Gender of Russian Nouns

In Russian, every noun has a grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter), which affects its endings, the adjectives that describe it, and past-tense verbs. Here’s how to recognize them:

1. The Three Genders

Masculine Nouns

• Typical endings:
  • A consonant (стол – table)
  • -й (музей – museum)
  • -ь (день – day)
• Exceptions: Some words ending in -а/-я are masculine (e.g., папа – dad, дядя – uncle).

Feminine Nouns

• Typical endings:
  • -а/-я (мама – mom, неделя – week)
  • -ь (ночь – night)

Neuter Nouns

• Typical endings:
  • -о (окно – window)
  • -е (море – sea)
  • -мя (имя – name)
• Irregular cases: Words like время (time) are neuter despite the unusual ending.

2. Common Pitfalls

• Loanwords:
  • кофе (coffee) is masculine (even though it ends in -е).
  • такси (taxi) is neuter (invariable).
• Job titles:
  • Even if a woman is a doctor, the word врач is grammatically masculine.

3. Why Gender Matters

It affects:

• Adjectives (красивый стол vs. красивая лампа).
• Past-tense verbs (стол стоял vs. лампа стояла).
• Pronouns (он/она/оно – he/she/it).

4. Tips for Beginners

• Learn nouns with their gender (e.g., книга (f.), not just книга).
• Memorize common exceptions (кофе, путь).
• Practice with sentences to see agreement in context.

With practice, gender will become intuitive. If in doubt, use PROMT.One Conjugator to check the gender of any Russian noun.