From Old Church Slavonic *живнь* (zhivnĭ), derived from the root *жи-* (zhi-), meaning "to live," which traces back to Proto-Slavic *žiti* and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wo-* ("alive"). Cognate with Latin *vīvus* ("alive") and English *quick* in its archaic sense of "living."

Жизнь carries enormous emotional and philosophical weight in Russian culture. It pervades Russian literature — Tolstoy's *War and Peace* and *Anna Karenina* are fundamentally meditations on what constitutes a meaningful жизнь. The phrase *такова жизнь* ("such is life") is a common stoic shrug at misfortune, much like the French *c'est la vie* — which is, in fact, a direct translation. Note that Russian distinguishes between жизнь (life as an abstract concept or lived experience) and *жизненный* (adj., "life-like" or "of life"), a versatile root that generates many common derivatives.