Belarus

IPA/bˌɛləɹˈuːs/
KK[bɛlˈɑrəs]IPA/bɛlˈɑːrəs/

Belarus — noun

1. an inland nation in eastern Europe whose capital is Minsk, sharing borders with

1.nounB1
Definition

an inland nation in eastern Europe whose capital is Minsk, sharing borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Example

Belarus lies between Poland and Russia and has no coastline of its own.

proper noun used without an article as subject

Noa spent a summer studying Russian at a language school in Minsk, Belarus.

Belarus paired with capital city Minsk

Common collocations
  • in Belarus
  • from Belarus
  • the capital of Belarus
  • visit Belarus
  • northern Belarus

Grammar Patterns

used without an article

Usage Note

Treated as a singular proper noun and never preceded by 'the' (unlike 'the United States'). Adjective and demonym forms are 'Belarusian' for both the people and the language.

Common Mistakes

She comes from the Belarus.
She comes from Belarus.
country names like Belarus take no article.

Word family

  • Belarusian
    adjectiveB1
  • Belarusian
    nounB1

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the capital of Belarus
  • the people of Belarus
  • the president of Belarus
  • the border with Belarus

Phrases

  • travel to Belarus
  • live in Belarus
  • the government of Belarus

Prepositions

  • in Belarus
  • from Belarus
  • to Belarus
  • across Belarus

Etymology

Old East SlavicRussianEnglish

The name comes from two Slavic roots: 'bela' meaning 'white' and 'Rus', the medieval term for the eastern Slavic lands centred on Kyiv. So the name literally means 'White Rus' or 'White Ruthenia'. The English spelling 'Belarus' was officially adopted after the country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, replacing the older form 'Byelorussia'.