Twelve lessons in, the whole noun system goes on one page: six cases against four noun shapes, three declensions including the soft-sign third, the animacy rule in full, adjectives that follow their noun into every case, and every A1 preposition sorted by the case it governs. No new field of vocabulary — this is the map you have been building since Lesson 5.
Say these aloud before you start. They come from earlier lessons.
You have now met all six Russian cases, one lesson at a time: the nominative in Lesson 1, the prepositional in Lesson 5, the accusative in Lesson 6, the genitive in Lesson 8, the dative in Lesson 9 and the instrumental in Lesson 10. This lesson puts them on one page and gives you the tool that eventually makes the page unnecessary — the question each case answers.
Кто? Что? gives the nominative: the dictionary form, the subject, what is there. Кого? Чего? gives the genitive: absence, possession, an amount, and the case after из, с, от, до, у, для and без. Кому? Чему? gives the dative: the person or thing an action is aimed at, and the case after к and по. Кого? Что? gives the accusative: the direct object, and the destination after в and на. Кем? Чем? gives the instrumental: the companion, the tool, the profession, and the case after над, под, между and с in its "with" sense. О ком? О чём? gives the prepositional: location and topic, after в, на and о.
Two of those questions look almost identical, and that is the whole difficulty: Кого? Чего? (genitive) and Кого? Что? (accusative). In practice you never choose between them by ear. The preposition or the verb in front of the noun has already decided: из Москвы is genitive because из always is, в Москву is accusative because it answers куда?. Learn each preposition together with its case, and the question becomes a way of checking yourself rather than a decision you have to make in mid-sentence.
Every Russian noun belongs to one of three declensions, and which one is decided by the nominative singular ending alone. The first is -а or -я: книга, мама, папа, Россия. The second is a bare consonant, -о, -е or -й: стол, врач, брат, окно, письмо, музей. The third is a feminine noun in a soft sign: ночь, вещь, дочь, площадь, жизнь. Three groups, and once you know which one a noun is in, every ending follows.
The third declension is the one you have not yet seen systematically, and it is the most regular of the three. The soft sign disappears before every ending, so the genitive, dative and prepositional singular are all -и (ночи, вещи, площади), the instrumental singular is -ью (ночью, вещью, площадью), and the accusative equals the nominative because these nouns are inanimate. The plural is -и in the nominative and accusative and -ей in the genitive; the dative, instrumental and prepositional are -ям, -ями, -ях after a soft stem (площадям, жизнями) but -ам, -ами, -ах after ж, ш, щ or ч (ночам, вещами). One of them has already become part of your everyday vocabulary without you noticing: ночью, "at night", is simply the instrumental of ночь, exactly as утром and вечером are the instrumentals of утро and вечер.
Two sub-groups look irregular and are not. Nouns in -ия and -ие put -и where an ordinary -а or -о noun puts -е: в России, о России, в здании, о здании, but в школе and о письме (здание means "building"; you have not met the word yet, it is here only to show the shape). Nouns in -ье keep the -е in the dative and prepositional and add a soft sign before -и and -ю, so семья gives семье, о семье, but семьи and семью. And two nouns, дочь and мать, build their plural on a different stem — дочь gives дочери, дочерей, дочерям. One warning worth stating plainly: a soft sign at the end of a noun does not by itself mean feminine. день and дождь are masculine and belong to the second declension (дня, дню, днём, о дне); ночь, вещь and площадь are feminine and belong to the third (ночи, ночи, ночью, о ночи). There is no way to see this from the ending, so a noun in -ь is learnt with its gender — which is good practice for every Russian noun anyway.
The accusative answers two questions, Кого? and Что?, and the two are not decoration — they name the rule. If what you see, love, wait for or buy is a person or an animal, the noun is animate, and for masculine nouns the accusative singular copies the genitive: я вижу стол, but я вижу брата, я жду врача, я знаю учителя. If it is a thing, the accusative copies the nominative: я вижу стол, я читаю книгу, я жду поезд.
Feminine nouns in -а show no contrast at all in the singular — the ending is -у whether the noun breathes or not: я жду маму, я жду сестру, я вижу книгу. The place where animacy really bites is the plural, and there it bites every time. All animate nouns, of all three genders, take the genitive plural in the accusative: я вижу врачей, я вижу мам, я вижу людей, я вижу сестёр. Inanimate nouns keep the nominative plural: я вижу столы, я вижу книги, я вижу окна.
Two honest footnotes. The first is that the plural rule is where learners lose the most marks, because English gives no warning at all: "I can see the doctors" and "I can see the tables" look identical, and in Russian they do not. The second is that a handful of nouns cross the line — a few inanimates behave like animates in the plural (кукла gives я вижу кукол, робот gives я вижу роботов), and люди is animate whatever its singular человек may look like. None of that changes the rule; it only means you learn a noun together with its behaviour, exactly as you already learn it with its gender.
You have been agreeing adjectives in the nominative since Lesson 3: большой дом, большая книга, большое окно, большие дома. Nothing about that changes except that the adjective now has endings for the other five cases too, and it always copies the case of the noun it belongs to. в большом городе, о новой работе, с новым другом, из нашего дома, под моим столом. If the noun is in the prepositional, so is the adjective; there is no version of Russian in which only one of them moves.
The endings come in three sets, and they are as regular as the noun endings you already know. Masculine and neuter share one: -ого, -ому, -ым, -ом (нового, новому, новым, о новом). Feminine has a single form, -ой, doing four jobs at once — genitive, dative, instrumental and prepositional (новой, новой, новой, о новой) — which makes it the cheapest paradigm in the language. The plural has one set for all genders: -ых, -ым, -ыми, -ых. The accusative then follows the animacy rule from the previous section: for inanimate nouns it copies the nominative, for animate ones the genitive.
Two details finish it. The spelling rule from Lesson 1 still applies, so after г, к, х, ж, ш, щ, ч and after any soft stem the endings are -его, -ему, -им, -ем and, in the plural, -их, -им, -ими, -их: русского, русскому, русским, о русском — never руссково, even though [v] is what you hear. And the possessives мой, твой, наш and ваш decline on the same table, with different stress: мой gives моего, моему, моим, о моём, моя gives моей, моей, мою, о моей, while наш and ваш keep the stress on the stem — нашего, нашему, нашим, о нашем. Before a vowel о becomes об, so "about the window" is об окне and "about me" is обо мне.
The genitive plural is the least predictable form in Russian noun morphology, and this is the lesson that systematises it. There are three shapes. Most masculine nouns take -ов, -ев or -ей: столов, музеев, врачей, рублей, людей. Most feminine nouns in -а and most neuter nouns in -о take nothing at all: книг, работ, мам, окон, писем, мест, слов, дел. Third-declension nouns take -ей: ночей, вещей, площадей, дочерей, жизней. The zero-ending group very often needs a fleeting vowel to keep the word pronounceable — ошибка becomes ошибок, деньги becomes денег, сутки becomes суток — and that vowel cannot be predicted from anything, which is why the genitive plural is learnt with the noun rather than derived from it.
Four of the nouns you need most have no singular at all: деньги, сутки, очки and брюки. They are plural-only, which means their whole paradigm is the plural and everything that agrees with them agrees in the plural — мои очки, новые брюки, большие деньги. Their stress behaves differently in each: деньги, сутки and брюки keep it on the first syllable throughout (денег, суток, брюк), while очки puts it on the ending in every single form (очков, очкам, очками). The four genitive plurals are денег, суток, очков and брюк, and those are the forms you need after нет, много, мало and сколько.
The good news is that the other five cases in the plural are entirely regular, and most of the work is already done: -ам or -ям in the dative, -ами or -ями in the instrumental, -ах or -ях in the prepositional, for every gender and every declension. Only the nominative plural, the genitive plural and the accusative plural need learning, and the accusative is decided by the animacy rule you have just read. Three forms per noun — nominative plural, genitive plural, animate or not — and the rest is mechanical.
| Form | стол (m) | кни́га (f) | окно́ (n) | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Кто? Что? — Nominative | стол | кни́га | окно́ | столы́ · кни́ги · о́кна |
| Кого́? Чего́? — Genitive | стола́ | кни́ги | окна́ | столо́в · книг · о́кон |
| Кому́? Чему́? — Dative | столу́ | кни́ге | окну́ | стола́м · кни́гам · о́кнам |
| Кого́? Что? — Accusative | стол | кни́гу | окно́ | столы́ · кни́ги · о́кна |
| Кем? Чем? — Instrumental | столо́м | кни́гой | окно́м | стола́ми · кни́гами · о́кнами |
| О ком? О чём? — Prepositional | о столе́ | о кни́ге | об окне́ | о стола́х · о кни́гах · об о́кнах |
One table, and that is the whole nominal system. Read it as three columns of endings rather than six cases to memorise. Singular: the masculine adds -а, -у, nothing, -ом, -е; the feminine adds -ы/-и, -е, -у, -ой, -е; the neuter adds -а, -у, nothing, -ом, -е — so masculine and neuter are identical everywhere except the nominative and accusative. Plural: the endings are the same for all three genders, -ы/-и, -ов/-∅/-ей, -ам/-ям, -ы/-и or the genitive plural for animates, -ами/-ями, -ах/-ях. Two spelling details sit in the last row: о becomes об before a vowel (об окне), and after г к х ж ш щ ч the feminine and plural endings are always written -и, never -ы.
| Form | Кого́? Чего́? — Genitive | Кому́? Чему́? — Dative | Куда́? Кого́? Что? — Accusative | Кем? Чем? — Instrumental | О ком? О чём? — Prepositional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| в — in, into | — | — | в | — | в |
| на — on, onto | — | — | на | — | на |
| с — off, from / with | с | — | — | с | — |
| за — behind / for | — | — | за | за | — |
| че́рез — across, through; in (time) | — | — | че́рез | — | — |
| к — to, towards (a person) | — | к | — | — | — |
| по — along, around | — | по | — | — | — |
| из, от, до, для, без, у — all genitive only | из · от · до · для · без · у | — | — | — | — |
| над, под, ме́жду — all instrumental only | — | — | — | над · под · ме́жду | — |
| о — about | — | — | — | — | о · об (before a vowel) |
Seventeen prepositions, five cases, and only five of them are flexible: в, на, с, за and через. Every other one takes exactly one case for ever, so learn it as a chunk — из России, от врача, до вечера, для меня, без денег, у окна, к врачу, по городу, над столом, под столом, между домами, о книге — and the ending arrives with the chunk. For the five flexible ones the question decides: где? (в Москве) or куда? (в Москву); откуда? (с работы) or с кем? (с братом); за чем? (за домом) or за что? (за обед, спасибо за кофе). And о becomes об before a vowel: об окне, обо мне.
| Form | 1st — кни́га · Росси́я | 2nd — стол · окно́ · музе́й | 3rd — ночь · вещь |
|---|---|---|---|
| Кто? Что? — Nominative | кни́га · Росси́я | стол · окно́ · музе́й | ночь · вещь |
| Кого́? Чего́? — Genitive | кни́ги · Росси́и | стола́ · окна́ · музе́я | но́чи · ве́щи |
| Кому́? Чему́? — Dative | кни́ге · Росси́и | столу́ · окну́ · музе́ю | но́чи · ве́щи |
| Кого́? Что? — Accusative | кни́гу · Росси́ю | стол · окно́ · музе́й | ночь · вещь |
| Кем? Чем? — Instrumental | кни́гой · Росси́ей | столо́м · окно́м · музе́ем | но́чью · ве́щью |
| О ком? О чём? — Prepositional | о кни́ге · о Росси́и | о столе́ · об окне́ · о музе́е | о но́чи · о ве́щи |
Which declension a noun belongs to is decided by its nominative ending, and that is the only thing to look at. The first is -а or -я (книга, Россия, папа); the second is a bare consonant, -о, -е or -й (стол, окно, письмо, музей); the third is a feminine noun in a soft sign (ночь, вещь, дочь, площадь, жизнь). Inside the third declension the soft sign disappears before every ending, which is why the genitive, dative and prepositional are all -и and the instrumental is -ью. Nouns in -ия and -ие take -и where an ordinary -а noun takes -е: в России, but в школе. One warning: a soft sign at the end of a noun does not by itself mean feminine. день and дождь are masculine and belong to the second declension (дня, дню, днём, о дне); ночь and вещь are feminine and belong to the third (ночи, ночи, ночью, о ночи). Learn the gender with the noun.
| Form | стол (m, thing) | врач (m, person) | кни́га (f, thing) | ма́ма (f, person) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Кто? Что? — Nominative singular | стол | врач | кни́га | ма́ма |
| Кого́? Что? — Accusative singular | стол | врача́ | кни́гу | ма́му |
| Кого́? Чего́? — Genitive singular | стола́ | врача́ | кни́ги | ма́мы |
| Кто? Что? — Nominative plural | столы́ | врачи́ | кни́ги | ма́мы |
| Кого́? Что? — Accusative plural | столы́ | враче́й | кни́ги | мам |
| Кого́? Чего́? — Genitive plural | столо́в | враче́й | книг | мам |
Read down the second and third rows and the rule appears: a masculine noun that is a person copies its genitive in the accusative (я вижу врача), a masculine noun that is a thing copies its nominative (я вижу стол), and a feminine noun in -а takes -у either way, so feminines show no contrast at all in the singular. In the plural the contrast covers everything: every animate noun takes the genitive plural — я вижу врачей, я вижу мам, я вижу людей, я вижу сестёр — while every inanimate noun keeps the nominative plural: я вижу столы, я вижу книги. A few inanimates cross the line in the plural (кукла gives я вижу кукол, робот gives я вижу роботов); they are rare, and you can learn them if you meet them.
| Form | masculine and neuter | feminine | plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Како́й? Чей? — Nominative | но́вый · мой | но́вая · моя́ | но́вые · мои́ |
| Какого́? Чьего́? — Genitive | но́вого · моего́ | но́вой · мое́й | но́вых · мои́х |
| Какому́? Чьему́? — Dative | но́вому · моему́ | но́вой · мое́й | но́вым · мои́м |
| Како́й? Чей? — Accusative, inanimate | но́вый · мой | но́вую · мою́ | но́вые · мои́ |
| Какого́? Чьего́? — Accusative, animate | но́вого · моего́ | но́вую · мою́ | но́вых · мои́х |
| Каки́м? Чьим? — Instrumental | но́вым · мои́м | но́вой · мое́й | но́выми · мои́ми |
| О како́м? О чьём? — Prepositional | о но́вом · о моём | о но́вой · о мое́й | о но́вых · о мои́х |
Three sets of endings, and the feminine one is the cheapest you will ever buy: -ой does four jobs at once (genitive, dative, instrumental and prepositional), so «о новой работе», «к новой работе» and «с новой работой» all use the same word. Masculine and neuter share -ого, -ому, -ым, -ом; the plural of every gender shares -ых, -ым, -ыми, -ых. The spelling rule from Lesson 1 still applies — after г, к, х, ж, ш, щ, ч and after any soft stem write -его, -ему, -им, -ем: русского, русскому, русским, о русском. Never руссково, even though that is what it sounds like, because the г is pronounced [v]. Stress follows the adjective, not the case: новый keeps it on the stem in every form, большой keeps it on the ending (большого, большому, большим, о большом). наш and ваш are stem-stressed like новый: нашего, нашему, нашим, о нашем.
Learn each word with its stress mark and its pronunciation. Nouns are given with their gender, animacy and their full six-case declension; verbs are given with their aspect and, where one exists, their partner verb.
| Russian | English | Gender / aspect | Pronunciation | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ночь feminine · inanimate | night | feminine · inanimate | /notɕ/ NOHCH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: ночь |
| вещь feminine · inanimate | thing; item, possession | feminine · inanimate | /vʲeɕː/ VYESHCH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: вещь |
| су́тки inanimate | a full day (twenty-four hours) | inanimate | /ˈsutkʲɪ/ SOOT-kih | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: сутки |
| очки́ inanimate | glasses, spectacles | inanimate | /ɐtɕˈkʲi/ uh-CHKEE | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: очки |
| брю́ки inanimate | trousers | inanimate | /ˈbrʲukʲɪ/ BRYOO-kih | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: брюки |
| за preposition | behind (with the instrumental); for (with the accusative) | preposition | /za/ ZAH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: за |
| в preposition | in, at (of a place); into, to (of a direction) | preposition | /v/ F | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: в |
| на preposition | on, at (of a place); onto, on to (of a direction) | preposition | /na/ NAH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: на |
| о preposition | about (with the Prepositional) | preposition | /o/ OH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: о |
| из preposition | out of, from (inside) | preposition | /is/ EES | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: из |
| с preposition | off, from (a surface or an event) | preposition | /s/ S | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: с |
| у preposition | at, by (someone's place); у + genitive = possession | preposition | /u/ OO | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: у |
| для preposition | for (a person or a purpose) | preposition | /dlʲa/ DLYAH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: для |
| без preposition | without | preposition | /bʲes/ BYES | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: без |
| к preposition | to, towards (a person or a thing) — takes the dative | preposition | /k/ K | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: к |
| по preposition | around, along (an area); by means of — takes the dative | preposition | /po/ POH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: по |
| над preposition | above, over | preposition | /nat/ NAHT | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: над |
| под preposition | under, below | preposition | /pot/ POHT | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: под |
| ме́жду preposition | between, among | preposition | /ˈmʲeʐdʊ/ MYEH-zhdoo | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: между |
| че́рез preposition | across, over; through | preposition | /ˈtɕerʲɪs/ CHEH-ris | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: через |
| стол masculine · inanimate | table | masculine · inanimate | /stol/ STOHL | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: стол |
| кни́га feminine · inanimate | book | feminine · inanimate | /ˈknʲiɡə/ kuh-NEE-guh | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: книга |
| окно́ neuter · inanimate | window | neuter · inanimate | /ɐˈkno/ uk-NOH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: окно |
| письмо́ neuter · inanimate | letter (written message) | neuter · inanimate | /pʲɪˈsʲmo/ pih-SMOH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: письмо |
| жизнь feminine · inanimate | life | feminine · inanimate | /ʐɨznʲ/ ZHIHZN | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: жизнь |
| дочь feminine · animate | daughter | feminine · animate | /dotɕ/ DOHCH | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: дочь |
| пло́щадь feminine · inanimate | square | feminine · inanimate | /ˈploɕːɪtʲ/ PLOH-shchut | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: площадь |
| де́ньги inanimate | money | inanimate | /ˈdʲenʲɡʲɪ/ DYEN-gih | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: деньги |
| брат masculine · animate | brother | masculine · animate | /brat/ BRAHT | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: брат |
| большо́й adjective | big, large | adjective | /bɐlʲˈʂoj/ bul-SHOY | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: большой |
| но́вый adjective | new | adjective | /ˈnovɨj/ NOH-viy | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: новый |
| мой pronoun | my, mine | pronoun | /moj/ MOY | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: мой |
| рубль masculine · inanimate | rouble (the Russian currency) | masculine · inanimate | /rublʲ/ ROOBL | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: рубль |
| челове́к masculine · animate | person; (plural) people | masculine · animate | /tɕɪlɐˈvʲek/ chih-luh-VYEK | Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: человек |
Each case is listed with the question word that selects it. Find the question you are answering and the ending follows.
| Form | ночь (f) | вещь (f) | су́тки | очки́ | брю́ки | стол (m) | кни́га (f) | окно́ (n) | письмо́ (n) | жизнь (f) | дочь (f) | пло́щадь (f) | де́ньги | брат (m) | рубль (m) | челове́к (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom · Кто? Что? | ночь | вещь | — | — | — | стол | книга | окно́ | письмо́ | жизнь | дочь | площадь | — | брат | рубль | челове́к |
| gen · Кого? Чего? | но́чи | ве́щи | — | — | — | стола́ | книги | окна́ | письма́ | жи́зни | до́чери | площади | — | бра́та | рубля́ | челове́ка |
| dat · Кому? Чему? | но́чи | ве́щи | — | — | — | столу́ | книге | окну́ | письму́ | жи́зни | до́чери | площади | — | бра́ту | рублю́ | челове́ку |
| acc · Кого? Что? | ночь | вещь | — | — | — | стол | книгу | окно́ | письмо́ | жизнь | дочь | площадь | — | бра́та | рубль | челове́ка |
| instr · Кем? Чем? | но́чью | ве́щью | — | — | — | столо́м | книгой | окно́м | письмо́м | жи́знью | до́черью | площадью | — | бра́том | рублём | челове́ком |
| prep · О ком? О чём? | но́чи | ве́щи | — | — | — | столе́ | книге | окне́ | письме́ | жи́зни | до́чери | площади | — | бра́те | рубле́ | челове́ке |
| Form | ночь (f) | вещь (f) | су́тки | очки́ | брю́ки | стол (m) | кни́га (f) | окно́ (n) | письмо́ (n) | жизнь (f) | дочь (f) | пло́щадь (f) | де́ньги | брат (m) | рубль (m) | челове́к (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom · Кто? Что? | но́чи | ве́щи | су́тки | очки́ | брю́ки | столы́ | книги | о́кна | пи́сьма | жи́зни | до́чери | площади | де́ньги | бра́тья | рубли́ | лю́ди |
| gen · Кого? Чего? | ноче́й | веще́й | су́ток | очко́в | брюк | столо́в | книг | о́кон | пи́сем | жи́зней | дочере́й | площаде́й | де́нег | бра́тьев | рубле́й | люде́й |
| dat · Кому? Чему? | ноча́м | веща́м | су́ткам | очка́м | брю́кам | стола́м | книгам | о́кнам | пи́сьмам | жи́зням | дочеря́м | площадя́м | де́ньгам | бра́тьям | рубля́м | лю́дям |
| acc · Кого? Что? | но́чи | ве́щи | су́тки | очки́ | брю́ки | столы́ | книги | о́кна | пи́сьма | жи́зни | дочере́й | площади | де́ньги | бра́тьев | рубли́ | люде́й |
| instr · Кем? Чем? | ноча́ми | веща́ми | су́тками | очка́ми | брю́ками | стола́ми | книгами | о́кнами | пи́сьмами | жи́знями | дочеря́ми | площадя́ми | де́ньгами | бра́тьями | рубля́ми | людьми́ |
| prep · О ком? О чём? | ноча́х | веща́х | су́тках | очка́х | брю́ках | стола́х | книгах | о́кнах | пи́сьмах | жи́знях | дочеря́х | площадя́х | де́ньгах | бра́тьях | рубля́х | лю́дях |
A dash means the form does not exist. Plural-only nouns such as де́ньги and су́тки have no singular, and indeclinable nouns such as ко́фе and метро́ keep one form in all six cases.
Я живу́ в большо́м го́роде.
I live in a big city.
IPA /ja ʐɨˈvu v bɐlʲˈʂom ˈɡorətʲe/
Say it YAH zhih-VOO v bul-SHOHM GOH-ruh-dyuh.
The agreement you have had in the nominative since Lesson 3 now works in every case: the adjective follows its noun into the prepositional, taking -ом, and the masculine hard-stem noun takes -е. Both halves answer where? together.
Мы говори́м о но́вой рабо́те.
We are talking about the new job.
IPA /mɨ ɡəvɐˈrʲim ə ˈnovəj rɐˈbotʲe/
Say it MIH guh-vuh-REEM uh NOH-vuy ruh-BOH-tyuh.
о + prepositional is the "about" case, and the feminine adjective ending -ой does four jobs at once — genitive, dative, instrumental and prepositional — so о новой работе, к новой работе and с новой работой all look identical.
Она́ ду́мает о на́шей до́чери.
She is thinking about our daughter.
IPA /ɐˈna ˈduməjɪt ə ˈnaʂɨj ˈdotɕɪrʲɪ/
Say it uh-NAH DOO-muh-yit uh NAH-shiy DOH-chih-rih.
дочь is third declension, and its singular genitive, dative and prepositional are all one form — дочери. Only the prepositional plural differs (о дочерях), and it is built on a different stem entirely.
Я иду́ к врачу́.
I am going to the doctor’s.
IPA /jə ɪˈdu k vrɐˈtɕu/
Say it YAH ih-DOO k vruh-CHOO.
к + dative is movement towards a person or an institution, and it answers Кому?. врач stresses the ending in every oblique form — врача, врачу, врачом, о враче — which is normal for a one-syllable masculine noun.
Мы гуля́ем по го́роду.
We are walking around the city.
IPA /mɨ ɡʊˈlʲajɪm pə ˈɡorətʊ/
Say it MIH goo-LYAH-yim puh GOH-ruh-doo.
по + dative means "along, around, all over": по городу, по улице, по России. The preposition is unstressed and reduces to [pə], so in fast speech the ending -у is the only thing telling you the case.
Я е́ду в Москву́.
I am going to Moscow.
IPA /ˈjedʊ f mɐˈskvu/
Say it YAH YEH-doo v muh-SKVOO.
в + accusative answers Куда? — the same preposition as «в Москве», a different ending. This где? / куда? contrast is the highest-value pair in the whole case system, and it is the one you already have.
Он идёт на вокза́л.
He is on his way to the station.
IPA /on ɪˈdʲot nə vɐɡˈzal/
Say it OHN ih-DYOHT nuh vug-ZAHL.
на, not в, because "at the station" is на вокзале. The semantic class picks the preposition and the question picks the case — the two decisions are independent, and that is what makes the map learnable.
Я ви́жу дом, но не ви́жу бра́та.
I can see the house, but I can’t see my brother.
IPA /ja ˈvʲiʐʊ dom no nʲe ˈvʲiʐʊ ˈbratə/
Say it YAH VEE-zhoo DOHM, NOH NYEH VEE-zhoo BRAH-tuh.
The animacy rule in one sentence. дом is a thing, so the accusative copies the nominative; брат is a person, and for masculine nouns the accusative copies the genitive. Nothing else changes — same verb, same word order.
Она́ ждёт ма́му и сестру́.
She is waiting for her mum and sister.
IPA /ɐˈna ʐdʲot ˈmamʊ ɪ sʲɪˈstru/
Say it uh-NAH ZHDYOHT MAH-moo EE sih-STROO.
Animate feminine nouns in -а take -у in the accusative, which is also the ending an inanimate one takes — я жду книгу. So in the singular feminine nouns never show the animate/inanimate contrast; it lives in the masculine singular and in every plural.
Я рабо́таю с но́вым дру́гом.
I work with a new friend.
IPA /jə rɐˈbotəjʊ s ˈnovɨm ˈdruɡəm/
Say it YAH ruh-BOH-tuh-yoo s NOH-vim DROO-gum.
с + instrumental means "together with", and the adjective goes instrumental too: новым, not новый. Masculine and neuter adjectives share one instrumental ending, -ым after a hard stem and -им after г к х ж ш щ ч or a soft one.
Он стал врачо́м.
He became a doctor.
IPA /on stal vrɐˈtɕom/
Say it OHN STAHL vruh-CHOHM.
Professions and roles go in the instrumental after быть, стать and работать: я работаю врачом, он стал врачом. In the present, where the copula is zero, Russian uses the nominative instead — он врач — which is why the same idea appears in two different cases.
Э́то кни́га моего́ бра́та.
This is my brother’s book.
IPA /ˈɛtə ˈknʲiɡə mɐjɪˈvo ˈbratə/
Say it EH-tuh kuh-NEE-guh muh-yih-VOH BRAH-tuh.
Russian has no possessive ’s: the owner goes in the genitive and follows the thing owned. The г of моего is pronounced [v], never [g]. The possessive agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner — книга моего брата, but книга моей сестры.
У меня́ мно́го книг и пи́сем.
I have a lot of books and letters.
IPA /ʊ mʲɪˈna ˈmnoɡə ˈknʲik ɪ ˈpʲisʲɪm/
Say it oo mih-NYAH muh-NOH-guh kuh-NEEKH EE PEE-sim.
Two genitive plurals with no ending at all, and one of them with a fleeting vowel: книг (from книга) and писем (from письмо). Most feminine nouns in -а and most neuter nouns in -о lose the ending here; most masculines keep -ов/-ев/-ей.
Ско́лько люде́й в Москве́?
How many people are there in Moscow?
IPA /ˈskolʲkə lʲʊˈdʲej v mɐˈskvʲe/
Say it SKOHL-kuh lyoo-DEY v muh-SKVYEH?
людей is the genitive plural of люди, which is the plural Russian actually uses for "people"; the plural of человек survives mainly after numerals (пять человек). сколько governs the genitive, exactly as много and нет do.
Ско́лько рубле́й?
How many roubles?
IPA /ˈskolʲkə rʊˈblʲej/
Say it SKOHL-kuh roo-BLEY?
рубль is a soft-stem masculine, so its genitive plural is рублей, never *рублов. Numeral government switches at five: два рубля (genitive singular), пять рублей (genitive plural) — Lesson 11.
Но́чью бы́ло хо́лодно.
It was cold at night.
IPA /ˈnotɕjʊ ˈbɨlə ˈxolədnə/
Say it NOH-choo BIH-luh KHOH-lud-nuh.
ночью is the instrumental singular of ночь that has frozen into an adverb, just like утром, днём and вечером in Lesson 10. The third declension gives you the adverb for free: learn ночью and you have also learnt a case form.
Э́та вещь моя́.
This thing is mine.
IPA /ˈɛtə ˈvʲeɕː mɐˈja/
Say it EH-tuh VYESHCH muh-YAH.
вещь is feminine. A soft sign at the end of a noun does not tell you the gender — день and дождь are masculine — so a noun in -ь has to be learnt with its gender. Almost all of them are feminine and decline like вещь; the masculine ones decline like стол with a soft stem.
Мои́ но́вые брю́ки в су́мке.
My new trousers are in the bag.
IPA /mɐˈi ˈnovɨjə ˈbrʲukʲɪ f ˈsumkʲe/
Say it muh-EE NOH-vih-yuh BRYOO-kih f SOOM-kyuh.
брюки is plural only, and so is its genitive plural брюк: «у меня нет брюк». The adjective agrees in the plural — новые, not новый — and the possessive does too: мои, not мой.
Э́то очки́ мое́й ба́бушки.
These are my grandmother’s glasses.
IPA /ˈɛtə ɐtɕˈkʲi mɐˈjoj ˈbabʊʂkʲɪ/
Say it EH-tuh uh-CHKEE muh-EY BAH-boo-shkih.
мой in the feminine has one form, моей, that covers the genitive, dative, instrumental and prepositional — so you cannot tell from that word alone which case you are in. The noun after it can: бабушки is genitive singular.
По́езд идёт су́тки.
The train takes twenty-four hours.
IPA /ˈpojɪst ɪˈdʲot ˈsutkʲɪ/
Say it POH-yist ih-DYOHT SOOT-kih.
How long something lasts takes the bare accusative, with no preposition at all: поезд идёт сутки, я спал восемь часов. сутки has no singular, so there is no "one сутки" to fall back on.
Из окна́ я ви́жу пло́щадь.
From the window I can see the square.
IPA /ɪz ɐˈkna ja ˈvʲiʐʊ ˈploɕːɪtʲ/
Say it iz uk-NAH YAH VEE-zhoo PLOH-shchut.
Two cases in seven letters of preposition. из + genitive is "out of", and the genitive of окно is окна — a neuter noun in -о takes -а, the same ending as a masculine one. площадь is third declension and inanimate, so its accusative is its nominative.
До ве́чера!
See you this evening!
IPA /də ˈvʲetɕɪrə/
Say it duh VYEH-chih-ruh!
до + genitive is "until" in time and "as far as" in space — the same preposition as до вокзала. The genitive singular of вечер keeps its stem stress (вечера), unlike вода, which moves it to воды.
Моя́ су́мка под столо́м.
My bag is under the table.
IPA /mɐˈja ˈsumkə pət stɐˈlom/
Say it muh-YAH SOOM-kuh put stuh-LOHM.
под + instrumental is "under" as a place; with the accusative it is "under" as a direction (под стол). The д of под devoices to [т] before the voiceless с of столом — [pət stɐˈlom]: a Russian consonant takes its voicing from the one that follows it.
Мой о́фис над магази́ном.
My office is above the shop.
IPA /moj ˈofʲɪs nəd məɡɐˈzʲinəm/
Say it MOY OH-fis nud muh-guh-ZEE-num.
над + instrumental is "above" and takes no other case at this level. Before the voiced м the д stays [д] — [nəd] — which is the mirror image of под столом, where the д meets a voiceless с and becomes [т].
Ме́жду до́мом и шко́лой есть парк.
There is a park between the house and the school.
IPA /ˈmʲeʐdʊ ˈdoməm ɪ ˈʂkoləj jest park/
Say it MYEH-zhdoo DOH-mum EE SHKOH-luy YEST PAHRK.
между + instrumental governs both nouns at once, so дом becomes домом and школа becomes школой — the masculine -ом and the feminine -ой side by side. есть here is the "there is" of Lesson 4 and takes the nominative.
За до́мом есть парк.
There is a park behind the house.
IPA /zə ˈdoməm jest park/
Say it zuh DOH-mum YEST PAHRK.
за + instrumental is "behind" as a place, and it completes the set: над (above), под (below), между (between), рядом с (next to), за (behind), перед (in front of). With the accusative за means either direction or "for": «спасибо за кофе».
Tom and Anna are getting ready to leave. They are friends, so they use ты.
Анна, где мои очки?
Anna, where are my glasses?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Анна, где мои очки?Твои очки в сумке, рядом с телефоном.
Your glasses are in the bag, next to the phone.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Твои очки в сумке, рядом с телефоном.А мои брюки?
And my trousers?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: А мои брюки?Твои брюки под столом. И твоя книга тоже там.
Your trousers are under the table. And your book is there too.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Твои брюки под столом. И твоя книга тоже там.У нас есть деньги?
Have we got any money?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: У нас есть деньги?Денег мало, и у меня нет времени.
There’s very little money, and I haven’t got time.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Денег мало, и у меня нет времени.Ничего! Поезд идёт вечером, а не утром.
Never mind! The train goes in the evening, not in the morning.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Ничего! Поезд идёт вечером, а не утром.Хорошо. Мы идём на вокзал?
Right. Are we going to the station?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Хорошо. Мы идём на вокзал?Anna is looking at a photograph on Ivan’s phone. They are friends, so they use ты.
Иван, это твоя семья?
Ivan, is this your family?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Иван, это твоя семья?Да, это моя семья. Это моя жена и моя дочь.
Yes, this is my family. This is my wife and my daughter.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Да, это моя семья. Это моя жена и моя дочь.Сколько лет твоей дочери?
How old is your daughter?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Сколько лет твоей дочери?Моей дочери десять лет.
My daughter is ten.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Моей дочери десять лет.А это твой сын? Он студент?
And is this your son? Is he a student?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: А это твой сын? Он студент?Да, это мой сын, он студент.
Yes, this is my son, he’s a student.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Да, это мой сын, он студент.У тебя большая семья! Вы живёте в Москве?
You have a big family! Do you live in Moscow?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: У тебя большая семья! Вы живёте в Москве?Да, мы живём в большом доме рядом с парком.
Yes, we live in a big house next to the park.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Да, мы живём в большом доме рядом с парком.Tom and Anna are planning a route. They are friends, so they use ты.
Мы идём по улице или по парку?
Are we walking along the street or through the park?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Мы идём по улице или по парку?По улице. Парк рядом с площадью.
Along the street. The park is next to the square.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: По улице. Парк рядом с площадью.А где магазин?
And where is the shop?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: А где магазин?Магазин за парком, рядом с банком.
The shop is behind the park, next to the bank.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Магазин за парком, рядом с банком.А вокзал далеко?
And is the station far away?
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: А вокзал далеко?Нет, близко. Вокзал за банком.
No, it’s close. The station is behind the bank.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Нет, близко. Вокзал за банком.Хорошо. Я иду за тобой.
Right. I’m walking behind you.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Хорошо. Я иду за тобой.А я жду тебя у магазина.
And I’ll wait for you by the shop.
Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: А я жду тебя у магазина.Answer actively — try to recall the Russian before you look at any hint.
Choose the correct form.
Choose the correct form of дочь.
Choose the correct form of врач.
Choose the correct form of площадь.
Choose the correct form of окно.
Choose the correct form of «мой брат».
Choose the correct form of люди.
Choose the ending.
Choose the ending.
Choose the ending.
Choose the ending.
Choose the ending.
Choose the ending.
Fill the gap with the genitive plural of книга.
Fill the gap with the prepositional of Италия.
Fill the gap with the instrumental of новый.
Fill the gap with «моя дочь» in the genitive.
Translate into Russian.
Translate into Russian.
Translate into Russian.
Translate into Russian.
Translate into Russian.
Translate into Russian.
Translate into English.
Translate into English.
Translate into English.
Choose the correctly stressed form.
Choose the correctly stressed form.
Choose the correct form of the pronoun.
Choose the correct form of the pronoun.
Choose the correct form.
Choose the correct form.
Pair the chunks with their questions.
Pair the nouns.
Choose the correct sentence.
Answer true or false.
Put the words in order.
Keep the sentence, change the noun.
Rewrite it so that there is more than one brother.
Play the audio and type what you hear.
Play the audio and pick the match.
Recall the English meaning, then rate how well you knew it.
Fill the gap with the prepositional of стол.
Say each sentence aloud three times: slowly, at normal speed, then from memory. Then run the drill that makes this lesson stick — take the noun at the end of the sentence and swap it for another one you know, of a different gender or a different declension, and change every ending that has to change. Say the endings loudly. The whole case system lives in the last two sounds of each word.
Before you move on, make sure you can do all of this without looking:
Go deeper: The six cases: what the system is for · Case questions: identifying any form · The preposition map · Animacy and the accusative · Adjectives in the oblique cases · The genitive plural
