Этот журнал интересный.

This magazine is interesting.

Breakdown of Этот журнал интересный.

• интересный: interesting
• этот: this
• журнал: the journal

Questions & Answers about Этот журнал интересный.

Why is there no word for is in Этот журнал интересный?

In Russian, the verb быть (to be) is normally omitted in the present tense in simple sentences like this.

So instead of saying something like Этот журнал есть интересный, Russian just says Этот журнал интересный to mean (This magazine is interesting).

You do use forms of быть in other tenses:

• Этот журнал был интересным. – (This magazine was interesting.)
• Этот журнал будет интересным. – (This magazine will be interesting.)

In the present, though, you usually just put the subject and the describing word together without есть.

What exactly does Этот mean, and how is it different from Это?

Both этот and это are related to this, but they are used differently.

• Этот means this before a masculine noun:

  • этот журнал – (this magazine)
  • этот стол – (this table)

• Это has two main uses:

  1. As this / it on its own:
     • Это журнал. – (This is a magazine. / It’s a magazine.)
  2. As this before a neuter noun:
     • это письмо – (this letter, where письмо is neuter)

So, in Этот журнал интересный, you must use этот because журнал is masculine, and это журнал интересный would be incorrect in standard Russian in this structure.

Why is it этот and not эта, это, or эти?

The form of этот has to agree with the gender and number of the noun:

• этот – masculine singular (e.g. этот журнал, этот стол)
• эта – feminine singular (e.g. эта книга, эта газета)
• это – neuter singular (e.g. это письмо, это окно)
• эти – plural for all genders (e.g. эти журналы, эти книги, эти письма)

Since журнал is masculine singular, you must use этот:
Этот журнал интересный.

What gender is журнал, and how can I tell?

Журнал is masculine.

In Russian, you usually guess the gender from the noun ending in its basic dictionary form (nominative singular):

• Most nouns ending in a consonant are masculine:
  • журнал, стол, договор
• Most nouns ending in -а / -я are feminine:
  • книга, неделя
• Most nouns ending in -о / -е are neuter:
  • окно, море

There are some exceptions, but журнал fits the common rule: it ends in a consonant, so it is masculine. That’s why you say:

• этот журнал
• интересный журнал (masculine adjective form)

What case are журнал and интересный in here?

Both журнал and интересный are in the nominative singular.

• Журнал is the subject of the sentence.
• Интересный is a predicate adjective that describes the subject.

In present‑tense sentences like this, both the subject and the adjective that describes it are in the nominative:

• Книга интересная. – (The book is interesting.)
• Фильм короткий. – (The film is short.)

So Этот журнал интересный literally has two nominatives: журнал and интересный.

Why does интересный end with -ый here? Are there other forms of this adjective?

Интересный is in the masculine nominative singular form, because it must agree with журнал (which is masculine nominative singular).

The basic forms of интересный in the nominative are:

• Masculine: интересный журнал
• Feminine: интересная книга
• Neuter: интересное письмо
• Plural: интересные журналы / книги / письма

So you would say:

• Этот журнал интересный.
• Эта книга интересная.
• Это письмо интересное.
• Эти журналы интересные.

The -ый ending is the regular masculine nominative ending for many adjectives.

Can I also say Этот журнал интересен? What’s the difference from Этот журнал интересный?

Yes, you can say Этот журнал интересен. Both sentences mean (This magazine is interesting), but the form and style are a bit different:

• Этот журнал интересный.
  Uses the long form adjective. This is the most common, neutral, conversational way to say it.

• Этот журнал интересен.
  Uses the short form adjective интересен. This can sound slightly more formal, bookish, or emphatic, focusing on the state or quality.

In everyday spoken Russian, learners are usually safer sticking to the long form (интересный), because it’s more frequent and less stylistically marked. But интересен is absolutely correct and common in written and more formal speech.

How is Этот журнал интересный different from Этот интересный журнал?

The word order changes the structure and nuance:

• Этот журнал интересный.
  Means (This magazine is interesting.)
  Here журнал is the subject, and интересный is a separate predicate that says something about it.

• Этот интересный журнал.
  Means (This interesting magazine.)
  Here интересный is an attribute directly attached to журнал inside one noun phrase. You’re just describing which magazine, not making a full statement.

So:

• Этот журнал интересный. – a full sentence, stating a fact.
• Этот интересный журнал – a noun phrase that you would usually need to complete:
  • Этот интересный журнал лежит на столе. – (This interesting magazine is lying on the table.)

Do I have to say этот? Can I just say Журнал интересный?

You can say Журнал интересный, and it is grammatically correct.

However, Russian has no articles (a/the), so Журнал интересный could mean:

• (The magazine is interesting.) – if the magazine is already known in context.
• (A magazine is interesting.) – in a more general or abstract sense.

Adding этот makes it clear you mean this specific magazine:

• Журнал интересный. – Some magazine (or the magazine we’re talking about) is interesting.
• Этот журнал интересный. – This particular magazine is interesting.

So этот is not mandatory grammatically, but it makes the reference more precise.

Does журнал mean journal or magazine? How is it used in Russian?

Журнал is a bit of a false friend for English speakers.

In modern Russian:

• Most often, журнал means magazine (popular or glossy magazine).

  • модный журнал – fashion magazine
  • литературный журнал – literary magazine

• It can also mean an academic journal or a professional periodical, depending on context:

  • научный журнал – scientific journal

• In some contexts, журнал can mean a logbook / register, especially in official or technical settings:

  • журнал регистрации – registration log
  • классный журнал – class register (in schools)

But it does not mean a personal diary or daily journal in the English sense; that would usually be дневник.

How would I say These magazines are interesting and That magazine is interesting?

You just change the demonstrative word and make the necessary plural forms:

• These magazines are interesting.
  Эти журналы интересные.

  • эти – these (plural)
  • журналы – plural of журнал
  • интересные – plural of интересный

• That magazine is interesting.
  Тот журнал интересный.

  • тот – that (masculine singular)
  • журнал – singular
  • интересный – masculine singular

And for completeness:

• Those magazines are interesting. – Те журналы интересные.

How do you pronounce Этот журнал интересный correctly?

Slowly and with stress marks, it looks like this:

• Э́тот журна́л интере́сный

Approximate pronunciation:

• Э́тот – EH-tut (first э stressed)
• журна́л – zhoor-NAL (stress on нал)
• интере́сный – in-ti-RYES-nyy (stress on рес)

In IPA: [ˈetət ʐʊrˈnal ɪntʲɪˈrʲesnɨj]

A few tips:

• ж sounds like zh in measure.
• р is rolled or tapped.
• Final -ый in интересный is like the Russian ы sound, roughly between i in bit and u in put, followed by a very light y.