The genitive is the most widely-used case in Russian, as nouns in the genitive case serve multiple functions. We use the genitive case for possessors, absent nouns, quantities, the objects of a large number of , and more.
In this post, we'll introduce you to the Russian genitive case. We’ll start with some charts that will show you how to form nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in this case, then we’ll give you a brief overview of the most important uses of this case. Along the way, we’ll direct you towards some resources where you can learn more. Ready to have a look? Let’s do it!
To form the genitive case in Russian, you'll usually replace the ending that a noun or adjective has in the nominative case with a special genitive ending. However, there are some words, like pronouns, that have special forms just for the genitive. Let's look!
The chart below illustrates the general rules for forming genitive singular nouns:
Gender | Nominative singular ending | Genitive singular ending | Examples | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | Genitive | English | |||
Masculine | consonant + -а[a] | друг drook | друга DROOga | friend | |
-й | -я ya | музей mooZYEY | музея mooZYEya | museum | |
-ь | учитель ooCHEEtil | учителя ooCHEEtilya | teacher | ||
Feminine | -а | -ы y | мама MAma | мамы MAmy | mom |
-я | -и i | тётя TYOtya | тёти TYOti | aunt | |
-ь | ночь noch | ночи NOchi | night | ||
Neuter | -о | -а a | окно akNO | окна akNA | window |
-е | -я ya | море MOrye | моря MOrya | sea | |
Singular masculine genitive nouns are also sometimes formed using the endings -у / -ю, instead. These endings are used only in spoken Russian and only in some specific situations, like talking about the amount of something or in certain idiomatic phrases. To read more about these endings, check out our instructions for when and how to use the -у / -ю genitive endings in Russian at the downloads section at the bottom of this page.
Some nouns lose or acquire vowels when you add the genitive endings:
All nouns ending in -ок → the о is lost
рынок
RYnak
рынка
RYNka
market
All nouns ending in -ец → the е is lost
певец
piVYETS
певца
pitTSA
singer
All nouns ending in -мя → the я becomes ен
время
VRYEmya
времени
VRYEmini
time
There are also a few more irregular nouns to remember:
мать
mat
матери
MAtyeri
mother
дочь
doch
дочери
DOchyeri
daughter
The chart below illustrates how to put plural nouns into the genitive case. Note that sometimes an ending is dropped rather than added!
Gender | Nominative singular ending | Genitive singular ending | Examples | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative Singular | Genitive Plural | English | |||
Masculine | consonant + -ов[of] | стол stal | столов staLOF | table(s) | |
-й | -ев ev | музей mooZYEY | музеев mooZYEyef | museum(s) | |
-ь | -ей yey | учитель ooCHEEtil | учителей oochitiLYEY | teacher(s) | |
Feminine | -а | — | мама MAma | мам mam | mom(s) |
-я | -ь | тётя TYOtya | тёть tyot | aunt(s) | |
-ь | -ей yey | ночь noch | ночей naCHYEY | night(s) | |
Neuter | -о | — | лицо lyiTSO | лиц lyic | face(s) |
-е | -ей yey | море MOrye | морей maRYEY | sea(s) | |
Though the charts above give the most important rules for genitive nouns, there are a few smaller exceptions. For example, masculine nouns ending in the letters -ж[zh], -ш[sh], -ч[ch], and -щ[shch], called “sizzlers,” use the plural ending -ей[yey] not -ов[ov]. Have a look at our chart of Russian genitive endings at the bottom of the page for more exceptions and examples!
In Russian, we use a genitive to describe a genitive noun. Adjectives in Russian agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns or pronouns they describe.
The chart below summarizes the adjective endings in Russian. Notice that they’re not the same as the noun endings!
Gender | Genitive adjective endings | Genitive noun endings |
|---|---|---|
Masculine |
|
|
Feminine |
|
|
Neuter |
|
|
Plural |
| Masculine:
|
Feminine, Neuter:
|
To learn more, check our our post on genitive adjectives in Russian, or, if you just want to see how to form genitive adjectives, you can have a look at the chart of Russian genitive endings at the bottom of this page.
Now it’s time to talk about what happens to the pronouns in the genitive case. Russian personal pronouns change by case. In the genitive case, they have the following forms:
Nominative personal pronouns | Genitive personal pronouns |
|---|---|
я ya I | меня miNY |
ты ty you (sg. informal) | тебя tiBYA |
он on he, it (m.) | (н)его (n)iVO |
она aNA she, it (f.) | (н)её (n)iYO |
мы my we | нас nas |
вы vy you (pl. or formal) | вас vas |
они aNEE they | (н)их (n)eekh |
Have you noticed that letter -н[n] sometimes proceeds the pronouns его[iVO](him), её[iYO](her), and их[eekh](them)?
Here’s the rule: use него[niVO](him), неё[niYO](her), and них[neekh](them) after which require the genitive case.
For example:
У тебя, меня и него нет денег.
oo tiBYA, miNYA i niVO nyet DYEnik.
You, me, and him have no money.
Он не может жить без неё.
on ni MOzhyt zhyt byez niYO.
He can’t live without her.
Их собака всегда сидит около них.
eekh saBAka fsigDA siDEET Okala neekh.
Their dog always sits next to them.
There are several uses of the genitive case in Russian. We mostly use this case…
for possessors
for something that is absent
after a lot of quantity words
after a wide range of prepositions
after
for the objects of some verbs
to express the “partitive” (see below!)
Let’s have a closer look at each of these uses!
In Russian, the owner or possessor of something else is always genitive. This means that, in Russian, we use genitive case for the possessor in possessive noun phrases (e.g. “John’s book”) and for the possessor in “have” sentences (e.g. “John has a book.”)
книга друга
knEEga DROOga
a friend’s book
У вашей сестры есть дети?
oo VAshei sisTRY yest DYEti?
Does your sister have children?
In Russian, we can turn some nouns into something called a possessive adjective.
мамина комната
MAmina KOMnata
mom's room
Possessive adjectives will match the case of the noun they describe. This means that if “mom’s room” is the subject of the sentence, the possessive adjective will also be nominative. Learn more in our post on genitive vs. possessive adjectives in Russian.
In Russian, as in English, a “possessor” can be a noun that literally owns something, but “having” and “possessing” can also be more abstract. We also use a possessive phrase when there are other relationships between nouns, for example:
крыша сарая
KRYsha saRAya
the roof of the barn
глубина моря
gloobiNA MOrya
the depth of the sea
бутылка воды
booTYLka vaDY
a bottle of water
открытие галереи
atKRYtiye galiRYEi
the opening of the gallery
улица Пушкина
OOlitsa POOSHkina
Pushkin Street
юрист мужа
yuREEST MOOzha
husband's lawyer
школа танцев
SHKOla TANtsef
dancing school
Want to see more examples and discussion of this use of the genitive? Check out our article on the genitive case of possession in Russian!
We also frequently use the genitive case to mark a noun that is absent.
We mostly use the genitive case of absence with the negative versions of the verb быть[byt](to be / to have):
нет
nyet
isn't / do not have
не было
NYE byla
wasn't / didn't have
не будет
nye BOOdit
won't be / have
You’ll use the genitive after these expressions if you are saying that:
Something doesn’t exist
Раньше в этом городе не было хороших ресторанов.
RANshe v Etam GOradye NEbyla khaROshikh ristaRAnaf.
There were not good restaurants in this city before.
Someone doesn’t have something
У меня нет большого дома , новой машины и современных гаджетов.
oo miNYA nyet balSHOva DOma, NOvay maSHYny ee savriMYEnykh GAdzhytaf.
I do not have a big house, new car, or modern gadgets.
lit. A big house, new car, or modern gadgets are not very near me.
In spoken Russian you might hear people often use the word нету[NYEtoo](no) instead of нет[nyet](no).
Want to review the difference between the negative words нет and не? Check out our post on negative words in Russian!
There are also a few other negated verbs that express similar meanings and also take genitive .
Страна не имеет выхода к морю.
straNA ni iMYEit VYkhada k MOryu.
The country is landlocked.
Не существует большой разницы.
ni sooshchiSTVOOit balSHOY RAZnitsy.
There is not much difference.
Она не пролила ни слезинки.
aNA ni praliLA ni sliZEENki.
She didn’t shed a tear.
In Russian, we use the genitive after quantity words, for example:
Сколько друзей ты пригласил на день рождения?
skolKA drooZYEY ty priglaSEEL na dyen razhDYEnya?
How many friends did you invite for your birthday party?
Несколько известных артистов уехали из России.
NYESkalka izVYESnykh arTEEStaf ooYEkhali iz raSEEi.
Some famous actors left Russia for good.
много важных начальников и мало эффективных работников.
MNOga VAZHnykh naCHALnikaf i MAla efikTEEvnykh raBOTnikaf.
a lot of important managers, and very few effective employees
We also often use the genitive case after cardinal numbers as well, as below:
пять интересных рассказов и шесть коротких повестей
pyat inteRYESnykh rasKAzaf i shest kaROTkikh paviSTYEY
five interesting stories, and six short tales
Deciding what form of a noun or adjective should follow a number in a Russian sentence actually involves a lot of different grammar rules. We advise that before you start using counting things with numbers you first review our post on how to use cardinal numbers in Russian, where we’ll go through all the rules you’ll need!
In Russian, there are many prepositions which trigger the genitive case. This means that when you use these prepositions, their object will be in the genitive. Here are some examples in the context:
Аптека находится около нового театра, справа от картинной галереи, напротив магазинов.
apTYEka naKHOditsa Okala NOvava TYAtra, SPRAva at karTEEnay galiRYEi, napROtif magaZEEnaf.
The pharmacy is located near a new theater, to the right from the art (picture) gallery, in front of the shops.
Вчера я вернулся домой от моих родителей, из родного города.
fchiRA ya virNOOlsya daMOY at maEEKH raDEEtilyei, is radNOva GOrada.
Yesterday I returned home from my parents, from my native city.
To learn more, have a look at our article on genitive prepositions in Russian, or download the list of genitive prepositions at the bottom of this page!
Because the genitive is associated with quantity, possession, and prepositions, we often use it to express times and dates. For example:
Пушкин родился шестого июня 1799 (тысяча семьсот девяносто девятого года).
POOSHkin raDEELsya shysTOva iYUnya 1799 (TYsicha simSOT diviNOsta diVYAtava GOda).
Pushkin was born June 6, 1799 (year seventeen ninety nine).
To get a full picture of when you should use this case to express the time or the date check out our posts on how to say the date in Russian and how to give the time of day in Russian.
When we compare two objects, use the genitive case for the noun that comes after the comparative form of the adjective.
Нью-Йорк больше Филадельфии.
nyu-YORK BOLshe filaDELfii.
New York is bigger than Philadelphia.
Статуя Свободы в Нью-Йорке выше памятника Мартину Лютеру Кингу в городе Вашингтон.
STAtooya svaBOdy v nyu-YORkye VYshe PAmitnika MARtinoo LYUteroo KEENgoo v GOradye vashinKTON.
The Statue of Liberty in New York is taller than the Martin Luther King Monument in Washington DC.
If you use the word чем[chyem](than) in your comparison, you’ll use the for the second noun instead.
Нью-Йорк больше, чем Филадельфия.
nyu-YORK BOLshe, chyem filaDELfiya.
New York is bigger than Philadelphia.
Статуя Свободы выше, чем памятник Мартину Лютеру Кингу.
STAtooya svaBOdy VYshye, chyem PAmitnik MARtinoo LYUteroo KEENgoo.
The Statue of Liberty is taller than the Martin Luther King Monument.
Some Russian verbs, like добиваться[dabiVATsya](to achieve, to succeed) or бояться[baYATsya](to be afraid of) require their to be in the genitive case:
Он добился успеха несмотря ни на что.
on daBEELsya oosPYEkha nismatRYA ni na shto.
He achieved success no matter what.
Она очень боится мышей и тараканов.
aNA Ochen baEEtsya mySHEY i taraKAnaf.
She is very afraid of mice and cockroaches.
You can download a list of common Russian verbs that take a genitive object from the bottom of this page!
In Russian, the “partitive” genitive is applied to the direct object of a verb that usually takes the as a way to imply that the action applied to only “some” or “part” of the direct object. You’ll most often hear this in spoken language when someone is expressing that they want just some of something, not the whole thing. You still should use the accusative if you refer to “the whole” amount and not just a part of it. For example:
Partitive Genitive ("some" or "part" of the direct object) | Accusative (a “whole” direct object) |
|---|---|
Я хочу конфет. ya khaCHOO kanFYET. I want some candy. | Я хочу конфету. ya khaCHOO kanFYEtoo. I want a candy. |
Дедушка собрал грибов в лесу. DYEdooshka sabRAL griBOF v liSOO. Grandpa collected some mushrooms in the forest. | Эти грибы собрал дедушка. Eti griBY sabRAL DYEdooshka. Grandpa collected the mushrooms. |
Она выпила чая/чаю и побежала на работу. aNA VYpila CHAya/CHAyu i pabiZHAla na raBOtoo. She had some tea and ran to work. | Она выпила чай и побежала на работу. aNA VYpila chay i pabiZHAla na raBOtoo. She had (a cup of) tea and ran to work. |
Дайте мне соли, пожалуйста! DAYti mnye SOli, paZHAlasta! Give me some salt, please! | Дайте мне соль, пожалуйста! DAYti mnye sol, paZHAlasta! Give me the salt, please! |
In this post, we covered the genitive case in Russian. We saw the following:
These are the endings for the genitive case of nouns and adjectives:
Gender | Genitive adjective endings | Genitive noun endings |
|---|---|---|
Masculine |
|
|
Feminine |
|
|
Neuter |
|
|
Plural |
| Masculine:
|
Feminine, Neuter:
|
The genitive case has many uses in Russian. We use it…
for possessor nouns
for nouns that are not present/possessed
after expressions of quantity
after a large number of prepositions
in dates and times
after comparative adjectives
for the objects of some verbs
to express that an action applies to only “part” of the direct object (the “partitive”)
And now you’re done! If you’re ready to study, review the Russian genitive case resources linked below or try out our Russian genitive case exercises to practice applying what you have learned!
