What is the difference between animate and inanimate nouns in Russian?

In Russian, the difference between animate and inanimate nouns is:

• Animate nouns are the words that describe beings that are alive and sentient or perceived as able to take action: people, animals, insects. For example:

  • мама

    MAma

    mom

  • врач

    vrach

    doctor

  • собака

    saBAka

    dog

  • муха

    MOOkha

    fly

• Inanimate nouns are the words that describe something that is not sentient or perceived as able to take action, such as objects, plants, abstract concepts, and places. For example:

  • поезд

    POist

    train

  • ветер

    VYEtir

    wind

  • кактус

    KAKtoos

    cactus

  • Бостон

    BOStan

    Boston

Why is it important to know if a noun is animate or inanimate? In Russian, whether a noun is animate or inanimate can impact what form the noun will take in the accusative case.

Are you ready to learn more about animate and inanimate nouns in Russian and learn some exceptions? Keep on reading!

They usually name alive, sentient beings, like people, animals, or insects. For instance:

Generally, animate nouns are masculine or feminine. There are very few neuter animate nouns in Russian. Usually, these are nouns which end in the suffix -ище[EEshchye], as in чудовище[chooDOvishchye](a monster). There are also a few neuter animate nouns which were formed from adjectives or participles. For example:

• животное

  zhyVOTnaye

  an animal

• насекомое

  nasiKOmaye

  an insect

• млекопитающее

  mlikapiTAyushchiye

  a mammal

Animate nouns can also be used for beings that are perceived as being sentient or able to take action but are not actually alive. These are usually names of toys or figurines which look like people, mythological creatures, chess pieces, playing cards, and words describing dead people.

Inanimate nouns name “not alive” things, phenomena, abstract concepts, actions, plants, celestial bodies, and planets.

It is important to know the difference between animate and inanimate nouns because a noun’s animacy impacts the forms it takes when it is in the accusative case. The animacy of nouns also affects the forms of any adjectives that describe them when they are used in the accusative case.

You may recall that the “accusative” form of a Russian noun is the form it takes when it is the direct object of a sentence (i.e. it is the noun the subject transmits its action to). So in the sentence, “Mary taught the boys,” the word “boys” would be in the accusative case.

Because words in a Russian sentence can appear in any order, sometimes the only way to know the difference between “Mary taught the boys” and “The boys taught Mary” in Russian would be to look at which noun is accusative. So, recognizing which noun is in the accusative case is very important. Learning to use the right endings when speaking is equally important. Let’s learn more!

In Russian, the animacy of a noun affects the form of the accusative case for masculine singular nouns and for plural nouns. In both groups of nouns you’ll follow this rule:

• Animate Nouns → the accusative matches the genitive case (the form we use for possessors)

  	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive
  Plural	Мальчики плакали. MALchiki PLAkali. The boys cried.	Я учил мальчиков. ya ooCHEEL MALchikaf. I taught the boys.	стулья мальчиков STOOLya MALchikaf the boys’ chairs
  Masculine singular	Мальчик читал. MALchik chiTAL. The boy reads.	Мы видели мальчика. my VEEdili MALchika. We saw a boy.	Книга мальчика KNEEga MALchika the boy’s book

• Inanimate Nouns → the accusative matches the nominative case (the form we use for subjects)

  	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive
  Plural	Яблоки созрели. YAblaki saZRYEli. The apples ripened.	Я съел яблоки. ya syel YAblaki I ate the apples.	вкус яблок fkoos YAblak the taste of apples
  Masculine singular	Компьютер работает. kampYUter raBOtait. The computer works.	Мы создали компьютер. my saZDAli kampYUter. We created a computer.	Экран компьютера ikRAN kampYUtera the computer's screen

The accusative singular forms of feminine and neuter singular nouns in Russian are not affected by whether the noun is animate or inanimate. Neuter nouns always look like the nominative, and feminine nouns all take the same set of accusative-specific endings.

To learn more, have a look at our post on the Russian accusative case or have a look at this complete chart showing the role of animacy in Russian nouns and adjectives, at the bottom of this page.

The forms of Russian adjectives in the accusative case are also affected by the animacy of the noun they describe. Accusative adjectives follow a similar pattern to the one we saw above:

• Accusative adjectives describing plural or masculine singular animate nouns look like genitive plural adjectives.

  	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive
  Plural	высокие официантки vySOkiye afitsyANtki tall waitresses	высоких официанток vySOkikh afitsyANtak tall waitresses	высоких официанток vySOkikh afitsyANtak of the tall waitresses
  Masculine singular	красивый человек kraSEEvyi chilaVYEK nice person	красивого человека kraSEEvava chilaVYEka nice person	красивого человека kraSEEvava chilaVYEka of nice person

• Accusative adjectives describing plural or masculine singular inanimate nouns look like nominative plural adjectives.

  	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive
  Plural	зеленые яблоки ziLYOnyiye YAblaki green apples	зеленые яблоки ziLYOnyiye YAblaki green apples	зеленых яблок ziLYOnykh YAblak of the green apples
  Masculine singular	красивый человек kraSEEvyi chilaVYEK nice person	красивого человека kraSEEvava chilaVYEka nice person	красивого человека kraSEEvava chilaVYEka of nice person

To learn about all the possible accusative adjective endings and when to use which, have a look at our post on the Russian accusative case or have a look at the complete chart showing the role of animacy in Russian nouns and adjectives at the bottom of this page!

Question words for Russian nouns follow a similar pattern! The animate question word looks the same in the genitive and accusative cases, while the inanimate question word looks the same in the nominative and accusative cases.

When considering the animacy of a noun in Russian, keep in mind that…

• Animate nouns are the words that describe beings that are alive, sentient, or perceived as able to take action: people, animals, insects. Most of these are masculine or feminine.

• Inanimate nouns are the words that describe something that is not sentient or perceived as able to take action, such as objects, trees, abstract concepts, and places.

• It is important to know the difference between animate or inanimate nouns in order to determine the correct endings to use in the accusative case, both for nouns and the adjectives that describe them.

  • Pay special attention to animacy for plural nouns and masculine singular nouns! In these two groups, the accusative case of animate nouns and adjectives will look just like the genitive case, while the accusative case of inanimate nouns will look just like the nominative case.

Now you’re ready to try out our Russian animate and inanimate noun exercises below! Or if you’d rather study, download the summary chart. Happy learning!