брить vs бриться
brit' vs brít'sya — shave someone/something vs shave oneself
Register: neutral
What it really means
Брить is transitive: someone shaves another person, a beard, a head, or hair. Бриться is reflexive and means shave oneself or have a shave as part of one’s routine.
Examples in natural speech
Парикмахер бреет клиента.
The barber shaves the client.
Он бреется каждое утро.
He shaves every morning.
Ему бреют голову.
They are shaving his head.
Я не люблю бриться.
I do not like shaving.
Перед операцией пациенту побрили ногу.
Before the operation, they shaved the patient's leg.
Common mistakes
Do not use брить without an object for your own grooming: Я бреюсь means “I shave.” Я брею requires what or whom you shave, as in Я брею бороду or Я брею клиента.
Memory tip
The barber’s razor travels outward in брить клиента; add -ся and the razor comes back to the speaker in бриться.
Frequently asked questions
Can брить be used with a beard?
Yes. Брить бороду means shave the beard off or shave it; бриться is preferred when speaking generally about shaving oneself.
Why is «ему бреют голову» not reflexive?
The patient is not doing the shaving. An unnamed other person performs the transitive action, while ему marks the person affected.
What verb describes shaving completely once?
Use побрить / побриться: парикмахер побрил клиента; я побрился утром. The pair here focuses on the imperfective forms.
Note: This site uses JavaScript for interactive drills, audio playback, and progress tracking. Please enable JavaScript for the full experience.