Singular vs. plural nouns in Russian

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.

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:

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.

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.

• Words for family members:

  Gender	Singular	Plural	English
  Masculine	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:

  Singular	Plural	Translation
  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.

  Singular	Plural	Translation
  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:

  Gender	Irregular Noun	Rule
  Masculine	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].