EN
This article analyzes the borders of synonyms of the Russian and Polish lexeme “life” in the ordinary consciousness of native speakers. The analysis of the results of interviews, as well as the electronic dictionary of synonyms, which is formed by the users themselves, demonstrate that in the consciousness of native speakers there are broader synonymic groups compared with those that are fixed in traditional dictionaries. Synonymic groups which are proposed by native speakers show that the main criterion for establishing the proximity of the meaning of words for a person is the ability to correlate on the basis of identity, similarity or inclusion certain fragments of reality denoted by these lexemes. The synonymy of sеnse, rather than of meanings, is the determining factor for the native speaker in the formation of a synonymic group