Дверца шкафа закрыта.

The wardrobe door is closed.

Breakdown of Дверца шкафа закрыта.

• шкаф: the wardrobe
• закрытый: closed
• дверца: the door

Questions & Answers about Дверца шкафа закрыта.

What does each word in Дверца шкафа закрыта. literally mean?

Word by word:

• дверца – a small door; here: door (specifically a little door, like on a cupboard, car, etc.).
• шкафа – of the cupboard / of the wardrobe (genitive singular of шкаф – cupboard, wardrobe, cabinet).
• закрыта – closed (short-form passive participle / predicate adjective, feminine).

Literal structure is: “The little door of the cupboard is closed.”
Grammatically: [Subject – genitive modifier – predicate].

Why is it шкафа and not шкаф?

Шкафа is the genitive singular form of шкаф.

Russian often uses the genitive without a preposition to show possession or a part–whole relationship, where English would use of or ’s:

• дверь дома – the door of the house
• колесо машины – the wheel of the car
• дверца шкафа – the door of the cupboard

So шкафа here means “of the cupboard.”
If you said дверца шкаф, that would be ungrammatical in Russian.

What is the difference between дверь and дверца?

Both come from the same root (дверь – door), but:

• дверь – the neutral, basic word door.
• дверца – a diminutive form. It can suggest:
  • something physically smaller (cupboard door, car door, oven door),
  • or sometimes a slightly more “cozy” / less serious feel.

In practice, Russians often use дверца specifically for doors of furniture, cars, appliances, etc.:

• дверца шкафа – the cupboard/wardrobe door
• дверца машины – the car door
• дверца духовки – the oven door

You can say дверь шкафа, but дверца шкафа sounds more natural for typical cupboard doors.

Why does закрыта end in -а?

Because it agrees with дверца, which is:

• feminine gender,
• singular,
• in the nominative (it’s the subject).

Закрыта is a short-form passive participle / predicate adjective, and it must match the subject in gender and number:

• дверца закрыта – the (fem. sg.) door is closed
• окно закрыто – the (neut. sg.) window is closed
• шкаф закрыт – the (masc. sg.) cupboard is closed
• двери закрыты – the (pl.) doors are closed

Is закрыта here a verb or an adjective? Is this a passive?

Formally, закрыта is a short-form passive participle of the verb закрыть (to close). Functionally in this sentence, it behaves like a predicate adjective: it describes the state of the door.

So Дверца шкафа закрыта. is best understood as:

• “The cupboard door is closed” (state, result), not primarily as
• “The cupboard door was closed (by someone)” (an action).

Russian short-form participles like закрыт / закрыта / закрыто / закрыты usually express the resulting state more than the action itself.

Does this sentence mean “Someone closed the door” or just “The door is in a closed state”?

By default, Дверца шкафа закрыта. describes the state:
“The cupboard door is closed.”

It implies that at some point someone (or something) closed it, but the focus is on the current situation, not on who did it.

If you want to clearly emphasize the action and possibly the agent, you’d normally phrase it differently:

• Кто-то закрыл дверцу шкафа. – Someone closed the cupboard door.
• Дверца шкафа была закрыта кем-то. – The cupboard door was closed by someone. (more “action/passive”-like)

Where is the word “is”? Why is there no есть?

In the present tense, Russian usually omits the verb “to be” (быть) in simple “X is Y” sentences.

So:

• Дверца шкафа закрыта.
  literally is: “The door of the cupboard closed”, but it is understood as:
  “The cupboard door is closed.”

If you add есть – Дверца шкафа есть закрыта. – it sounds unnatural or archaic in modern Russian.
In the past and future tenses, a form of быть is used:

• Дверца шкафа была закрыта. – The cupboard door was closed.
• Дверца шкафа будет закрыта. – The cupboard door will be closed.

Can I say Дверца шкафа закрывается instead of закрыта?

You can, but it means something different.

• Дверца шкафа закрыта. – The cupboard door is closed (state, result).
• Дверца шкафа закрывается. – The cupboard door is closing or closes (process or repeated action).

Закрывается (imperfective reflexive) focuses on what is happening / tends to happen.
Закрыта (short-form participle) focuses on what state it is in right now.

Examples:

• Дверца шкафа медленно закрывается. – The cupboard door is slowly closing.
• После ужина дверца шкафа всегда закрывается. – After dinner the cupboard door always closes (people always close it).

Those are different from just describing the current state: it is closed.

What is the difference between закрыта, закрытой, and закрытая?

They are different forms and used in different positions:

1. закрыта – short-form, used mainly as a predicate (after the subject):

   • Дверца шкафа закрыта. – The cupboard door is closed.

2. закрытая – long-form feminine nominative singular adjective; used before a noun or as a predicate in some constructions:

   • закрытая дверца шкафа – the closed cupboard door
   • Дверца шкафа была закрытая. – The cupboard door was closed. (possible, but sounds a bit clumsy and less natural than была закрыта)

3. закрытой – a case/number form of the long adjective закрытый (fem. gen./dat./instr./prep. or short plural fem.); for example:

   • с закрытой дверцей шкафа – with the cupboard door closed
   • при закрытой дверце шкафа – when the cupboard door is closed

In simple “X is closed” statements, закрыта is the normal, natural choice.

Can I say шкафная дверца instead of дверца шкафа?

Yes, шкафная дверца is also possible and correct.
The nuance:

• дверца шкафа – literally “the door of the cupboard” (genitive phrase).
• шкафная дверца – literally “cupboard door” (adjectival form).

Both are common. In many contexts, they are interchangeable:

• Дверца шкафа закрыта.
• Шкафная дверца закрыта.

Шкафная дверца can feel a bit more technical or textbook-like, while дверца шкафа sounds very neutral and everyday.

Can I change the word order? For example, Закрыта дверца шкафа?

Yes, Russian word order is relatively flexible. You can say:

• Дверца шкафа закрыта. – neutral order, just stating a fact.
• Закрыта дверца шкафа. – emphasizes the predicate закрыта (“closed”), often used:
  • in descriptions,
  • in contrast with something else (e.g., one door open, another closed),
  • or for stylistic variety.

Other orders are also possible in specific contexts (e.g., Шкафа дверца закрыта.), but the most natural everyday versions are Дверца шкафа закрыта. and Закрыта дверца шкафа.

How is Дверца шкафа закрыта pronounced? Where is the stress?

Stresses:

• две́рца – stress on две́р-: ДВЕ́Р-ца
• шка́фа – stress on шка́-: ШКА́-фа
• закры́та – stress on -ры́-: за-КРЫ́-та

Approximate transcription: [ˈdvʲert͡sə ˈʂkafə zɐˈkrɨtə]

So you get: ДВЕ́Рца ШКА́фа закРЫ́та.

What is the difference between закрыта and заперта?

Both can translate as “closed”, but they are different:

• закрыта – closed (not open). The door is in the closed position.
• заперта – locked (secured with a lock or latch).

Compare:

• Дверца шкафа закрыта. – The cupboard door is closed (but could be easily opened).
• Дверь заперта. – The door is locked.

You wouldn’t normally say “дверца шкафа заперта”, because cupboard doors are usually not literally “locked”; for them закрыта is the natural choice.