π‘You must know the gender of the noun and adjectives β always. Adjectives must match the nounβs: Gender, Case, Number (singular/plural)
Noun Gender Endings Summary
| Gender | Typical Endings | Examples | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Consonant, -ΠΉ | ΡΡΠΎΠ» (table), ΠΌΡΠ·Π΅ΠΉ (museum) |
Some end in -Π°/-Ρ: ΠΏΠ°ΠΏΠ° (dad), Π΄ΡΠ΄Ρ (uncle) |
| Feminine | -Π°, -Ρ | ΠΊΠ½ΠΈΠ³Π° (book), Π½Π΅Π΄Π΅Π»Ρ (week) |
Some end in soft sign -Ρ: Π½ΠΎΡΡ (night), ΠΌΡΡΡ (mouse) |
| Neuter | -ΠΎ, -Π΅ | ΠΎΠΊΠ½ΠΎ (window), ΠΌΠΎΡΠ΅ (sea) |
Some end in -ΠΌΡ: Π²ΡΠ΅ΠΌΡ (time), ΠΈΠΌΡ (name) |
| Soft Sign (Ρ) | -Ρ | Can be either: Π΄Π΅Π½Ρ (masc. day), Π½ΠΎΡΡ (fem. night) |
Must be memorized |
Russian Noun Gender
In Russian, every noun has a gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The gender of a noun affects how it behaves grammatically and how adjectives, pronouns, and past tense verbs agree with it.
The noun's gender determines how the adjective ends.
Helpful tip: Most nouns ending in -ΠΎΡΡΡ, -Π΅ΡΡΡ, -ΡΠ΄Ρ, -Π·Π½Ρ, -Π²Ρ, -ΡΡ, and -ΡΡ are feminine.
Adjective Gender Endings Summary
| Gender | Typical Endings | Examples | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -ΡΠΉ, -ΠΈΠΉ, -ΠΎΠΉ | ΠΊΡΠ°ΡΠΈΠ²ΡΠΉ (krasivyy) - handsome | Some adjectives ending in -ΠΈΠΉ can be soft-stem (e.g. ΡΠΈΠ½ΠΈΠΉ - blue) |
| Feminine | -Π°Ρ, -ΡΡ | ΠΊΡΠ°ΡΠΈΠ²Π°Ρ (krasivaya) - beautiful | Soft-stem adjectives take -ΡΡ instead of -Π°Ρ |
| Neuter | -ΠΎΠ΅, -Π΅Π΅ | ΠΊΡΠ°ΡΠΈΠ²ΠΎΠ΅ (krasivoye) - beautiful | Soft-stem adjectives take -Π΅Π΅ instead of -ΠΎΠ΅ |
| Plural (all genders) | -ΡΠ΅, -ΠΈΠ΅ | ΠΊΡΠ°ΡΠΈΠ²ΡΠ΅ (krasivyye) - beautiful | Soft-stem adjectives use -ΠΈΠ΅ instead of -ΡΠ΅ |
Practice tip: When learning new Russian nouns, always memorize them with an adjective to help reinforce the gender. For example, learn "ΠΊΡΠ°ΡΠΈΠ²Π°Ρ ΠΊΠ½ΠΈΠ³Π°" (beautiful book) instead of just "ΠΊΠ½ΠΈΠ³Π°" (book).
krasivaya kniga β beautiful book