небо
nebo
/ˈnʲe.bə/
Definition
The sky, or the space above the earth that you see when you look up; also used to mean "heaven" in a religious context.
Example
Сегодня небо ясное и голубое.
Show translation
Today the sky is clear and blue.
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *nebo, related to Latin *nebula* ("cloud, mist") and Greek *nephos* ("cloud"). The original Proto-Indo-European root *nebh- carried the sense of both "cloud" and "sky," reflecting how ancient peoples conceived of the heavens as a place of clouds and mist.
Cultural note
In Russian poetry and literature, *небо* carries a powerful symbolic weight — from Tolstoy's famous "lofty sky" (*высокое небо*) scene in *War and Peace*, where the wounded Andrei gazes up and finds peace, to Pushkin's lyric verse. Russians also commonly use the idiom **седьмое небо** (*seventh heaven*) to mean extreme happiness, mirroring the English phrase exactly.