| nom. | gen. | dat. | acc. | inst. | prep. |
It’s time to move to the genitive plural – the hardest declension to learn!
No matter how good you are with Russian declensions, there’s bound to be one declension that will always, always make you feel uncertain, and this is the one!
Even native speakers at times have to look up the genitive plural form for a rare noun in Russian.
Why is this declension so tricky? Well, the reason is because this declension has so many endings and a lot of exceptions, which you’ll soon see.
| Purpose |
To learn the purpose of the genitive case, click here. It was explained in the genitive singular post.
| The purpose of this post is simply to show how this case is formed. To learn this case’s usages, click here. |
| Formation |
This case has many, many endings.
| Masculine |
| consonant + ов minus ч, щ, ш, ж | магазин [store] университет [university] стол [table] | магазинов – университетов – столов – |
| –й becomes –ев [sometimes –ёв] | трамвай [tram] музей [museum] бой [battle] слой [layer] | трамваев – музеев – боёв – слоёв – |
| –ь becomes –ей | медведь [bear] дождь [rain] | медведей – дождей – |
| Feminine |
| –а is removed | книга [book] страница [page] женщина [woman] | книг – страниц – женщин – |
| –я becomes –ь | неделя [week] туфля [shoe] кухня [kitchen] | недель – туфель – кухонь – |
| –ь becomes –ей | тетрадь [workbook] цель [goal] | тетрадей – целей – |
| Neuter |
| –е becomes –ей | море [sea] поле [field] | морей – полей – |
| –о is removed | дело [matter] яблоко [apple] | дел – яблок – |
| Above are the basic rules to forming the genitive plural. But there are many, many exceptions to the rules! |
| Exceptions |
- If there is an irregularity in the nominative plural, it often recurs in other cases. The genitive plural is no exception. Some examples are:
| Nom. Sing. | Nom. Pl. | Gen. Pl. |
|---|---|---|
| озеро [lake] | озёра [lakes] | озёр – |
| жена [wife] | жёны [wives] | жён – |
| сестра [sister] | сёстры [sisters] | сестёр – |
| стул [chair] | стуля [chairs] | стулев – |
| брат [brother] | братья [brothers] | братьев – |
| дерево [tree] | деревья [trees] | деревьев – |
| лист [leaf] | листья [leaves] | листьев – |
| друг [friend] | друзья [friends] | друзей – |
| сын [son] | сыновья [sons] | сыновей – |
| муж [husband] | мужья [husbands] | мужей – |
| дом [house] | дома [houses] | домов – |
| вечер [evening] | вечера [evenings] | вечеров – |
| мать [mother] | матери [mothers] | матерей – |
| дочь [daughter] | дочери [daughters] | дочерей – |
| человек [person] | люди [people] | людей – |
| ребёнок [child] | дети [children] | детей – |
| котёнок [kitten] | котята [kittens] | котят – |
| датчанин [male Dane] | датчане [Danes] | датчан – |
| господин [sir] | господа [sirs] | господ – |
- For neuter nouns ending in –мя [only 10 exist], the ending is –ён: время [time] = времён, имя [name] = имён.
- For feminine nouns with a stressed я, the ending will be different: статья [article] = статей, свинья [pig] = свиней, семья [family] = семей.
- Remember those pesky nouns that end in –ия/-ие? Well, as usual, they have a certain ending in the genitive plural: здание [building] = зданий, знание [knowledge] = знаний.
- With zero endings [when the final vowel is removed] a vowel [о or е] is occasionally inserted before the final letter for easier pronunciation: письмо [letter] = писем, ошибка [mistake] = ошибок, кресло [armchair] = кресел, кольцо [ring] = колец, etc. This is done to avoid consonant clusters, which would result in tricky pronunciations.
- Some common exceptions to the above rules are: юноша [young man] = юношей, платье [dress] = платьев, полотенце [towel] = полотенец, дядя [uncle] = дядей, колено [knee] = коленей, плечо [shoulder] = плечей, сосед [neighbor] = соседей, сердце [heart] = сердец, свеча [candle] = свечей, сотня [hundred] = сотен, etc.
- год [year] declines to лет. The reason why is really just a little too complicated to explain.
- For masculine nouns with the following consonants – ч, щ, ш, ж, the endings differ: врач [doctor] declines to врачей, мяч [ball] declines to мячей, and карандаш [pencil] declines to карандашей.
- человек [person], солдат [soldier] and раз [time] are some of the few nouns whose declension in the genitive plural is the same as the nominative singular: один раз [one time] and десять раз [ten times], один солдат [one soldier] and десять солдат [ten soldiers], один человек [one person] and десять человек [ten people]; also, глаз [eye] = глаз.
Honestly, the list could go on and on and on and on and on.
As you can see, this genitive singular is a walk in the park. The genitive plural, on the other hand, is a force to be reckoned with!
My advice: don’t worry about it! You get it wrong; you get it wrong. Learning the genitive plural, if it’s irregular, with every new noun you learn doesn’t hurt. That’s another option. But don’t overthink it and worry too much about the endings. Life is too short to focus on such trivial matters.
| Last Edited: 12/27/2025. |
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