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Russian Nouns, Gender and Cases
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Three genders you can see in the ending, and the case system that replaces English word order — starting with the nominative.
Three genders, visible endings
Every Russian noun is masculine, feminine or neuter, and the ending usually shows it: consonant-ending nouns are masculine (стол, table), -а/-я nouns are feminine (книга, book), -о/-е nouns are neuter (окно, window). Nouns ending in -ь (soft sign) can be either — ночь (night) is feminine but день (day) is masculine — so learn those with their gender. Adjectives agree: новый стол but новая книга.
Six cases — why word order is free
Russian nouns change endings by case — six of them — which marks each word's job in the sentence. Because the endings carry the grammar, word order is flexible: Мама любит папу and Папу любит мама both mean "mum loves dad" (папу's accusative ending proves who is loved). English relies on position; Russian relies on endings. This lesson uses only the nominative (dictionary form, the subject) — the other five come later.
No articles at all
Russian has no words for "the" or "a" — книга means the book, a book, or just book depending on context. Beginners from English keep reaching for a missing article; stop reaching. Это книга (this is a/the book), Книга на столе (the book is on the table). Context does all the work articles do in English, and Russians never miss them.
Plurals and spelling rules
Masculine nouns mostly add -ы/-и (стол → столы), feminines change -а → -ы (книга → книги), neuters change -о → -а (окно → окна). Two spelling rules override everything: after ж, ш, ч, щ write -и never -ы (нож → ножи), and after к, г, х, ж, ш, ч, щ write -е never unstressed -о. These rules have no exceptions — learn them once.
| Ending | Gender and example |
|---|---|
| consonant | masculine — стол (table) |
| -а / -я | feminine — книга (book), земля (land) |
| -о / -е | neuter — окно (window), море (sea) |
| -ь | either — ночь (f, night), день (m, day) |
| plural -ы/-и | стол → столы, книга → книги |
| plural -а | окно → окна (neuter pattern) |