писать/написать conjugation in Russian – to write

Down below you find the table of conjugations for the verbs писать and написать. In English the translation means ‘to write’.

Писать conjugation in Russian

The stress of each word is on the bolded parts. Try saying the words out loud while you read to make sure they ‘stick’ in your memory.

	Imperfective Aspect	Perfective Aspect
Infinitive Form	писать	написать
Present Tense
я – 1st Person Singular	пишу
ты – 2nd Person Singular	пишешь
он/она/оно – 3rd Person Singular	пишет
мы – 1st Person Plural	пишем
вы – 2nd Person Plural	пишете
они – 3rd Person Plural	пишут
Past Tense
он – Masculine	писал	написал
она – Feminine	писала	написала
оно – Neuter	писало	написало
они/мы/вы – Plural	писали	написали
Future Tense
я – 1st Person Singular	буду писать	напишу
ты – 2nd Person Singular	будешь писать	напишешь
он/она/оно– 3rd Person Singular	будет писать	напишет
мы – 1st Person Plural	будем писать	напишем
вы – 2nd Person Plural	будете писать	напишете
они – 3rd Person Plural	будут писать	напишут
Imperative Form
ты – Informal	пиши	напиши
вы – Polite	пишите	напишите

IMPORTANT: make sure to put the stress on the и and not the а in the past tense. ‘я писал’ means ‘I peed’, not ‘I wrote’. The same goes for the infinitive form. Don’t say:

Я хочу писать тебе письмо – I want to pee you a letter.

Instead say:

Я хочу писать тебе письмо – I want to write you a letter.

How to use писать in Russian?

You can use писать just like when in English you’d say the verb ‘write’.

Examples of писать / написать conjugation

While reading the examples below, try saying them out loud. That will do wonders for your ability to speak Russian well. If you’re in a public place and it would be a little awkward to say Russian words, try to pronounce the sentences in your head.

If you make this into a habit to always pronounce Russian words while you read them, your speaking skills will improve 5 times faster than if you would not do this. It’s a small action that brings big results.

Russian example	English translation
Я хочу писать тебе письмо	I want to write you a letter
Ты должен написать мне ответное письмо	You should write me a letter back
Я пишу в блокноте	I cook pasta
Я напишу в блокноте	I’ll write in my notebook
Ты пишешь, пока говорит учитель?	Are you writing while the teacher speaks?
Когда ты напишешь свой роман?	When will you write your novel
Писатель пишет свой новый роман	The writer writes his new novel
Писатель напишет свой новый роман в следующем году	The writer will write his new novel next year
Написали сообщение в инстаграмм	They wrote a message on Instagram
Я писал тебе сообщение, когда полиция выбила мою дверь	I was writing you a message, when the police knocked down my door
Напишите здесь свое имя	Write your name here