There are three genders of nouns in the Russian language – masculine (m.), feminine (f.) and neuter (n.). Each noun falls into one of these categories, and the noun’s gender can have an impact on the construction of other words, such as adjectives and verbs.
So, if you want to speak really good Russian, you have to know the gender of every noun.
The good thing is that you don’t have to memorize every word’s gender, because you can simply identify it. Not all of them (there are always exeptions everywhere), but most words.
So, let’s find out how to establish the nouns gender in the Russian language.
Masculine nouns
Let’s have a look at some words:
глаз (eye)
душ (shower)
зонт (umbrella)
спрей (spray)
What do these words have in common? They all end in a consonant. And all of them are masculine.
So, the first clue you should look out for is the noun’s ending.
Feminine nouns
- звезда (star)
- машина (car/machine)
- вишня (cherry)
- дорога (road)
- песня (song)
Again, what do you see here? All these words end in -a or -я. And they are feminine.
But it’s not so easy. There are some exeptions.
You should consider the meaning of the word itself. Generally, nouns that relate to male figures or concepts are masculine, while those related to female figures or concepts are feminine. And there are some noun that look like feminine ones, but they are masculine.
Remember this small group:
- папа – dad
- дедушка – grandfather
- дядя – uncle
- мужчина – man
- юноша – a young man (a boy)
All of these words denote males but they end in -a and -я, which is not typical. There are some other exeptions. For example, words that denote both males and females:
- убийца – murderer
- плакса – a person who cries a lot
- скряга – a cheapskate
- соня – a person who sleeps a lot
Don’t forget about nouns that are naturally feminine:
- женщина – woman
- девочка – girl
- мать – mother
- сестра – sister
- дочь – daughter
- тётя – aunt
- свекровь – mother-in-law
- курица – hen
Neuter nouns
Most of neuter nouns end in -е (ё) or -о:
- ухо (ear)
- окно (window)
- яблоко (apple)
- облако (cloud)
- небо (sky)
- слово (word)
- дерево (tree)
- солнце (sun)
- горе (grief, sorrow)
- кафе (cafe)
- ружьё (rifle, shotgun)
- копьё (spear)
кофе is, however, a masculine noun, as many other loan words. Though, many Russians still use it like a neuter one.
Also, nouns that end in -мя are neuter:
- имя (name)
- время (time)
- племя (tribe, people)
- пламя (flame)
- семя (seed)
- вымя (udder)
- бремя (burden, weight)
- стремя (stirrup)
- знамя (banner, flag)
And finally, there is a group of nouns which end in “ь” (soft sign). They can be both feminine and masculine. It’s not easy to determine their gender. You should rember most of them.
- соль (f.)
- боль (f.)
- нить (f.)
- день (m.)
- тюль (m.)
- словарь (m.)
Nouns ending in a soft sign which denote feelings and emotions are feminine:
- радость (joy)
- грусть (sadness)
- любовь (love)
- ненависть (hate)
- удовлетворённость (satisfaction)
- озабоченность (concern)
- раздражительность (irritability)
Most nouns that denote professions or occupations are masculine.
- водитель – driver
- учитель – teacher
- врач – doctor
- кассир – cashier
- продавец – seller, shop-assistant
- секретарь – secretary
But there are female versions for some of them, which are only used in informal situations:
- учительница (f.) – female teacher
- продавщица (f.) – female seller
- секретарша (f.) – female secretary
- почтальонка (f.) – postwoman
Names of the months are all masculine.
I hope this guide will help you win Russian gender roulette all the time!