written by Stephen VanZuylen & mp3s recorded by Marina
Please note: this tutorial is intended as a primer and quick reference, not the final word on the subject; I am not a native speaker, and many areas are glossed over or simplified in the interest of brevity. My thanks to those who looked over the original version to correct my mistakes. Any remaining mistakes are, of course, my own. Finally, this page is formatted in UTF-8 and is best viewed at 1024x768 resolution; different codings and resolutions and can lead to viewing problems, particularly with the ample Cyrillic text and table-breaking.
Need more Russian? Try the Russian courses at Udemy and the Russian interlinear book with English translations
Yes Да dah |
No Нет nyet |
Maybe Мо́жет быть moh-zhit bit' |
Hello
(Formal Usage) Здра́вствуйте zdrav-stvoo-tye |
Hi
(Informal Usage) Приве́т preev-yet |
Good
Day, Hello До́брый День doh-bry dzyen' |
Good
Evening До́брый ве́чер doh-bry vyecher |
Good
Night Споко́йной но́чи spah-koy-noy noh-tchi |
Good
Bye (General use/more formal) До свида́ния duh-svee-dah-nya |
See
You (informal) Пока́ pah-kah |
See
you tomorrow До за́втра dah zav-trah |
Please/You're
Welcome Пожа́луйста pah-zhahl-stah |
Thank
You Спаси́бо spah-see-bah |
Sorry Прости́те prah-stee-tye |
Welcome Добро́ пожа́ловать dah-broh poh-zhahl-oh-vat' |
How
are you doing? Как дела́? kahk dze-la? |
(Not)
bad (Не)пло́хо (neh)ploh-khah |
As
always Как всегда́ Kahk vseg-dah |
Excellent Хорошо́ Khah-rah-sho |
Pleased
to meet you (lit. "it is very pleasant") О́чень прия́тно oh-chen' pree-yaht-nah |
How
old are you? Ско́лько вам лет? Skohl-kuh vahm l-yet |
I'm
___ years old Мне __ лет m-nyeh __ l-yet |
Excuse
me... Извини́те eez-vee-nee-tye |
Do
you speak English? Вы зна́ете англи́йский? vi znah-yeh-tye an-glee-skee |
What
languages do you know? Kаки́е языки́ вы зна́ете? kahk-ee-ye yah-zik-ee vi znah-ye-tye? |
How
do you say x in Russian? Как по-ру́сски...? Kahk pah-roos-kee |
I
don't understand Я (не) понима́ю yah (nyeh-) poh-nee-mah-yoo |
I
(don't) know Я (не) зна́ю yah (neh-) znah-yoo |
Where
are you from? Отку́да вы? aht-koo-dah vi? |
What
is your name? Как вас зову́т? kahk vas zah-voot |
My
name is... Меня́ зову́т meen-yah zah-voot... |
What
time is it? Cко́лько вре́мени? skohl-kuh vreh-meh-nee? |
How
much does it cost? Ско́лько сто́ит? skohl-kuh stoy-it |
Do
you know where x is? Вы зна́ете где...? vi znah-yeh-tye g-dze |
Do
you want...? Ты хо́чешь? Ti kho-tchesh |
Is
that everything? Э́то всё? eh-ta f-syoh? |
No, that
isn't necessary Нет, не на́до nyet, ni nah-duh |
Help
me! Помоги́те! pah-mah-gee-tyeh |
Bless
you! (after cough or sneeze) Бу́дьте здоро́вы! Boodz-tye z-dah-roh-vi |
Could
you repeat that? Повтори́те! (пожа́луйста) Pav-toh-ree-tye! (pah-zhahl-stah) |
Bold syllables indicate stress in the English pronunciation. The accute accent mark shows the stress in the Russian word.
The Russian Alphabet, known as Cyrillic or Кири́ллица
(Ki-reel-lee-tsa) has 33
letters; 21 consonants, 10 vowels and two signs. The letters are: А Б В
Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ ъ ы ь Э Ю and Я. In order
to make this explanation easier, the letters are broken down into specific
groups. While many who are unfamiliar with the alphabet dismiss it as being
too hard, the alphabet is deceptively simple, as the phonetic principle
is very prominent, and successive reforms have removed excess letters and
greatly simplified the spelling system.
Consonants | ||
Б
б В в Г г Д д Ж ж З з Й й К к Л л М м Н н П п Р р С с Т т Ф ф Х х Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ |
Бэ
-- Beh Вэ -- Veh Гэ -- Geh Дэ -- Deh Жэ -- Zheh Зэ-- Zeh И краткое-- i kratkoye Ка-- Kah Эл-- El Эм-- Em Эн -- En Пэ-- Peh Эрр -- Err Эс -- Es Тэ -- Teh Эф -- Ef Ха -- Khah Цэ -- Tseh Че -- Cheh Шэ -- Shah Ща -- Shchah |
Best Vent Gift Deep Pleasure Zebra York King Lion Mend Next Pet trilled r Sink Tape Find Kh, like German machen Boots Chair Ship See note* |
*I
have heard two ways of pronouncing the letter щ, which I will assume to
be regional variances. The first is to begin with a ш sound with a ч made
just after without pause. (The example "fresh cheese" is most common.)
The second is to make a "sh" sound, but push your jaw slightly forward
and tighten the corners of your lips into a kind of semi-smile.
In addition to the above consonants, there are certain variations in
the sound made for most consonants, referred to most often as "soft"
consonants. Rather than add new letters to represent these sounds, the
Russian Alphabet shows them in one of two ways: either through a softening
vowel, or should there be no vowel, a soft sign, used below. An explanation
of how to pronounce these individually are below as well. The signs
have additional uses, explained later.
Soft Consonants |
Бь
-Like Пь, but voiced Вь -Push your lower lip upwards so the inside touches the lower front portion of your front teeth Дь - Use the frontal portion of your tongue rather than just the tip to make a sound similar to "dz" or the d in the French "jeudi." Жж -This is, in theory, a voiced version of Щ, but is rarely spoken as anything other than ж, and is marked by жж, not жь, for reasons explained later. Зь -Push your lower jaw forward a little, and/or press the first centimeter or so of your tongue just behind your front teeth. Ль -Use the whole front portion of your tongue to make an l sound like that in French or German. Нь -Press the front of your tongue against the top of your mouth, just behind the front teeth; sounds like Spanish ñ. Пь -Like the p in "computer" Рь -Similar to a regular Р, but with more aspiration. Сь -This is a devoiced version of the soft З. Ть -Sounds a bit like ц but with the front of the tongue on the roof of the mouth. The t in the French "tu" makes the same sound. Фь -Like Вь, but devoiced. |
"Soft"
Vowels |
||
Е
е Ё ё И и Ю ю Я я |
Yeh Yoh Ee Yu Yah |
Yes Yodel Feet Youth Yacht |
"Hard"
Vowels |
||
Э
э О о ы У у А а |
Eh Oh Еры* Ooh Ah |
Enter Note Boot Swan |
Pronunciation
With Й |
|
ай ей/эй ой уй |
Wide Bay Boy Hooey |
When
this... |
Meets
this... |
You
get... |
And
this... |
plus
this... |
equals
this... |
й |
а |
я |
ь |
а |
я |
й |
э/е |
е |
ь |
э/е |
е |
й |
у |
ю |
ь |
у |
ю |
й |
о |
е |
ь |
о |
е |
й |
о |
ё |
ь |
о |
ё |
й |
ы |
и |
ь |
ы |
и |
Case |
I/Me |
You
(singular/ informal) |
He/It |
She |
We |
You
(plural/ formal) |
They |
Nominative |
Я |
Ты |
Он/Оно́ |
Она́ |
Мы |
Вы |
Они́ |
Accusative |
Меня́ |
Тебя́ |
Его́ |
Её |
Нас |
Вас |
Их |
Dative |
Мне |
Тебе́ |
Ему́ |
Ей |
Нам |
Вам |
Им |
Genitive |
Меня́ |
Тебя́ |
Его́ |
Её |
Нас |
Вас |
Их |
Prepositional |
Мне |
Тебе́ |
Нём |
Ней |
Нас |
Вас |
Них |
Instrumental |
Мной |
Тобо́й |
Им |
Ей |
На́ми |
Ва́ми |
И́ми |
This/These | That/Those |
||||||||
Case |
Masc. |
Fem. |
Neut. |
Pl. |
Masc. |
Fem. |
Neut. |
Pl. |
|
Nominative | Э́тот |
Э́та |
Э́то |
Э́ти |
Тот |
Та |
То |
Те |
|
Accusative | Э́тот/Э́того |
Э́ту |
Э́то |
Э́ти/Э́тих |
Тот/Того |
Ту |
То |
Те/Тех |
|
Dative | Э́тому |
Э́той |
Э́тому |
Э́тим |
Тому́ |
Той |
Тому́ |
Тем |
|
Genitive | Э́того |
Э́той |
Э́того |
Э́тих |
Того́ |
Той |
Того́ |
Тех |
|
Prepositional | Э́том |
Э́той |
Э́том |
Э́тих |
Том |
Той |
Том |
Тех |
|
Instrumental | Э́тим |
Э́той |
Э́тим |
Э́тими |
Тем |
Той |
Тем |
Те́ми |
Possessive Pronoun Мой My/Mine | ||||
Case |
Masc. |
Fem. |
Neut. |
Pl. |
Nominative | Мой |
Моя́ |
Моё |
Мои́ |
Accusative | Мой/Моего́ |
Мою́ |
Моё |
Мои́/Мои́х |
Dative | Моему́ |
Мое́й |
Моему́ | Мои́м |
Genitive | Моего́ |
Мое́й | Моего́ | Мои́х |
Prepositional | Моём |
Мое́й | Моём | Мои́х |
Instrumental | Мои́м |
Мое́й | Мои́м | Мои́ми |
Pronouns that decline like this one: Твой (your/yours informal) |
Note that the possessive pronouns его́ (his,) её (her,) их (their) do not decline.
Possessive Pronoun Наш Our/Ours | ||||
Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Pl. |
Nominative | Наш | На́ша | На́ше | На́ши |
Accusative | На́шего | На́шу | На́ше | На́ших |
Dative | На́шему | На́шей | На́шему | На́шим |
Genitive | На́шего | На́шей | На́шего | На́ших |
Prepositional | На́шем | На́шей | На́шем | На́ших |
Instrumental | На́шим | На́шей | На́шим | На́шими |
Pronouns that decline like this one: Ваш- (your/yours formal, plural) |
Case | Masc./Neut. |
Fem |
Nominative |
óба |
óбе |
Accusative |
óба (inanimate) / обо́их (animate) |
óбе (inanimate) / oбе́их (animate) |
Dative |
обо́им |
oбе́ихм |
Genitive |
обо́их |
oбе́их |
Prepositional |
обо́их |
oбе́их |
Instrumental |
обо́ими |
oбе́ими |
Recommended Resource:
11. The Case System:
Introduction to Inflection
To those who have studied languages such as German, Greek,
Latin or another Slavic Language, you are already familiar with the concepts
of inflection and can likely skip this introduction, but if you haven't,
it helps to receive a quick introduction.
To give a dictionary style answer, inflection is the
process where a word is changed (declined) relative to its role as a part
of speech in a sentence. Thus in Russian, nouns and other declining words
have different forms depending on whether they are the subject, direct
object, indirect object, or possessor. English has lost
most of its ancient inflection system, but there are a few remnants to
build off of. Let's start with a common, and often ignored, mistake in English:
"Me and my friend went to a movie." We are often told that this is
properly written as "My friend and I went to a movie," but rarely
told why. The answer is that the pronoun I is in the subjective
(or nomnative) form, or case, while me is in the objective (accusative/dative) case; that is, marking the subject and object (direct
or indirect) respectively. "Me," thus, cannot be used as the subject of
a sentence! Here is a quick summary of the personal pronouns in English:
Subjective |
I |
You |
He |
She |
We |
They |
Objective |
Me |
You |
Him |
Her |
Us |
Them |
12.
The Nominative Case (Имени́тельный Паде́ж)
This case is used to indicate the subject of the sentence,
as well as in comparisons following чем, and a few other instances, discussed
later. If you look up a word in the dictionary, it is always in the nominative
case unless stated otherwise.
Masc.
(consonant) |
Masc
-й |
Masc.
-ь |
Fem.
-а |
Fem.
-я |
Fem.-ия |
Fem.
-ь |
|
New
ending |
-ы |
-и |
-и |
-ы |
-и |
-ии |
-и |
Example |
Телеви́зор |
Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на |
Земля́ | Фами́лия |
Ми́лость |
Plural |
Телеви́зоры | Музе́и | Короли́ | Маши́ны | Зе́мли | Фами́лии |
Ми́лости |
Neut.
о |
Neut.
е |
Neut.
-ие |
Neut. -я | |
New
ending |
-а |
-я |
-ия |
-ена |
Example |
О́зеро |
Пла́тье |
Мне́ние |
Вре́мя |
Plural |
Озёра |
Пла́тья |
Мне́ния |
Времена́ |
There are a few exceptions for masculine nouns ending
in a consonant; rather than ending in ы, they take a stressed a. There is
no real way of predicting them, so the easiest way to memorize them, in
my opinion, is to say the singular and plural forms out loud; you'll remember
the different forms as you remember the pronunciation of the word. Be careful,
however, not to confuse them with the gentive-singular forms, which often
look exactly the same.
Examples:
Мост -Bridge - Мосты́ - Bridges
Го́род -City - Города́ - Cities
In addition, there are a number of words that end in -нин; these decline
regularly except in the nominative plural, where it becomes -не, and in
the genintive plural, where it becomes -н
13.
The Accusative Case (Вини́тельный Паде́ж)
The Accusative is used to indicate the direct object
of a sentence or phrase, that is the noun on which the action was performed.
Simple as this may sound, this case is complicated by the fact that it is,
in effect, five cases; masculine nouns are the same as the nominative
form, unless they are animate, in which case t takes the noun takes
the genitive case endings; neuter nouns are always the same as the nominative;
and feminine nouns ending in -а or -я become -у and -ю, while those ending
in -ь stay the same, all regardless of animacy, while in the plural,
they are like the nominative plural, unless it is animate, in which case
it takes the genitive.
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-- |
-- |
-я |
-у |
-ю |
-ию |
-ь |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль* | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Короля́ | Маши́ну | Зе́млю | Фами́лию | Ми́лость |
*animate,
thus the endings are genitive
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
New
ending |
-о |
-е |
-ие |
-я |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-ы |
-и |
-ей |
-ы |
-и |
-ии |
-и |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль* | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зоры | Музе́и | Короле́й | Маши́ны | Зе́мли | Фами́лии | Ми́лости |
*animate,
thus the endings are genitive
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
New
ending |
-а |
-я |
-ия |
-ена |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
Озёра | Пла́тья | Мне́ния | Времена́ |
14.
The Dative Case (Да́тельный Паде́ж)
The Dative is used to mark the indirect
object in the sentence or phrase, that is, the recipient or "benefactor"
of the action. It can also represent the opinion statements "to me..." or
"for me..." Forming the Dative in Russian is very easy; Masculine and neuter
nouns take -у or -ю as the ending, depending on whether or not it is hard
or soft, and Feminine nouns take -е regardless. There is a caveat here:
if the (feminine) word ends in -ь, it takes -и in the dative, and if it
ends in -ия, it takes -ии. The plural is even easier: all nouns take -ам
or -ям, depending on a hard or soft ending .
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-у |
-ю |
-ю |
-е |
-е |
-ии |
-и |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зору | Музе́ю | Королю́ | Маши́не | Земле́ | Фами́лии | Ми́лости |
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut -я | |
New
ending |
-у |
-ю |
-ию |
-ени |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
О́зеру | Пла́тью | Мне́нию | Вре́мени |
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-ам |
-ям |
-ям |
-ам |
-ям |
-иям |
-ям |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зорам | Музе́ям | Короля́м | Маши́нам | Зе́млям | Фами́лиям | Ми́лостям |
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
New
ending |
-ам |
-ям |
-ям |
-енам |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
Озёрам | Пла́тьям | Мне́ниям | Времена́м |
15.
The Genitive Case (Роди́тельный Паде́ж)
The Genitive is perhaps the most versatile of all of
the cases in Russian; it shows ownership or possession (комната моей сестры
-- my sister's room,) construction involving "of" (фотогра́фия но́вого до́ма
-- A photo of the new house,) amounts of things (много людей -- many people,)
in conjunction with numbers (пять братьев -- five brothers,) and more. It's
formation in the singular is highly regular; masculine and neuter nouns
take -а or -я depending on whether it is hard or soft; feminine nouns take
the letter -ы or- и, again depending on whether it's hard o soft.
The genitive plural, however, is probably the most difficult
aspect of noun declension; there are even jokes about it in Russian. Masculine
nouns ending in consonants take -ов and those ending in й take -ев or -ёв,
but masculine nouns ending in -ь, -ш, -щ, -ж, and -ч, all take the ending
-ей. Feminine and neuter nouns ending in -а and -о lose that letter, -я
and -е take- ь, and feminine and neuter nouns ending in-ия and -ие both
take the -ий. Finally, feminine nouns ending in -ь, as well as neuter and
feminine nouns with -ь just prior to the final vowel mostly
take the ending ей.
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-а |
-я |
-я |
-ы |
-и |
-ии |
-и |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зора | Музе́я | Короля́ | Маши́ны | Земли́ | Фами́лии | Ми́лости |
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
New
ending |
-а |
-я |
-ия |
-ени |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
О́зера | Пла́тья | Мне́ния | Вре́мени |
Forming
the plural:
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-ов |
-ев |
-ей |
-- |
--ь |
-ий |
-ей |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зоров | Музе́ев | Короле́й | Маши́н |
Земе́ль | Фами́лий | Ми́лостей |
Neut. о | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
New
ending |
-- |
-ий |
-ён |
Example |
О́зеро | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
Озёр | Мне́ний | Времён |
16.
The Prepositional Case (Предло́жный Паде́ж)
This is probably the easiest case to learn other than
the nominative. It is used purely with prepositions; it is never used on
its own, hence its name. The prepositions are в (in/at) на (on/at/in) о
(about) при (near/next to/in the time of/on one's person). To form
it, masculine neuter and feminine nouns take -e in the singular, unless
it is feminine and ends in -ь, in which case it becomes -и, or -ие or -ия,
which become -ии. The plural is -ах or -ях depending on the stem.
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-е |
-е |
-е |
-е |
-е |
-ии |
-и |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зоре | Музе́е | Короле́ | Маши́не | Земле́ | Фами́лии | Ми́лости |
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
Еnding |
-е |
-е |
-ии |
-ени |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
О́зере | Пла́тье | Мне́нии | Вре́мени |
Forming
the plural:
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-ах |
-ях |
-ях |
-ах |
-ях |
-иях |
-ях |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зорах | Музе́ях | Короля́х | Маши́нах | Зе́млях | Фами́лиях | Ми́лостях |
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
Еnding |
-ах |
-ях |
-иях |
-енах |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
Озёрах | Пла́тьях | Мне́ниях | Времена́х |
There is an exception here; in the singular masculine,
there are a number of nouns that take a stressed -у or -ю, but this is ONLY
when used with the prepositions в or на; if you use o or при, you use the
regular prepositional ending.
Examples:
Лес -- Forest - в Леcу́ - In the Forest, при Ле́се
- Near the Forest
Бал -- Ball - на Балу́ - At the Ball, о Ба́ле
- About the Ball
17.
The Instrumental Case (Твори́тельный Паде́ж)
This is the final case you need to learn. It is used
to indicate how an action is carried out, roughly the same as the English
"by" or "with," the German "per," or the French "par." It is also used
following the verb быть (to be,) or following certain verbs where it
acts as the word "as," like рабо́тать официанткой, "to work as
a waitress," as well as in the sense of "by" in the passive voice,
discussed later. It is also used in time references like ве́чером (in
the evening) or о́сенью (in the autumn). The formation is rather straightforward:
masculine and neuter nouns take -ом or -ем depending on the ending;
feminine nouns ending in -а and -я take the ending -ой or -ей, while
those ending in -ия take the ending -ией. The main exception is
feminine nouns ending in -ь, which take the ending -ью. The plural is
even easier to form: simply add -ами or -ями depending on the original
ending.
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
New
ending |
-ом |
-ем |
-ем |
-ой |
-ей |
-ией |
-ью |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зором | Музе́ем | Королём | Маши́ной | Землёй | Фами́лией | Ми́лостью |
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
Еnding |
-ом |
-ем |
-ием |
-енем |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
О́зером | Пла́тьем | Мне́нием | Вре́менем |
Forming
the plural:
Masc. (consonant) | Masc -й | Masc. -ь | Fem. -а | Fem. -я | Fem.-ия | Fem. -ь | |
Еnding |
-ами |
-ями |
-ями |
-ами |
-ями |
-иями |
-ями |
Example |
Телеви́зор | Музе́й | Коро́ль | Маши́на | Земля́ | Фами́лия | Ми́лость |
Телеви́зорами | Музе́ями | Короля́ми | Маши́нами | Зе́млями | Фами́лиями | Ми́лостями |
Neut. о | Neut. е | Neut. -ие | Neut. -я | |
Еnding |
-ами |
-ями |
-иями |
-енами |
Example |
О́зеро | Пла́тье | Мне́ние | Вре́мя |
Озёрами | Пла́тьями | Мне́ниями | Времена́ми |
Мужско́й | Же́нский | Сре́дний | ||||||||||||||||||
N |
-- | -ы | -й | -и | -ь | -и | -а | -ы | -я |
-и |
-ия |
-ии |
-ь |
-и |
-о |
-а |
-е |
-я |
-ие |
-ия |
A |
-n/g |
-n/g |
-n/g |
-n/g |
-n/g |
-n/g |
-у |
-n/g |
-ю |
-n/g |
-ию |
-n/g |
-ь |
-n/g |
-о |
-а |
-е |
-я |
-ие |
-ия |
D |
-у | -ам | -ю | -ям | -ю | -ям | -е | -ам | -е |
-ям | -ии |
-иям | -и |
-ям | -у |
-ам |
-ю |
-ям |
-ию |
-иям |
G |
-а | -ов | -я | -ев | -я | -ей | -ы | -- | -и |
-ь |
-ии |
-ий |
-и |
-ей |
-а |
-- |
-я |
-ь |
-ии |
-ий |
P |
-е | -ах | -е | -ях | -е | -ях | -е | -ах | -е |
-ях |
-ии |
-иях |
-и |
-ях |
-е |
-ах |
-е |
-ях |
-ии |
-иях |
I |
-ом | -ами | -ем | -ями | -ем | -ями | -ой | -ами | -ей |
-ями |
-ией |
-иями |
-ью |
-ями |
-ом |
-ами |
-ем |
-ями |
-ием |
-иями |
Adjectives must agree with the nouns that they
modify in gender, number and case. Adjective endings are distinctive for
each case. One more thing: although written as ого, the genitive endings
are pronounced as though they were written ово. However, this is only for
endings associated with the genitive case. Also, some masculine-nominative
nouns have -ой instead of ый as its ending. This does not
change the declension patterns, however.
Hard Stem Adjective (Чёрный - Black/dark) | ||||
Case |
Masc. |
Fem. |
Neut. |
Pl. |
Nominative |
Чёрный |
Чёрная | Чёрное | Чёрные |
Accusative |
Чёрный/ого | Чёрную | Чёрное | Чёрные/ых |
Dative |
Чёрному | Чёрной | Чёрному | Чёрным |
Genitive |
Чёрного | Чёрной | Чёрного | Чёрных |
Prepositional |
Чёрном | Чёрной | Чёрном | Чёрных |
Instrumental |
Чёрным | Чёрной | Чёрным | Чёрными |
Soft Stem Adjective (Средний - Medium/middle) | ||||
Case |
Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Pl. |
Nominative | Сре́дний | Сре́дняя | Сре́днее | Сре́дние |
Accusative | Сре́дний/его | Сре́днюю | Сре́днее | Сре́дние/их |
Dative | Сре́днему | Сре́дней | Сре́днему | Сре́дним |
Genitive | Сре́днего | Сре́дней | Сре́днего | Сре́дних |
Prepositional | Сре́днем | Сре́дней | Сре́днем | Сре́дних |
Instrumental | Сре́дним | Сре́дней | Сре́дним | Сре́дними |
There are also four short form adjectives, used only in the nominative.
They appear as follows:
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural |
Чёрен Чёрна Чёрно Чёрны |
Their usage is discussed in section 35.
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