Completely Irregular Plurals: People and Children
Some common Russian words have completely irregular plurals. For instance, человек (person) and ребёнок (child) change entirely to люди (people) and дети (children).
| The children are going to the park. | Дети идут в парк. |
The Possessive "Their"
Unlike other possessive pronouns, the word for "their" (их) never changes form to match the noun it describes.
The "-ья" Plurals
Many common masculine nouns—and a few neuter ones—form their plural with -ья:
- друг (friend) → друзья
- брат (brother) → братья
- муж (husband) → мужья
- дерево (tree) → деревья
| Where are the friends going? | Куда идут друзья? |
| Their brothers and husbands are here. | Их братья и мужья здесь. |
| These are people and trees. | Это люди и деревья. |
Other nouns following this -ья pattern include стул (chair) → стулья, and лист (leaf) → листья.
| I see leaves and trees. | Я вижу листья и деревья. |
Family Members: Sons, Daughters, and Mothers
Other family members have their own quirks:
- сын (son) adds a syllable before the -ья ending: сыновья.
- дочь (daughter) and мать (mother) add -ер- to the stem: дочери and матери.
| My sons and daughters are reading together. | Мои сыновья и дочери читают вместе. |
| Our mothers are resting at home. | Наши матери отдыхают дома. |
Neighbors, Eyes, and Money
Other everyday words have minor plural irregularities:
- сосед (neighbor) takes a soft ending: соседи.
- глаз (eye) takes a stressed -а ending: глаза.
| The neighbors are going to the store. | Соседи идут в магазин. |
| I see your eyes. | Я вижу твои глаза. |
Finally, деньги (money) is a plural-only noun, much like "clothes" or "scissors" in English. It has no singular form.
| People love money. | Люди любят деньги. |
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