Gender in the Russian Language

What is gender in Russian?

Many subjects in the Russian language are closely related to gender, such as cases, pronouns and adjectives. That's why gender is one of the first concepts every Russian learner should understand.

So, let's start by answering the question: what is gender?

In English, there are a few words that have gender. For example, we could say that the noun ‘actor’ is masculine and the noun ‘actress’ is feminine.

Now, in Russian, every single noun has gender. It can be masculine, feminine or neuter. For example, the noun стол (table) is masculine, машина (car) is feminine, and окно (window) is neuter.

If your native language doesn't have gender, this may be a bit confusing. However, there are some simple rules that can help you identify the gender of a Russian noun.

How to identify the gender of Russian nouns

So, how can we tell that the noun машина (car) is feminine and the noun стол (table) is masculine?

You can identify the gender of almost any noun by looking at its ending.

All you have to do is memorize a few patterns. Here are the most common of them:

1) Masculine nouns

Nouns that end in a consonant are masculine. For example:

• дом (house)
• стол (table)
• город (city)
• кот (cat)

2) Feminine nouns

Nouns that end in А and Я are usually feminine. For example:

• машина (car)
• девушка (girl)
• зима (winter)
• тётя (aunt)

3) Neuter nouns

Nouns that end in О, Е and МЯ are neuter. For example:

• лето (summer)
• окно (window)
• платье (dress)
• море (sea)
• время (time)
• имя (name)

These are the three most common patterns and you should memorize them first.

Two other less common patterns are:

1) Nouns that end in ‘Ь’

Nouns that end in Ь can be masculine or feminine. For example:

• день (day) – masculine
• январь (January) – masculine
• мать (mother) – feminine
• ночь (night) – feminine

To find out the gender of a specific noun that ends in Ь, you can look it up in our dictionary.

2) Masculine nouns that end in ‘А’ and ‘Я’

There are a few nouns ending in А and Я that are masculine. For example:

• мужчина (man)
• папа (dad)
• дедушка (grandpa)
• дядя (uncle)

Here is a summary of all the endings in a table:

Gender and adjectives in Russian

In Russian, adjectives change depending on the gender of the noun they describe.

Let’s take the adjective хороший (good) as an example:

• хороший стол (a good table)
• хорошая машина (a good car)
• хорошее окно (a good window)

Notice how the endings of the above adjectives change.

Keep in mind that the adjective itself doesn’t have gender. The adjective changes depending on the gender of the noun.

Let’s take a look at how adjectives change for each gender.

Adjectives and masculine nouns

When describing masculine nouns, most adjectives end in ЫЙ. For example:

• красивый дом (a beautiful house)
• быстрый самолёт (a fast airplane)
• холодный день (a cold day)

Some adjectives end in ИЙ, especially when their last consonant is Г, К, Х, Ж, Ч, Ш or Щ. For example:

• тихий мальчик (a quiet boy)
• маленький стул (a small chair)
• легкий тест (an easy test)

And a few adjectives end in ОЙ. For example:

• большой город (a big city)
• плохой фильм (a bad movie)
• другой выбор (a different choice)

Adjectives and feminine nouns

When describing feminine nouns, most adjectives end in АЯ. For example:

• тихая птица (a quiet bird)
• жаркая осень (a hot autumn)
• молодая девушка (a young girl)

And some adjectives end in ЯЯ. For example:

• зимняя ночь (a winter night)
• синяя футболка (a blue T-shirt)
• поздняя весна (late spring)

Adjectives and neuter nouns

When describing neuter nouns, most adjectives end in ОЕ. For example:

• большое окно (a big window)
• красивое море (a beautiful sea)
• вкусное блюдо (a tasty dish)

And some adjectives end in ЕЕ. For example:

• хорошее лето (a good summer)
• синее небо (a blue sky)
• летнее платье (a summer dress)

Here is a table of all the endings for adjectives:

Adjectives and plural nouns

In the plural, adjectives always have the same ending, regardless of the gender of the noun.

When describing a plural noun, most adjectives end in ЫЕ. For example:

• красивые дома (beautiful houses)
• красивые футболки (beautiful T-shirts)
• красивые яблоки (beautiful apples)

And some adjectives end in ИЕ. For example:

• хорошие столы (good tables)
• хорошие машины (good cars)
• хорошие окна (good windows)

Gender and verbs in Russian

In Russian, gender doesn’t affect verbs in the present and future tenses. For example:

• Женщина работает.
• (The woman is working)
• Мужчина работает.
• (The man is working)
• Девушка будет учиться.
• (The girl will study)
• Мальчик будет учиться.
• (The boy will study)

Note that the verbs будет and работает are the same, regardless of the gender of the noun.

In the past tense, however, verbs have four different forms depending on whether the subject is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural.

Past tense and masculine nouns

When the subject is masculine, the verb usually ends in Л or ЛСЯ. For example:

• Мальчик играл.
• (The boy was playing)
• Фильм начался.
• (The film started)

Past tense and feminine nouns

When the subject is feminine, the verb usually ends in ЛА or ЛАСЬ. For example:

• Девушка играла.
• (The girl was playing)
• Игра началась.
• (The game started)

Past tense and neuter nouns

When the subject is neuter, the verb usually ends in ЛО or ЛОСЬ. For example:

• Животное играло.
• (The animal was playing)
• Лето началось.
• (Summer started)

Past tense and plural nouns

And when the subject is plural, the verb usually ends in ЛИ or ЛИСЬ. For example:

• Дети играли.
• (The kids were playing)
• Каникулы начались.
• (The holidays started)