Bedeutung
To put work into achieving a goal.
Kultureller Hintergrund
There is a strong cultural emphasis on 'preodolenie' (overcoming). 'Приложить усилия' often implies overcoming internal laziness or external obstacles. In Russian schools, 'усердие' (diligence) is often valued as much as raw talent. Teachers frequently use this phrase to motivate students. The phrase was common in Soviet propaganda to encourage workers to meet 'Five-Year Plan' goals, giving it a slightly heroic undertone in older generations. In the modern Russian tech scene, this phrase is being replaced by 'grind' or 'work hard' in English, but it remains the standard for formal communication.
Use with 'максимум'
If you want to sound very determined, always say 'приложить максимум усилий'. It's a very common professional cliché.
Watch the aspect!
Don't say 'Я приложу усилия каждый день'. Use 'прилагать' for habits.
Bedeutung
To put work into achieving a goal.
Use with 'максимум'
If you want to sound very determined, always say 'приложить максимум усилий'. It's a very common professional cliché.
Watch the aspect!
Don't say 'Я приложу усилия каждый день'. Use 'прилагать' for habits.
Modesty
In Russia, it's often seen as better to say you 'приложили усилия' rather than saying you are 'talented'. It shows humility and respect for hard work.
Teste dich selbst
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb (приложить or прилагать).
Нам нужно _______ усилия, чтобы закончить этот проект сегодня.
We need the perfective form 'приложить' because we are talking about a specific result (finishing the project today).
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
Select the natural Russian sentence:
'Приложить усилия к + Dative' is the standard correct construction.
Complete the dialogue with the most appropriate phrase.
A: Я не могу выучить эти слова. B: Не сдавайся! Тебе просто нужно _______.
This is the most natural way to encourage someone to work harder at a task.
Match the intensity of the phrase to the situation.
You are writing a formal report about a successful rescue mission. Which phrase do you use?
This is formal, high-impact, and appropriate for an official report.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Aufgabensammlung
4 AufgabenНам нужно _______ усилия, чтобы закончить этот проект сегодня.
We need the perfective form 'приложить' because we are talking about a specific result (finishing the project today).
Select the natural Russian sentence:
'Приложить усилия к + Dative' is the standard correct construction.
A: Я не могу выучить эти слова. B: Не сдавайся! Тебе просто нужно _______.
This is the most natural way to encourage someone to work harder at a task.
You are writing a formal report about a successful rescue mission. Which phrase do you use?
This is formal, high-impact, and appropriate for an official report.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenUsually no. It sounds a bit dramatic for small tasks. Use 'постараться' for small things.
Both are possible, but 'усилия' (plural) is much more common for general hard work.
'Стараться' is 'to try'. 'Приложить усилия' is 'to apply effort'. The latter is more formal and sounds more serious.
No, use 'к проекту' (Dative) or 'для проекта' (Genitive).
Yes, very often! Coaches always tell athletes to 'приложить усилия'.
You can say 'Я не приложил никаких усилий'.
It's neutral-formal. You can use it with your boss or your friends.
A common opposite is 'биться баклуши' (to idle/waste time) or 'лениться' (to be lazy).
Yes, to say you are working on the relationship: 'прилагать усилия к отношениям'.
Yes, if you are talking about something serious like work or study.
Verwandte Redewendungen
стараться
similarTo try / to endeavor
добиваться цели
builds onTo achieve a goal
из кожи вон лезть
specialized formTo go out of one's way / to try extremely hard
работать засучив рукава
similarTo work with one's sleeves rolled up
