Nouns: Gender — Russian Grammar

Every Russian noun belongs to one of three genders: masculine, feminine or neuter. For people and animals the gender usually matches the sex, but for everything else it is a property of the word, and you can almost always read it from the ending. Gender matters because adjectives, pronouns and past-tense verbs all change to match it.

Reading Gender From the Ending

Masculine: ends in a consonant or -й - (stol), (dom), (muzéymuzéj)
Feminine: ends in -а or -я - (kníga), (nedélyanedélja)
Neuter: ends in -о or -е - (oknó), (móre), (plát'yeplátʹje)

Э́то мой но́вый дом.
Éto moy nóvyy dom.Éto moj nóvyj dom.
This is my new house.
Моя́ кни́га там.
Moyá kníga tam.Mojá kníga tam.
My book is over there.
Э́то окно́.
Éto oknó.
This is a window.

Nouns in -ь

A noun ending in the soft sign ь can be either masculine or feminine, and the gender has to be learned with the word.

Masculine: (den'denʹ), (slovár'slovárʹ), (uchítel'učítelʹ)
Feminine: (dver'dverʹ), (noch'nočʹ), (mat'matʹ), (sol'solʹ)

Nouns ending in -сть are always feminine.

Men With Feminine-Looking Endings

A few nouns end in -а or -я but name men. They are masculine: adjectives and past-tense verbs take masculine forms, even though the noun declines like a feminine one.

(pápa), (muzhchínamužčína), (dédushkadéduška), (dyádyadjádja)

Мой де́душка стар, но о́чень акти́вен.
Moy dédushka star, no óchen' aktíven.Moj déduška star, no óčenʹ aktíven.
My grandfather is old, but very active.

Common Gender

A small group of nouns are masculine when they refer to a man and feminine when they refer to a woman.

Мой колле́га. Моя́ колле́га.
Moy kolléga. Moyá kolléga.Moj kolléga. Mojá kolléga.
My colleague (male). My colleague (female).

Indeclinable Loanwords

Borrowed nouns ending in a vowel other than -а, such as (taksí), (rádio), (menyúmenjú), are usually neuter. (Kófe) is masculine.

Э́то ста́рое ра́дио.
Éto stároye rádio.Éto stároje rádio.
It's an old radio.

What Gender Affects

Наш сын безрабо́тный.
Nash syn bezrabótnyy.Naš syn bezrabótnyj.
Our son is unemployed.
На́ша дочь у́чится в ко́лледже.
Násha doch' úchitsya v kólledzhe.Náša dočʹ účitsja v kólledže.
Our daughter studies at college.
Моё пе́рвое впечатле́ние.
Moyó pérvoye vpechatléniye.Mojó pérvoje vpečatlénije.
My first impression.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Russian course

411 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Nouns: Gender” is about in bold:

Это моя подруга, Анна. Она студентка.
Éto moyá podrúga, Ánna. Oná studéntka.Éto mojá podrúga, Ánna. Oná studéntka.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
У меня две машины, два велосипеда и три мотоцикла.
U menyá dve mashíny, dva velosipéda i tri mototsíkla.U menjá dve mašíny, dva velosipéda i tri motocíkla.
I have two cars, two bicycles, and three motorbikes.
Lesson 33
Я покупаю один банан и шесть яиц.
Ya pokupáyu odín banán i shest' yaíts.Ja pokupáju odín banán i šestʹ jaíc.
I am buying one banana and six eggs.
Lesson 43

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