по
- 1.
along, down, through, across
Я иду́ по у́лице.
I'm walking down the street.
по + dative; place of moving, walking, spreading
- 2.
about, on the subject of, in
У меня́ за́втра экза́мен по математике.
I have a maths exam tomorrow.
по + dative; subject or field of study, work, expertise
- 3.
by means of, on, over, by
Мы до́лго говори́ли по телефо́ну.
We talked on the phone for a long time.
по + dative; channel of communication or transport
- 4.
according to, in accordance with, by
Мы всё сде́лали по правилам.
We did everything by the rules.
по + dative
- 5.
because of, out of, due to
Я сде́лал э́то по оши́бке.
I did it by mistake.
по + dative; often an involuntary cause
- 6.
on, every
По суббо́там мы е́здим за го́род.
On Saturdays we drive out of town.
по + dative plural: по понедельникам 'on Mondays'
- 7.
after, upon, on
По оконча́нии шко́лы он уе́хал в Москву́.
After finishing school he left for Moscow.
по + prepositional; formal, official style
- 8.
to, up to, through
Мы рабо́таем с понеде́льника по пя́тницу.
We work from Monday to Friday.
по + accusative; the limit itself is included
- 9.
by, in terms of
Он инжене́р по профе́ссии.
He is an engineer by profession.
по + dative: по профессии 'by profession'
- 10.
at, on, upon
По про́сьбе зри́телей конце́рт повтори́ли.
At the request of the audience the concert was repeated.
по + dative: по просьбе 'at the request of'
- 11.
(rare) for, to fetch
Пойдём в лес по грибы́!
Let's go to the forest for mushrooms!
по + accusative; colloquial and folk usage: пойти по грибы
Usage info
По + dative:
(i) With nouns that denote means of communication
(ii) In the meaning ‘according to’, ‘by’ etc
(iii) To denote a criterion for judgment
(iv) To denote a target, especially a moving or diffuse target
(v) To define the ‘frame of reference’ of persons, groups, objects etc.:
(vi) With ordinal numerals, to denote position in a scale of dimensions
or priorities:
Examples
Пожалуйста, не бе́гайте по ко́мнате.
Please don't run about the room.
Ты должен жить по сре́дствам.
You should live within your means.
Давай поговори́м по доро́ге.
Let's talk as we go along.
Typical usagePRO
Direction and location
идти́ по у́лице
walk along the street
е́здить по го́роду
drive around town
ходи́ть по ко́мнате
pace around the room
по доро́ге
on the way
Time and frequency
по утра́м
in the mornings
по вечера́м
in the evenings
по понеде́льникам
on Mondays
по выходны́м
at weekends
Communication and channel
по телефо́ну
by phone
по электро́нной по́чте
by email
по телеви́дению
on TV
по ра́дио
on the radio
Fixed expressions
- по сравне́нию сas compared with
- по по́водуabout; regarding the fact that
- по фами́лииby last name
- по кра́йней ме́реat least; at least
- сдвиг по фа́зеlight insanity
- не по нра́вуnot to one's liking
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Contributions
Iron edited translation 1 week ago.
nrimanliyev edited translation 1 month ago.
Michel edited translation 2 months ago.
