Language/Russian/Grammar/Noun-Gender

◀️ Everyday Phrases — Previous Lesson

Next Lesson — Plurals ▶️

Russian → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Nouns and Gender → Noun Gender

As a native Russian speaker and a Russian language teacher for 20 years, I'm excited to introduce you to the fascinating world of Russian grammar. In this lesson, we will focus on one of the fundamental features of Russian nouns - gender. When learning Russian, understanding the three genders of nouns and how to identify them is essential. In this lesson, you will learn how to recognize the gender of a noun based on its ending.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Prepositional Case & Verbs of Motion.

Gender in Russian Nouns

In the Russian language, all nouns have a specific gender - masculine, feminine, or neuter. Gender affects the forms of adjectives, pronouns, and verbs that agree with the noun in the sentence. Moreover, different genders take different endings in the plural form. Therefore, identifying the gender of a Russian noun is necessary to form correct sentences.

The gender of Russian nouns is not always related to the biological gender of the object or person represented by the noun. Instead, it is generally based on the last letter of the noun or its root. In most cases, you can determine a noun's gender based on its ending. However, some nouns can have two possible genders, and you must rely on context to determine which gender to use.

In Russian, we use three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.

Masculine Gender

Nouns that belong to the masculine gender usually end in consonants, such as "-й," "-ь," "-н," "-т," "-р," "-к," "-ч," "-д," "-л," "-м," etc. Examples:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
кот	kot	cat
дом	dom	house
мальчик	mal'chik	boy
отец	atets	father

Many masculine Russian nouns ending in "-а" are borrowed from other languages, such as Italian or French. Some examples:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
пианист	pianist	pianist
футболист	futbolist	football player
артист	artist	artist
герой	geroi	hero

Feminine Gender

Nouns that belong to the feminine gender usually end in "-а" or "-я." Examples:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
мама	mama	mother
дочь	doch'	daughter
сестра	sestra	sister
река	reka	river

Some masculine gender words that end in "-а" can also have a feminine version. For example:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
кот	kot	male cat
кошка	koshka	female cat

Neuter Gender

Nouns that belong to the neuter gender usually end in "-о" or "-е." Examples:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
окно	okno	window
молоко	moloko	milk
яблоко	yabloko	apple
здание	zdanije	building

Some Russian nouns ending in "-мя" (like "имя", which means "name") belong to the neuter gender.

It's important to remember that there are exceptions to the rules. Some commonplace words simply do not follow the rules of Russian gender. Therefore, it is essential to learn the gender of nouns together with their meaning.

How to Identify the Gender of a Noun

Identifying the gender of a noun in Russian can be challenging for non-native speakers. However, there are some general rules that are helpful. In most cases, you can determine the gender of a noun based on its ending. Here are some tips:

- Masculine words usually end in a consonant, but there are some exceptions. - Feminine words usually end in "-а" or "-я." - Neuter words usually end in "-о" or "-е."

However, there are exceptions to these rules, and some words change gender depending on their usage in a sentence. Therefore, relying on context is important.

Here are some examples that illustrate the rules:

• All Russian nouns that end in "-ень" or "-онь" are masculine:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
столбец	stolbetz	small post
горшок	gorschok	pot

• All Russian nouns that end in "-ость" are feminine:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
дружба	druzhba	friendship
свобода	svoboda	freedom

• Most Russian nouns that end in "-ие" are neuter:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
время	vremja	time
место	mesto	place

However, some "ие" words can be either masculine or feminine, such as "университет" (university), "трамвай" (tram), and "кафе" (cafe). You need to rely on context to determine the gender in such cases.

Conclusion

In this lesson, you learned about the three genders of Russian nouns: masculine, feminine, and neuter. You also learned how to identify the gender of a noun based on its ending. The knowledge of gender is crucial when learning Russian as it affects the forms of adjectives, pronouns, verbs and plural forms of nouns. Although there are rules to help you guess the gender of a noun, there are exceptions, and knowing the gender of a noun also means learning its meaning.

Make sure to practice identifying the gender of nouns in Russian sentences to reinforce your knowledge.

Remember, learning a language is not just about grammar; it's about exploring another culture and way of life. In Russia, the proper use of grammar is essential to showing respect and intelligence. Knowing how to identify the gender of nouns, allows Russians to express ideas with precision, clarity, and eloquence. So don't be discouraged if you find the concept of gender in Russian nouns daunting. Instead, embrace the challenge of discovering the beauty and intricacies of this fascinating language. Good luck with practicing the gender of nouns and stay tuned for more exciting lessons!

Well done on mastering this lesson! Don't miss these related pages to expand your knowledge: Russian cases & Conditional Mood.

Table of Contents - Russian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• Cyrillic Alphabet
• Pronunciation Rules

  ---

Basic Phrases and Greetings

• Greetings and Introductions
• Everyday Phrases

  ---

Nouns and Gender

• Noun Gender
• Plurals

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-10
• Telling Time

  ---

Cases and Prepositions

• Nominative Case
• Prepositional Case

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships and Marital Status

  ---

Verbs and Conjugation

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Dining Out

  ---

Russian Traditions and Holidays

• National Holidays
• Traditional Celebrations

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Agreement
• Comparatives and Superlatives

  ---

Hobbies and Leisure Activities

• Hobbies
• Entertainment

  ---

Russian Literature and Arts

• Famous Writers
• Russian Art and Music

Other Lessons

• Use of the verb быть in the past
• Plurals
• Negation
• Very important rules
• Gender
• Gender Recognition
• Accusative Case
• Past Tense Conjugations
• Tricky Adverbs
• Present Tense Conjugations

Sources

• Gender in Russian - Russian Grammar
• Nouns gender in Russian :: Study Russian Online
• How to Determine the Gender of Russian Nouns

◀️ Everyday Phrases — Previous Lesson

Next Lesson — Plurals ▶️