How to Say Teacher in Russian

If you are studying or planning to study Russian with a teacher, one of the first things you should learn is how to refer to your teacher in Russian. This guide will help you choose the best word to say teacher in Russian. The most common way to say teacher in Russian is ‘uchitel’. It may be used for practically any teacher of anything, except university staff. Since most teachers in Russian schools are women, kids may often prefer the word ‘uchitelnitsa’, which is restricted to women, or a colloquial ‘uchilka’, also used when speaking about women. If you need to say teacher in Russian when speaking about university staff, opt for ‘prepodavatel’. Even though the noun is masculine, it is used to refer to both men and women. If you want to emphasize that you are speaking about a woman, say ‘prepodavatelnitsa’, but mind that it is colloquial and may never be used as an official title. For both men and women you can also contract ‘prepodavatel’ to a very colloquial ‘prepod’, or also an ultra-colloquial ‘prepodsha’ to refer to women only — both are used extensively by the younger generation. The word ‘prepodavatel’ is also preferred when you need to say teacher in Russian speaking about private classes. In any case, remember that if you know how to say teacher in Russian, your teacher will be very pleased for sure.