Breakdown of Он человек чести.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
человек
person
честь
honour
Questions & Answers about Он человек чести.
Why is чести used here instead of честь?
It is in the genitive case, which is used here to mean "of honour". Whenever you have a "noun of noun" phrase in English, Russian almost always puts the second noun into the genitive case.
How does честь relate to this lesson's focus on мать and дочь?
The dictionary form is честь (honour), which is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign. Like мать and дочь, it belongs to the 3rd declension group. However, честь is a regular noun: it simply changes the soft sign to -и in the genitive case. It does not add the tricky -ер- suffix that мать and дочь require before their case endings.
Is человек only used for men?
No, человек generally means "person" or "human" and can refer to anyone regardless of gender. While "man of honour" is the most natural English translation here because of the pronoun он (he), you can just as easily say Она человек чести to mean "She is a person of honour".
Could I use the adjective form and say Он честный человек?
Absolutely! Он честный человек means "He is an honest person" and is the standard way to express this character trait in everyday speech. Он человек чести is a specific phrase that sounds slightly more elevated or literary, much like "man of honour" does in English.
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