1
Masculine, feminine, neuter
Russian A1 · Unit 8
GoalTell the gender of a noun from its last letter.
New words
дом (dom) · house, homeстул (stul) · chairкни́га (kníga) · bookмаши́на (mashína) · carча́шка (cháshka) · cupокно́ (oknó) · windowмолоко́ (molokó) · milkя́блоко (yábloko) · apple
Explanation
Every Russian noun has a gender: masculine, feminine or neuter. You can usually see it from the last letter. A word that ends in a consonant is masculine: дом, стул. A word that ends in -а or -я is feminine: кни́га, маши́на. A word that ends in -о or -е is neuter: окно́, молоко́. There are exceptions: па́па and дя́дя are masculine because they are men. Words that end in ь need care: learn their gender with the word.
| Gender | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | consonant | дом, стул |
| feminine | -а, -я | кни́га, маши́на |
| neuter | -о, -е | окно́, молоко́ |
Worked examples
Masculine words end in a consonant. Listen.
Feminine words end in -а or -я. Listen.
Neuter words end in -о or -е. Listen.
Class activity
Sort words into three columns on paper: masculine, feminine, neuter. Write the eight words of this lesson in the right columns, with the stress marks. Then add телефо́н and па́па. For па́па, think about why it is masculine.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Is this word masculine, feminine or neuter?
…
Masculine: стол (stol), “table”. It ends in a consonant.
2
What gender is кни́га?
Feminine. It ends in -а.
3
The picture shows a window. Write the word and say its gender.
окно́, neuter. It ends in -о.
4
Which endings tell you that a noun is neuter?
-о or -е.
5
Read the word aloud. What gender is it?
Neuter: молоко́ ends in -о.