The Anomalous Noun "путь"
The word путь (way, path, journey, track) is masculine, but it has a completely unique declension pattern. It takes the ending -и in the Genitive, Dative, and Prepositional cases (behaving like a feminine noun), but uses a standard masculine ending (-ём) in the Instrumental case.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|
| Nominative | путь | пути |
| Genitive | пути | путей |
| Dative | пути | путям |
| Accusative | путь | пути |
| Instrumental | путём | путями |
| Prepositional | пути | путях |
Nominative and Accusative
In the Nominative and Accusative cases, the form remains путь. Because the noun is masculine, any adjectives modifying it must also take masculine endings.
Genitive, Dative, and Prepositional (-и)
In the Genitive, Dative, and Prepositional cases, the singular form is пути. You will frequently hear this form in common travel phrases like "to lose one's way" (сбиться с пути), "on the way" (по пути), and "on the return trip" (на обратном пути).
The Instrumental Case (-ём)
The instrumental form is путём. Aside from physical travel, it is commonly used figuratively to describe doing something "by way of" or "in a different way."
Railway Tracks
In Russian, путь is the standard word for a railway track. You will often see it used with the adjective железнодорожный (railway) or when talking about trains standing on numbered tracks at a station.
The Journey of Life
Just like in English, путь is frequently used in a figurative sense to talk about life choices, personal journeys, and overcoming obstacles along your path.
