Forming the plural in Russian is a little more complicated than in English. In English, we usually add -(e)s to most nouns. In Russian, however, the endings can vary to a greater extent.
Enough dilly-dallying. It’s now time to start forming plural nouns!
| Masculine |
| consonant + ы | стол [table] автобус [bus] экран [screen] | столы [tables] автобусы [buses] экраны [screens] |
| –й becomes –и | трамвай [tram] урожай [harvest] | трамваи [trams] урожаи [harvests] |
| –ь becomes –и | дождь [rain] медведь [bear] словарь [dictionary] | дожди [rains] медведи [bears] словари [dictionaries] |
Let’s look at some very simple examples:
| Это мой ластик. This is my eraser. |
| Это мои ластики. These are my erasers. |
| В пробке стоит автобус. A bus is stuck in traffic. |
| В пробке стоят автобусы. Buses are stuck in traffic. |
| Feminine |
| –a becomes –ы | голова [head] рана [wound] гора [mountain] | головы [heads] раны [wounds] горы [mountains] |
| –я becomes –и | неделя [week] | недели [weeks] |
| –ь becomes –и | постель [bed] кость [bone] очередь [line] | постели [beds] кости [bones] очереди [lines] |
Let’s look at some very simple examples:
| Неделя быстро прошла. The week went by quickly. |
| Недели быстро прошли. The weeks went by quickly. |
| Там высокая гора. A high mountain is there. |
| Там высокие горы. High mountains are there. |
| Neuter |
| –e becomes –я | море [sea] здание [building] | моря [seas] здания [buildings] |
| –o becomes –a | окно [window] место [place] | окна [windows] места [places] |
Let’s look at some very simple examples:
| У нас круглое окно. We have a round window. |
| У нас круглые окна. We have round windows. |
| Моё место здесь. My seat is here. |
| Наши места здесь. Our seats are here. |
Before we wrap up this post, let’s look at two key bits of information I’d like to share with you:
| Some nouns change their stress in the plural, such as стол, which becomes столы. Pay attention to this change in stress, because it usually recurs in other cases. In fact, there are patterns, but that’s something to be explored in another post. |
It’s pretty safe to say that most of the time, you’ll be adding either ы or и.
| Last Edited: 12/21/2025. |
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