This article will teach you to create the nominative plural, or dictionary plural forms, of Russian nouns. To learn about how to form plural nouns in other cases, read our articles on:

As in English, most Russian nouns have singular and plural forms. Singular nouns are for one of a thing, while plural nouns are for more than one.
стол
stol
table
солы
stalLY
tables
Just like in English, you can usually figure out the plural form of a noun by looking at its singular form, but there are some exceptions. In this post, we’ll discuss how to form the plural form of nouns, given the singular form. We’ll also introduce you to some nouns that have irregular plural forms, some that are only ever singular, and some others that are only every plural. Read on to learn more!
How to make plural nouns in Russian?
In Russian, just like in English, most plural nouns are formed by adding a special plural ending to the base form of a noun (i.e. the noun without any suffixes). Here are the most common plural endings for nouns in different .
| Part of speech | Example | 
|---|---|
| Masculine | -ы[-y] / -и[-i] | 
| Feminine | -ы[-y] / -и[-i] | 
| Neuter | -a[-a] / -я[-i] | 
In the sections below we’ll talk a little more about how and when to use each of the endings above to form the plural of masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns in Russian.
Important
How to make masculine nouns plural?
To make masculine nouns plural, you need to add the ending -ы[-y] or -и[-i]. Follow the chart below to understand which ending to choose.
| Masculine Plural Nouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular ends in... | Pluralization rule | Examples | ||
| Singular | Plural | Translation | ||
| a | add -ы[-y] | банан baNAN | бананы baNAny | banana(s) | 
| стол stol | солы stalLY | table(s) | ||
| a :  | replace -й / -ь with -и | музей mooZYEY | музеи mooZYEi | museum(s) | 
| конь kon | кони KOni | horse(s) | ||
| -ш, -щ, -ж, -ч, -к, -г, or -х | add -и | врач vrach | врачи vraCHEE | doctor(s) | 
| борщ borshch | борщи borSHCHEE | borscht(s) | ||
| марш marsh | марши MARshi | march(es) | ||
| круг krook | круги krooGEE | circle(s) | ||
Exception!
There is a small group of masculine plural nouns that end with -а[a] or -я[ya] instead of the endings above. This happens when the falls on the plural ending. For example:
дом → дома
dom → daMA
house → houses
город → города
GOrad → garaDA
city → cities
учитель → учителя
ooCHEEtel → oochiteLYA
teacher → teachers
You simply have to memorize nouns like these as exceptions. For a longer list of masculine nouns like this, check out our Russian plural noun reference sheet.
How to make feminine nouns plural?
To make feminine nouns plural, you need to replace the singular ending -а[a] with -ы[-y], and replace the singular ending -я[-ya] / -ь with -и[-i]. Follow the chart below to help you pick your ending:
| Feminine Plural Nouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular ends in... | Pluralization rule | Examples | ||
| Singular | Plural | Translation | ||
| -a | replace -a with -ы | мама MAma | мамы MAmy | mom(s) | 
| игра stol | игры IGry | game(s) | ||
| -я or -ь | replace -я / -ь with -и | тётя TYOtya | тёти TYOti | aunt(s) | 
| жизнь zheezn | жизни ZHEEzni | life/lives | ||
| -ша, -ща, -жа, -ча, -ка, -га, or -ха | replace -a with -и | дача DAcha | дачи DAchi | dacha(s) | 
| книга KNEEga | книги KNEEgi | book(s) | ||
How to make neuter nouns plural?
To make neuter nouns plural you need to replace the singular ending -o[o] with -a[a], and replace the singular ending -е[ye] with -я[ya]. Follow the chart below to understand which ending to choose.
| Neuter Plural Nouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular ends in... | Pluralization rule | Examples | ||
| Singular | Plural | Translation | ||
| -o | replace -o with -a | окно akNO | окна OKna | window(s) | 
| озеро Ozera | озёра aZYOra | lake(s) | ||
| -е | replace -е with -я | море MOre | моря maRYA | sea(s) | 
| круг krook | круги krooGEE | circle(s) | ||
| -мя | remove -я and add -енa | имя EEmya | имена imiNA | name(s) | 
| время VREmya | времена vrimiNA | time(s) | ||
Exception!
Neuter nouns with foreign origins most often have the same form in the singular and plural. For example:
- кафе[kaFE](cafe(s)) 
- метро[mitRO](metro(s)) 
- такси[takSEE](taxi(s)) 
- кино[kiNO](movie(s)) 
- меню[miNYU](menu(s)) 
But even though the plurals of these nouns don’t have a special ending, they are still plural! For example, the adjectives that agree with such nouns will still have different endings, depending on whether the noun is singular or plural. For instance:
французское кафе
franTSOOSkaye kaFYE
French cafe
французские кафе
franTSOOSkiye kaFYE
French cafes
What are the most common irregular plural forms of the nouns?
Content paragraph goes hereThough most Russian nouns follow the pluralization rules above, there are still many irregular plural nouns, nouns which have plural forms that must be memorized.
Tip
The good news is that all of these nouns only have irregular plurals in their nominative (or dictionary) forms! In other forms of these nouns, they follow the rules!👍
- Words for family members: GenderSingularPluralEnglishMasculine- брат - brat - братья - BRATya - brother(s) - муж - moozh - мужья - moozhYA - husband(s) - сын - syn - сыновья - synavYA - son(s) Feminine- жена - zhiNA - жёны - ZHYOny - wife/wives - сестра - sisTRA - сёстры - SYOStry - sister(s) - мать - mat - матери - MAteri - mother(s) - дочь - doch - дочери - DOchiri - daughter(s) 
- Nouns with “fleeting vowels”: - In Russian, we say that masculine nouns that end in -ок[ok], -ёк[yok], or -ец[yets] have a “fleeting” vowel. This is because the vowel in each of these endings does not show up in every form of the noun. - These nouns are considered “irregular” because when you add the regular masculine endings to them, the “fleeting” vowel will be dropped. For example: SingularPluralTranslation- кусок - kooSOK - куски - koosKEE - piece(s) - каток - kaTOK - катки - katKEE - skating rink(s) - конец - kaNETS - концы - kanTSY - end(s) - американец - amiriKAnyets - американцы - amiriKANtsy - American(s) - Tip- his group includes words for a number of nationalities that end in -ец[ets], in addition to американец. For example: - итальянец(Italian) 
- немец[NEEMets](German) 
- канадец[kaNAdyets](Canadian) 
 
- Nouns that use another word entirely for the plural: - There are very few words in this group. In Russian, some nouns do not follow rules for the plural. SingularPluralTranslation- ребёнок - riBYOnak - дети - DYEti - child / children - человек - chilaVEK - люди - kaLYUdi - skating rink(s) 
- Other: - There is a list of other common irregular nouns in Russian which you’ll need to memorize as exceptions: GenderIrregular NounRuleMasculine- христианин → христьяне - khristyaNEEN → KhrisTYAne - Christian → Christians - Remove suffix -ин[in] and add the ending -е[ye]to make these nouns plural. - крестьянин → крестьяне - kristyaNEEN → krisTYAne - peasant → peasants - гражданин → граждане - grazhdaNEEN → GRAZHdane - citizen → citizens - стул → стулья - stool → STOOlya - chair → chairs - Very few masculine nouns get the ending -ья[ya] to make the noun plural. - друг → друзья - drook → drooZYA - friend → friends - Same as above, but remember to change -г into -з[z] Feminine- звезда - звёзды - zvizDA - ZVYOzdy - star → stars - Stress is shifting from the ending in a singular form to the root in a plural form. - страна → страны - starNA → STRAny - country → countries Neuter- дерево → деревья - DEriva → diREvya - tree → trees - A few neuter nouns get the ending -ья[ya] to make the noun plural. - звено → звенья - zviNO → ZVYEnya - link, unit → links, units - крыло → крылья - kryLO → KRYlya - wing → wings - яблоко → яблоки - YABlaka → YABlaki - apple → apples - Just as masculine, gets the ending и[i]. 
Which Russian nouns only have a singular form?
In Russian, as in English, there are two main groups of nouns that do not have plural forms: uncountable nouns and names.
- Uncountable nouns are nouns like мебель[MYEbil](furniture) or человечество[chilaVYEchistva](mankind). You cannot say: - ❌ две мебели - dvye MYEbili - two furnitures 
- ❌ пять человечеств - pyat chilaVYEchistv - five mankinds 
 - It is incorrect to add a number in both English and Russian! 
- Most names simply do not change, because they always refer to the same thing, with a number that does not change. 
Now let’s look at six categories of nouns that only have a singular form in Russian.
| Uncountable Nouns | ||
|---|---|---|
| nouns for  groupings | nouns for  substances | most abstract  concepts | 
| 
 | 
 | 
 | 
| Names | ||
|---|---|---|
| cardinal directions | names of  months | most proper names | 
| 
 | 
 | 
 | 
Important
Some nouns that are uncountable nouns in Russian are countable in English! For example, even though in English, “grapes” and “carrots” are countable, in Russian, grapes and carrots cannot be counted, only measured.
Learning the difference between English and Russian uncountable nouns will largely be a matter of practice.
Sometimes Russians will add the suffix -ина[ina] or -ка[ka] to uncountable foods in order to make them countable. For instance:
- виноградина - vinaGRAdina - a grape 
- морковка - marKOVka - a carrot 
What nouns only have a plural form?
As with the singular form nouns, there are nouns which exist only in a plural form. For example:
| Nouns that  exist only in pairs | Some  uncountable nouns | Names of games,  time intervals, weather conditions | Names of some  actions | Some proper  names | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 
 | 
 | 
 | 
 | 
 | 
Did you notice that these do not always align with English? Here are a few more nouns that are always plural even though they are not so in English:
- часы - chaSY - a watch - lit. watches 
- деньги - DENgi - money - lit. monies 
- духи - dooKHEE - perfume - lit. perfumes 
- шахматы - SHAKHmaty - chess - lit. chesses 
Try to remember them by using in the sentence:
Мне нужны большие деньги, чтобы купить швейцарские часы и французские духи.
mnye noozhNY balSHEEye DENgi, CHTOby kooPEET shviTSARskiye chaSY i franTSOOSkiye dooKHI.
I need a lot of money (lit: big money) to buy a Swiss watch and French perfume.
Summary
In this post, we've introduced you to everything you need to know about Russian plural nouns!
- Here are the regular plural endings in Russian: Part of speechExampleMasculine- -ы[-y] / -и[-i] Feminine- -ы[-y] / -и[-i] Neuter- -a[-a] / -я[-i] 
- There are many exceptions and irregular plural forms which you simply need to remember. 
- Some Russian nouns have only a singular form, while others exist only in a plural form. These do not always line up with English! 
Now, test your knowledge by downloading the exercises to master Russian plural nouns below! You can use this reference sheet to help you out.
