нерусь

Russian

Etymology

не (ne) +‎ русь (rusʹ); literally, non-Russian.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈnʲerʊsʲ]

Noun

не́русь • (nérusʹf inan (genitive не́руси, nominative plural не́руси, genitive plural не́русей)

  1. (colloquial, derogatory, ethnic slur, usually collective) aliens, foreigners, outlanders (from the Russian perspective); people with no Russian ethnic or cultural relation

Usage notes

Modern usage is derogatory and associated with Russian nationalist discourse.

Historically, the term was used more neutrally, for example, in poetry.

Declension

Synonyms

  • вы́русь (výrusʹ, Russians who abandoned the Russian identity in favor of another one)
  • о́трусь (ótrusʹ, Russians who have lost their Russian identity but not joined another)