Noun gender

More Russian Letters

Before diving into new grammar, let's learn four new letters:

  • Жж (же) - Sounds like the "s" in measure or "zh" in Zhivago.
  • Зз (зэ) - Sounds like "z" in zoo. (Be careful: it looks like the number 3!)
  • Йй (и краткое) - "Short i", sounding like the "y" in boy.
  • Юю (ю) - Sounds like "yu" in universe.

Asking "Where?"

To ask where something is, use где (where). To reply that something is "here", use здесь. Just like in the previous lesson, you do not need a word for "is".

Where is the park?
Где парк?
The park is here.
Парк здесь.

Noun Gender

Every Russian noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. You can almost always tell a noun's gender by its last letter.

Gender determines which pronoun to use. Unlike English, inanimate objects aren't automatically "it": in Russian, a park is a "he", a song is a "she", and an apple is an "it".

Masculine Nouns Masculine nouns usually end in a consonant or й. Replace them with он (he/it).

Where is the brother? He is here.
Где брат? Он здесь.
Where is the tea? It is not here.
Где чай? Он не здесь.

Feminine Nouns Feminine nouns usually end in а or я. Replace them with она (she/it).

Where is mom? She is not here.
Где мама? Она не здесь.
Where is the song? It is here.
Где песня? Она здесь.

Neuter Nouns Neuter nouns usually end in о or е. Replace them with оно (it).

Where is the apple? It is here.
Где яблоко? Оно здесь.
Where is the sea? It is here.
Где море? Оно здесь.

Here is a quick cheat sheet for noun endings in the nominative (dictionary) form:

GenderTypical EndingsPronounExamples
MasculineConsonant, йонпарк, чай
Feminineа, яонасестра, песня
Neuterо, еонояблоко, море

Putting It All Together

Notice how the pronouns perfectly match the noun endings when linking ideas with и (and):

This is a house, and it is here.
Это дом, и он здесь.
This is a book, and it is here.
Это книга, и она здесь.
This is a window, and it is here.
Это окно, и оно здесь.
Practice this lesson