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Adjectives in Russian: What are they, how to form them, and how to use them?

By: Olga Maroz Fri Feb 28 2025
Russian
Adjectives

In Russian, as in English, an adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. It shows qualities of the noun or pronoun like…

  • Color:

    • красный[KRAsnyi](red)

    • синий[SEEniy](blue)

  • Size:

    • большой[balSHOY](big)

    • маленький[MAlinkiy](small)

  • Temperature:

    • холодный[khaLOdnyi](cold)

    • тёплый[TYOplyi](warm)

  • Taste:

    • сладкий[SLAdkiy](sweet)

    • солёный[saLYOnyi](salty)

  • ...and more!

This post is an introduction to the basics of how to use adjectives in Russian. We’ll start by discussing where to put Russian adjectives in a sentence, and then we’ll move on to discussing how the forms of Russian adjectives change to “match” or “agree with” the nouns they describe. After that we’ll talk about the difference between long and short adjectives, how to use adjectives as nouns, and how we use adjectives to form the names of people.

Ready to start becoming an excellent Russian speaker by using beautiful, lovely, glorious adjectives? Let's go!

Table of Contents

    Where to put a Russian adjective in a sentence: before or after the noun?

    Usually an adjective in Russian goes before the noun.

    adjectivenoun

    большой дом

    balSHOY dom

    a big house

    Это красивый парк

    Eta kraSEEvyi park

    This is a nice park.

    Я вижу красную машину

    ya VEEzoo KRAsnoou maSHEEnoo

    I see a red car.

    Мы говорим о важных новостях

    my gavaREEM a VAzhnyh navaSTYAH

    We speak about important news.

    But adjectives can also be used in a few other positions:

    • After the verb:

      Just like in English, in Russian some adjectives come after linking verbs like “seem,” “look,” “become,” or, most commonly “to be.”

      nounlinking verbadjective

      Дом был большой.

      dom byl balSHOY.

      The house was big.

      However, in Russian the verb “to be” isn’t used in the present tense! This means that when we want to say a sentence like “this house is big” or “the students are very talented,” we just put the adjective right after the noun or pronoun, without a verb in between.

      nounadjective

      Этот дом большой.

      Etat dom balSHOY.

      This house (is) big.

      Эти студенты очень талантливые.

      Eti stooDENty OCHen taLANtlivye.

      These students (are) very talented.

    • After a noun:

      Sometimes an adjective can follow the noun it describes, even when there is no implied verb “to be.” This emphasizes the quality of the noun or pronoun.

      nounadjective

      Я вижу машину красную.

      ya VEEzoo maSHEEnoo KRAsnooyu.

      I see a red car.

      → This emphasizes that it is not blue or white or some other color.

      Мы говорим о новостях важных.

      my gavaREEM a navaSTYAKH VAzhnyh.

      We speak about important news.

      → This emphasizes that it’s not just silly gossip.
      Tip

      I usually suggest beginner and intermediate students put an adjective before the noun or pronoun to be on the safe side.

    How do adjectives agree with nouns in Russian?

    Russian adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Let’s talk about what that means.

    When you use a Russian noun or pronoun, you have to know three big things about it:

    • Its gender → Is it masculine, feminine, or neuter?

      This is generally inherent to the noun you are using. Learn more from our post on the gender of Russian nouns!

    • Its number → Is it singular or plural?

      Learn more about this distinction from our post on singular vs. plural nouns in Russian.

    • Its case → Is it nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, prepositional, or instrumental?

      This is determined by the role a noun plays in the sentence. To learn more, head back to our resource center and check out our individual articles on each case.

    When you use a Russian adjective to describe a noun, its form will depend on the gender, number, and case of that noun. Basically, the noun is the boss!

    • adjectivemasculine noun

      хороший человек

      khaROshiy chilaVEK

      good person

    • adjectivefeminine noun

      хорошая жена

      khaROshaya zhiNA

      good wife

    • adjectiveneuter noun

      хорошее чувство

      khaROshiye CHUstva

      a good feeling

    • adjectiveplural noun

      харошие книги

      khaROshiye KNEEgi

      good books

    Notice that even though the adjective changes depending on the gender and number of the noun, the noun and the adjective don’t have the same endings! You’ll have to learn a separate set of endings for adjectives!

    The ending you’ll need to add to a particular adjective to mark the case, number, and gender of an adjective will depend on what declension (or “pattern”) the adjective belongs to. You can identify the declension of an adjective by looking at its dictionary form, which is its nominative singular masculine form.

    Let’s start off by talking about how you can use this dictionary form to choose the right ending for an adjective in the nominative case, then we’ll talk a little more about the other cases further down.

    What are the endings for nominative adjectives in Russian?

    The endings for Russian adjectives in the nominative case are illustrated in the table below.

    Russian adjective endings: Nominative case
    Stem ending
    Masculine
    Feminine
    Neuter
    Plural

    Hard Consonant

    • -ый[-yi]

    • -ой[-oy]*

    -ая[-Aya]

    -ое[-Oye]

    -ые[-Yve]

    -к, -г, or -х

    • -ый[-yi]

    • -ой[-oy]*

    -ие[-EEye]

    -ж, -ш, -щ, or -ч

    • -ий[-iy]

    • -ой[-oy]*

    • -ее[-YEe]

    • -oe[-Oye]**

    Soft consonant after н[n]

    -ий[-iy]

    -яя[-YAya]

    -ее[-YEe]

    * Adjectives that take the masculine singular ending -ой[-Oy] are called stressed adjectives, because the ending is stressed.
    **When the stem ends in -ж, -ш, -ч, or -щ, only stressed adjectives take the neuter ending -oe[-Oye].

    Let’s talk a little bit about how to use the chart above!

    If you want to figure out which endings an adjective will take in Russian, you’ll need to ask yourself two questions about the dictionary entry:

    • What is the last letter before the masculine ending?

      This will tell you which row to follow in the table.

    • Does the dictionary form end in -ой[-oy]?

      If it does, it’s called a “stressed” adjective, because the ending is stressed. This means it might occasionally take a different ending from the unstressed adjectives in its “group.”

    Let’s look at some examples. Here are some dictionary entries for different Russian adjectives with their endings highlighted:

    • хороший[khaROshiy](good)

    • красивый[kraSEEvyi](nice)

    • большой[balSHOY](big)

    • маленький[MAlinkiy](small)

    • синий[SEEniy](blue)

    If we look at the last letter before each of those endings, that will tell us which row of the chart above we should follow:

    • хороший[khaROshiy](good)

      Stem ending = -ш → Row 3

    • красивый[kraSEEvyi](nice)

      Stem ending = -в → Row 1

    • большой[balSHOY](big)

      Stem ending = -ш → Row 3

    • маленький[MAlinkiy](small)

      Stem ending = -к → Row 2

    • синий[SEEniy](blue)

      Stem ending = -н → Row 4

    You’ll also need to take note of the fact that one of these adjectives has a stressed ending:

    большой[balSHOY](big)

    If you run into a box in the chart where multiple possible endings are listed, whether or not an adjective is stressed will help you choose between them.

    See if you can figure out the correct feminine, neuter, and plural form for each of the nouns we looked up. Then check your answers against the examples in our nominative adjective reference sheet!

    How to use Russian adjectives in different cases?

    In Russian, adjectives take a different set of gender and number endings in each case. The case of an adjective depends on the case of the noun it describes.

    Let’s briefly review what case is in Russian. The case of a noun or pronoun will depend on the role the noun plays in the sentence. So, for example, a noun that is the subject of a sentence is usually in the nominative case, and a noun that is the object of a sentence is usually in the accusative case. Notice that in the examples below, the ending on the adjective depends on whether the noun “book” is the subject or the object.

    • nominative adjective (feminine singular)nominative noun (feminine singular)

      Новая книга Людмилы Улицкой уже в продаже.

      NOvaya KNEEga LyudMEEly ULEEtskay ooZHE v praDAzhe.

      The new book of Lyudmila Ulitskaya is already on sale.

    • accusative adjective (feminine singular)accusative noun (feminine singular)

      Я прочитал новую книгу Людмилы Улицкой.

      ya pracheeTAL NOvooyu KNEEgoo LyudMEEly ULEEtskay.

      I read a new book by Lyudmila Ulitskaya.

    In Russian there are six cases (nominative, accusative, prepositional, genitive, dative, and instrumental). Each adjective will have a masculine, feminine, neuter, and plural ending in every case!

    Here is a chart to briefly summarize all the possible endings:

    Russian adjective case endings
    Masculine
    Feminine
    Neuter
    Plural
    Nominative

    • -ый[-iy]

    • -ий[-iy]

    • -ой[-oy]

    • -ая[-Aya]

    • -яя[YAya]

    • -ое[-oye]

    • -ее[-Yeye]

    • -ые[-lye]

    • -ие[-lye]

    Accusative
    (inanimate)

    • -ый[-iy]

    • -ий[-iy]

    • -ой[-oy]

    • -ую[-ooYU]

    • -юю[-yuYU]

    • -ое[-oye]

    • -ее[-Yeye]

    • -ые[-lye]

    • -ие[-lye]

    Accusative
    (animate)

    • -ого[-Ova]

    • -его[-YEva]

    • -ую[-ooYU]

    • -юю[YUyu]

    • -ого[-Ova]

    • -его[-YEva]

    • -ых[-ih]

    • -их[-ih]

    Genitive

    • -ом[-om]

    • -ем[-yem]

    • -ой[-oy]

    • -ей [-yey]

    • -ом[-om]

    • -ем[-yem]

    • -ых[-ih]

    • -их[-ih]

    Preposition

    • -ом[-om]

    • -ем[-yem]

    • -ой[-oy]

    • -ей[-yey]

    • -ом[-om]

    • -ем[-yem]

    • -ых[-ih]

    • -их[-ih]

    Dative

    • -ому[-Omy]

    • -ему[-YEmy]

    • -ой[-oy]

    • -ей[-yey]

    • -ому[-Omoo]

    • -ему[-YEmy]

    • -ым[-im]

    • -им[-im]

    Instrumental

    • -ым[-im]

    • -им[-im]

    • -ой[-oy]

    • -ей[-yey]

    • -ым[-im]

    • -им[-im]

    • -ыми[-lmi]

    • -ими[-lmi]

    Now look at these examples. Can you see how the ending on the adjective matches the gender, number, and case of the noun? See if you can find each adjective ending in the table above.

    • Nominative:

      Это красивый дом.

      Eta kraSEEvyi dom.

      It’s a nice house.

    • Prepositional:

      Мы говорим о нашем новом доме.

      Mi gavaREEm a NAshem NOvam DOme.

      We speak about our new house.

    • Genitive:

      У меня нет новой книги.

      oo miNYA nyet NOvay KNEEgi.

      I do not have a new book.

    • Dative:

      Я пишу письмо моим лучшим друзьям.

      ya piSHOO pisMO maIM LOOchshim drooZYAm.

      I am writing a letter to my best friends.

    • Instrumental:

      Он живёт с пожилыми родителями.

      on ziVYOT s pazhiLYmi raDEEtyelyami.

      He lives with elderly parents.

    Want to learn more about how to mark on Russian adjectives in different cases? For an in-depth discussion of each case, head back to the Russian resource center, and have a look at our articles on each of the individual cases.

    What are long and short adjectives in Russian?

    Russian adjectives have two forms, called long and short adjectives.

    • The long form is the one we’ve discussed above, and it is more common in spoken Russian.

    • The short form is considered to be more formal and is frequently used in written Russian.

    There is also a slight difference in meaning between the two. While long adjectives usually reflect a permanent condition of the noun or pronoun which it describes, a short adjective reflects a temporary state.

    Luckily, though, short adjectives are actually easier to form than long adjectives, since each short adjective has only four different forms and does not change with case.

    Here are some comparisons between long and short adjectives. Do you notice the slight difference in meaning?

    Long Adjective
    Short Adjective

    Он очень больной человек.

    on OCHen balNOY chilaVEK.

    He is sick.

    → He has permanent health problems.

    Он сегодня болен.

    siVOdnya on BOlen.

    He is sick today.

    → He has a cold or does not feel well temporarily.

    Анна счастливая девушка.

    ANna schasLIvaya DEvooshka.

    Anna is a happy girl.

    → She lives a happy life in general.

    Она счастлива сегодня.

    aNA sCHAsliva siVOdnya.

    She is happy today.

    → Something made her very happy today.

    Check out our post on long and short adjectives in Russian to learn a lot more about this distinction!

    What are adjectival nouns in Russian?

    Adjectival nouns in Russian are adjectives that are used like nouns in a sentence. We do this in English too. In a sentence like “I put some more blue on my paintbrush,” the word “blue” acts like a noun even though it’s usually an adjective (as in, “blue paint”).

    In Russian, even though adjectival nouns act like a noun in the sentence, they still take adjective endings, not the noun ones. This is true even when the meaning of an adjectival noun is a little different from the meaning of the regular adjective.

    Here are some examples…

    • русский[ROOskiy](Russian)

      • adjective

        Я изучаю русский язык.

        ya izooCHAyu ROOskiy yaZYk.

        I study the Russian language.

      • adjectival noun

        Русские любят чай.

        ROOskiye LYUbyat chay.

        Russians like tea.

        → The ending -ие usually marks nominative plural adjectives, not nominative plural nouns

    • столовый[staLOviy]((relating to) tables)

      • adjective

        Я купил новый столовый сервиз.

        ya kooPЕЕL NOvyi staLOvyi servis.

        I bought a new dinner set.

        lit. I bought a new table set.

      • adjectival noun

        В столовой хорошая еда.

        v staLOvay khaROshaya yeDA.

        There is good food in the cafeteria.

        → The ending -ой usually marks feminine singular adjectives in the prepositional case, not nouns.

    Are Russian last names nouns or adjectives?

    In Russian, some last names in Russian take adjectival endings and change their ending the same way as regular adjectives do. These names are sort of like adjectival nouns.

    For example:

    • У Льва Толстого было пятеро детей.

      oo Lva TalsTOva BYLa PYAtera diTEY.

      Leo Tolstoy had five children.

      → The ending -ого is used for masculine singular genitive adjectives.

    • Ленин любил Надежду Крупскую.

      LEnin lyuBEEL NaDEzhdoo KROOpskooyu.

      Lenin loved Nadezhda Krupskaya.

      → The ending -ую is used for feminine singular accusative adjectives.

    Summary

    Now I am sure you understand adjectives in Russian well. There are some important points you should remember:

    • Adjectives in Russian usually precede the noun they describe, but they can follow the noun in some cases.

    • Russian adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular or plural), and case (nominative, accusative, prepositional, genitive, dative, and instrumental).

    • We covered the detailed agreement forms of nominative adjectives and introduced you to adjective endings in other cases as well.

    • Most adjectives in Russian have two forms: long and short.

    • Some adjectives in Russian can function in the sentence as a noun.

    • Some last names in Russian have adjectival endings and they change their ending the same way as regular adjectives do.

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    Activities: Russian adjectivesStudy Resource: Adjectives in the nominative case

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