Nouns in Russian are either in the singular form (when referring to one object or person) or in the plural form (referring to more than one object or person).
In this lesson, we will learn how to make Russian nouns plural in the Nominative case. It is best to start learning Russian by getting comfortable with the Nominative case first.
Masculine Plural
The masculine plural is typically formed by adding (И or Ы) to the noun ending.
- Masculine nouns ending in Г, Ж, К, Х, Ч, Ш, Щ. Simply add И:
нож - ножи (knife - knives)
стих - стихи (poem - poems)
мяч - мячи (ball - balls)
- Masculine nouns ending in Й. Replace Й by И:
музей - музеи (museum - museums)
герой - герои (hero - heroes)
- Masculine nouns ending in Ь. Replace Ь by И:
олень - олени (deer - deers)
зверь - звери (beast - beasts)
- Masculine nouns ending in all other consonants. Simply add Ы:
документ - документы (document - documents)
костюм - костюмы (suit - suits)
стол - столы (table - tables)
Feminine Plural
The feminine plural is typically formed by replacing the final vowel (А or Я) by (Ы or И).
- Feminine nouns ending in A. Replace А by Ы:
машина - машины (car - cars)
картина - картины (painting - paintings)
женщина - женщины (woman - women)
- Feminine nouns ending in ГА, ЖА, КА, ХА, ЧА, ША, ЩА. Replace А by И:
книга - книги (book - books)
река - реки (river - rivers)
встреча - встречи (meeting - meetings)
- Feminine nouns ending in Я. Replace Я by И:
академия - академии (academy - academies)
песня - песни (song - songs)
линия - линии (line - lines)
- Feminine nouns ending in Ь. Replace Ь by И:
кровать - кровати (bed -beds)
лошадь - лошади (horse - horses)
тетрадь - тетради (notebook - notebooks)
Neuter Plural
The neuter plural is typically formed by replacing the final vowel (О or Е) by (А or Я).
- Neuter nouns ending in О. Replace О by А:
слово - слова (word - words)
лицо - лица (face - faces)
кольцо - кольца (ring - rings)
- Neuter nouns ending in Е. Replace Е by Я:
море - моря (sea - seas)
здание - здания (building - buildings)
поле - поля (field - fields)
- Neuter nouns ending in МЯ. Replace Я by ЕНА:
время - времена (time - times)
имя - имена (name - names)
NOTE: there are always a few exceptions that do not follow these rules. There are words that will have different endings, words that won't have a plural form and words that won't have a singular form.
Russian Plurals - Noun Endings
| NOUN ENDING | SINGULAR | → | PLURAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| MASCULINE NOUNS | |||
| consonants Г, Ж, К, Х, Ч, Ш, Щ | нож | +И | ножи |
| consonant Й | музей | Й → И | музеи |
| Ь | олень | Ь → И | олени |
| other consonants | документ | +Ы | документы |
| FEMININE NOUNS | |||
| А | машина | А → Ы | машины |
| ГА, ЖА, КА, ХА, ЧА, ША, ЩА | книга | А → И | книги |
| Я | академия | Я → И | академии |
| Ь | кровать | Ь → И | кровати |
| NEUTER NOUNS | |||
| О | слово | О → А | слова |
| Е | море | Е → Я | моря |
| МЯ | время | Я → ЕНА | времена |
Please refer to the following topics to learn more about Russian nouns: