He finally declared his love to her.

But in После ссоры нам нужно объясниться, the meaning is clearly:

• we need to clear things up after the argument

Russian word order is flexible, but this order sounds natural because it presents the situation in a clear sequence:

1. После ссоры = sets the context
2. нам = says who this concerns
3. нужно объясниться = says what needs to happen

So the sentence flows as:

• After the quarrel, we need to talk things over.

You could change the order, but the emphasis would shift:

• Нам нужно объясниться после ссоры. = more focus on the need itself
• Объясниться нам нужно после ссоры. = more marked or stylistic

The original order is very natural and neutral.

The noun is ссора.

It is spelled with double с at the start:

• ссора
• ссоры

This comes from the standard spelling of the word; it is just something you memorize.

Pronunciation-wise, learners often find the cluster awkward. The double с does not usually sound dramatically long in normal speech, but you should clearly pronounce the s sound at the beginning.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• ссора ≈ SSO-ra
• ссоры ≈ SSO-ry

The stress is on the first syllable:

• ссОра
• ссОры

Sometimes yes, depending on context, but it is not an exact match.

Нам нужно объясниться mainly means:

• we need to talk things out
• we need to clear the air
• we need to sort things out

If that conversation leads to reconciliation, then make up may fit the overall situation. But объясниться itself emphasizes discussion and clarification, not automatically full reconciliation.

So the closest translations are usually:

• After the argument, we need to talk things over.
• After the argument, we need to clear things up.
• After the quarrel, we need to sort this out.