The Russian Alphabet

Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters divided into 10 vowels, 21 consonants and 2 letters which do not
designate any [Link] letter can be either capital or small. The letters can also be printed or handwritten.

Pronunciation of the Russian Alphabet

Click on the red letters to hear their name pronounced.

Аа Рр

Бб Сс
Вв Тт

Гг Уу

Дд Фф

Ее Хх
Ёё Цц
Жж Чч

Зз Шш

Ии Щщ
Йй Ъъ
Кк Ыы
Лл Ьь
Мм Ээ
Нн Юю
Оо Яя
Пп
 Russian Number 1-100

(1) один (6) шесть

(2) два (7) семь
(3) три (8) восемь
(4) четыре (9) девять
(5) пять (10) десять

(11) одиннадцать (16) шестнадцать

(12) двенадцать (17) сем
надцать
(13) тринадцать (18) восемнадцать
(14) четырнадцать (19) девятнадцать
(15) пятнадцать (20) двадцать
(21) двадцать один

(30) тридцать
(22) двадцать два (40) сорок
(23) двадцать три (50) пя тьдесят
(24) двадцать четыре (60) ш естьдесят
(25) двадцать пять (70) семьдесят
(26) двадцать шесть (80) восемьдесят
(27) двадцать семь (90) девяносто
(28) двадцать восемь (100) сто
 Days of the Week in Russian

Russian word English translation Pronunciation

понедельник Monday puh-nee-DYEHL'-neek

вторник Tuesday FTOHR-neek

среда Wednesday sree-DAH

четверг Thursday cheet-VYEHRK

пятница Friday PYAHT-nee-tsuh

суббота Saturday soo-BOH-tuh

воскресенье Sunday vuhs-kree-SYEHN'-yeh

В понедельник – on monday
 Russian Months of the Year

Russian word English translation Pronunciation

январь January yeen-VAHR'

февраль February fee-VRAHL'

март March mahrt

апрель April ah-PRYEHL'

май May mahy

июнь June ee-YOON'

июль July ee-YOOL'

август August AHV-goost

сентябрь September seen-TYAHBR'

октябрь October ahk-TYAHBR'

ноябрь November nah-YAHBR'

декабрь December dee-KAHBR'

в – in

в январь – in January
 Russian Greetings - Приветствия

Russian English

Здравствуйте! Hello! formal, at any time

Доброе утро. Good morning. before noon

Добрый день. Good afternoon. after noon

Добрый вечер. Good evening. after 6 pm

Привет. Hi. informal

Как поживаете? How are you? formal

Как поживаешь? How are you? informal

Прекрасно. А ты? Fine. And you? informal

Рад тебя видеть. Nice to see you. informal, said by male

Рада тебя видеть. Nice to see you. informal, said by female

Рад Вас видеть. Nice to see you. formal, said by male

Рада Вас видеть. Nice to see you. formal, said by female

Я тоже рад Вас видеть. Nice to see you too. formal, said by male

Я тоже рада Вас видеть. Nice to see you too. formal, said by female

Что нового? What's new?

Как дела? How are you doing? rather informal

Как у Вас дела? How are you doing? formal

Спасибо, хорошо. Fine, thank you.

А у Вас? And you?

Так себе. So-so.

Как обычно. As usual.

Неплохо. Not so bad.

Плохо. Bad.

Noun Gender and Number

There are three genders in Russian: masculine, feminine and neuter. You can usually determine the
gender of a noun by its ending. Here are some basic rules, although exceptions exist:

Masculine gender:

Word Ending
дом in a consonant
чай in -й

Feminine gender:

Word Ending
картина in -a
семья in -я
история in -ия

Neuter gender:

Word Ending
письмo in -o
платьe in -e
 внимание in -ие
время in -мя

Nouns ending in the soft sign -ь can be either masculine or feminine: день (day - masculine), жизнь (life -
feminine). The best way to tell the gender of such nouns is to memorize it as you progress with your Russian language
study.

Remember that there are no definite or indefinite articles in Russian. The meaning of English articles "a", "an"
and "the" is determined from the context and some other means, including word order, the use of plurals.

The number of nouns

English plurals often end in -s. In Russian, there are more endings to make plurals. They are all summed up in the table:

Noun type Ending for plural Example

стол - столы
masculine ending in a hard consonant; -ы;
улица - улицы
feminine ending in -a -ы, -и
чашка - чашки
двeрь - двери
any nouns ending in -ь, -й, -я -и
земля - земли
ноЖ - ножи
masculine and feminine with the stem ending in -к, -г, -x, -ч, -щ, -ж, -ш, -и
ноГа - ноги
neuter ending in -o -a окно - окнa
neuter ending in -e -я мoре - моря
Some nouns are always singular. These are nouns that designate substances кислород, медь (oxygen,
copper), food products сахар, мука (sugar, flour), a block of objects мебель (furniture), some
actions охота (hunting), feelings любовь, здоровье (love, health), sorts of fabric бархат (velvet),
medicine аспирин (aspirin), some vegetables and berries картофель, морковь (potato, carrots).

Agreement with nouns

You will have to know the genders and plural forms of nouns because they influence the use of adjectives and
pronouns. The basic rule is that Russian adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number and cases.
Take a look at how the adjective красивый (beautiful) changes depending on the gender and number of the noun
which it describes (in the Nominative case):

Красивый:

Gender/number of noun Change in adjective

masculine singular: красивый мяч
feminine singular: красивая девушка
neuter singular: красивое море
красивые мячи
plural:
красивые девушки
(all genders)
красивые моря
 Russian Verb Conjugation.
There are two main groups of regular verbs in Russian: those whose infinitive form ends in -ть
and those whose infinitive form ends in -ти. Most verbs take the -ть ending, and some end in -ти.

There are also some exceptions that end in -чь, like the verb беречь (“to protect”).

Within the -ть verbs, there are two further distinctions. To conjugate verbs that end in -ять
and -ать in the present tense, use the following endings:

гулять — to go for a walk

я гуляю I walk
ты гуляешь you walk
он/она/оно гуляет he/she/it walks
мы гуляем we walk
вы/Вы гуляете you (plural, informal)/you (formal) walk
они гуляют they walk

работать — to work

я работаю I work
ты работаешь you work
он/она/оно работает he/she/it works
мы работаем we work
вы/Вы работаете you (plural)/you (formal) work
они работают they work

To conjugate verbs whose infinitive form ends in -ить and -еть, take the infinitive form
without the ending -ить/-eть.

говорить — to speak

я говорю I speak
ты говоришь you speak
он/она/оно говорит he/she/it speaks
мы говорим we speak
вы/Вы говорите you (plural)/you (formal) speak
они говорят they speak
 смотреть — to look/watch

я смотрю I look
ты смотришь you look
он/она/оно смотрит he/she/it looks
мы смотрим we look
вы/Вы смотрите you (plural)/you (formal) look
они смотрят they look

For verbs that end in -ти, we can use идти (“to go on foot”) as an example. Notice that four of
the six present tense forms of идти have a ё in the ending instead of the usual е.

идти — to go on foot

я иду I go
ты идёшь you go
он/она/оно идёт he/she/it goes
мы идём we go
вы/Вы идёте you (plural)/you (formal) go
они идут they go

Conjugating Irregular Verbs In The Present Tense

While this is hardly an exhaustive list of all irregular verbs in Russian, this should be enough to
introduce you to a couple of the most common ones.

жить — to live

я живу I live
ты живёшь you live
он/она/оно живёт he/she/it lives
мы живём we live
вы/Вы живёте you (plural)/you (formal) live
они живут they live

ехать — to go by transportation

я еду I go
ты едешь you go
он/она/оно едет he/she/it goes
мы едем we go
вы/Вы едете you (plural)/you (formal) go
они едут they go
 есть — to eat

я ем I eat
ты ешь you eat
он/она/оно ест he/she/it eats
мы едим we eat
вы/Вы едите you (plural)/you (formal) eat
они едят they eat

дать — to give

я дам I give
ты дашь you give
он/она/оно даст he/she/it gives
мы дадим we give
вы/Вы дадите you (plural)/you (formal) give
они дадут they give

The Top 15 Russian Verbs In

The Present Tense
1. быть — “to be”

In Russian, the verb "быть" (to be) is irregular and has a specific set of conjugations in the present tense. However, it's important to note that the present tense forms of "быть" are
mostly used in archaic or poetic contexts, and in modern standard Russian, the verb is often omitted in the present tense. Here are the conjugations for "быть" in the present tense:

1. Я есмь (I am) - rarely used, archaic.

2. Ты еси (You are) - rarely used, archaic.
3. Он/Она/Оно есть (He/She/It is) - "есть" is sometimes used for emphasis.
4. Мы есмы (We are) - rarely used, archaic.
5. Вы есте (You are) - rarely used, archaic.
6. Они суть (They are) - rarely used, archaic.

In everyday modern Russian, the present tense of "быть" is typically implied and not explicitly stated. For example:

• Я студент. (I am a student.)
• Ты врач. (You are a doctor.)
• Он учитель. (He is a teacher.)

In these sentences, the verb "to be" is understood but not expressed.

2. знать — “to know”

• я знаю — “I know”
• ты знаешь — “you (singular, informal) know”
• он/она знает — “he/she knows”
• мы знаем — “we know”
• вы/Вы знаете — “you (plural, informal)/you (formal) know”
 • они знают — “they know”

Example: Ты его знаешь? (Do you know him?)

3. жить — “to live”

• я живу
• ты живёшь
• он/она живёт
• мы живём
• вы/Вы живёте
• они живут

Example: Я живу в Берлине. (I live in Berlin.)

4. любитъ — “to love, to like”

• я люблю
• ты любишь
• он/она любит
• мы любим
• вы/Вы любите
• они любят

Example: Ты любишь красное вино? (Do you like red wine?)

5. работать — “to work”

• я работаю
• ты работаешь
• он/она работает
• мы работаем
• вы/Вы работаете
• они работают

Example: В субботу я работаю. (On Saturday I work.)

6. ждать — “to wait”

• я жду
• ты ждёшь
• он/она ждёт
• мы ждём
• вы/Вы ждёте
• они ждут

Example: Кого Вы ждёте? (Who are you waiting for?)

7. говорить — “to speak”

• я говорю
• ты говоришь
• он/она говорит
• мы говорим
 • вы/Вы говорите
• они говорят

Example: Вы говорите по-английски? (Do you speak English?)

8. думать — “to think”

• я думаю
• ты думаешь
• он/она думает
• мы думаем
• вы/Вы думаете
• они думают

Example: Я часто думаю о своей бабушке. (I often think about my grandmother.)

9. понимать — “to understand”

• я понимаю
• ты понимаешь
• он/она понимает
• мы понимаем
• вы/Вы понимаете
• они понимают

Example: Я тебя не понимаю. (I don’t understand you.)

10. мочь — “can, to be able to”

• я могу
• ты можешь
• он/она может
• мы можем
• вы/Вы можете
• они могут

Example: Я не могу жить в деревне. (I can’t live in the village.)

11. хотеть — “to want”

• я хочу
• ты хочешь
• он/она хочет
• мы хотим
• вы/Вы хотите
• они хотят

Example: Мы хотим пригласить друзей в гости. (We want to invite friends over to visit.)

12. делать — “to do”

• я делаю
• ты делаешь
• он/она делает
 • мы делаем
• вы/Вы делаете
• они делают

Example: Что ты делаешь в свободное время? (What do you do in your free time?)

13. брать — “to take”

• я беру
• ты берёшь
• он/она берёт
• мы берём
• вы/Вы берёте
• они берут

Example: Я беру эти сапоги. (I take these boots.)

14. давать — “to give”

• я даю
• ты даёшь
• он/она даёт
• мы даём
• вы/Вы даёте
• они дают

Example: Она свой номер телефона никому не даёт. (She doesn’t give her phone number to
anyone.)

15. помнить — “to remember”

•я помню
• ты помнишь
• он/она помнит
• мы помним
• вы/Вы помните
• они помнят
Example: Я не помню. (I don’t remember.)

What Are Cases in the Russian Language?

Grammatical cases are used to categorize nouns and their modifiers, which are
determiners, adjectives, participles and numerals. Each of the categories, or cases,
corresponds to a grammatical function in the sentence. In short, they help to keep
sentences logical and organized.

Languages like English have largely lost this complex case category system, but
other languages like German and Russian retain them.

The 6 Russian Cases Explained

The Nominative Case

This is the case you use for sentence subjects. This is known as the basic form of
 the noun and it’s the one you will find in the dictionary. Nouns in the nominative
case are the “who” or “what” of the sentence.

Книга на столе.
The book is on the table.

Собака лает.
The dog is barking.

The Genitive Case

This case tells you that something belongs to somebody. It’s used to show
possession or show a relationship, which eliminates the need for other possessive
markers (like the ‘s in English).

офис компании, сестра ребенка, его команда

company’s office, child’s sister, his team

These examples provide an understanding of how this case can be encountered in

both English and Russian.

In Russian, however, the genitive case includes a range of prepositional

phrases that imply both a relationship and the lack of one.

Some of these are:

• без — without

• после — after

• около — near

• до — until/ till

• нет — not (lack of)

• от — from

• для — for

• у (есть) — to have (indicating possession)

A relationship can also be expressed without a preposition. This has an equivalent

in English phrases with the word “of”:

бутылка вина (bottle of wine)

время урока (time of the lesson)

This case is also used to answer the question откуда? (from where?) using the
preposition из (from, with reference to a location from which some movement
began).

The Dative Case

This case indicates that something is given or addressed to someone or something.

Я заказал цветы подруге.

I ordered flowers for my girlfriend.

Flowers is the direct object in this sentence while girlfriend is the indirect object.
Noun cases of this type answer the questions чему? (for what?) and кому? (for
whom?).

It also answers the question куда? (to where?) using the preposition к (to or
towards) in a subtle distinction from what was mentioned earlier in the case for
direct objects.
Note that в and the accusative case are used when an area can be occupied due to
the movement. к and the indirect object indicate movement that is
merely towards or in the direction of someone or something.

The Accusative Case

This case covers the direct object, also known as the object of a transitive verb.

Майк любит Веру. Майк любит суп.

Mike loves Vera. Mike loves soup.

Vera and soup are the objects of Mike’s love and nouns here in the accusative case.

These nouns answer the questions что? (what?)—as in, “What does Mike love?”—
and кого? (who?).

In Russian, accusative nouns can also answer the question куда? (to where?).

Куда ты идёшь? (Where are you going?)

Я иду в офис. (I am going to the office.)

The word офис is the object, or exists in the accusative state in Russian. Note the
implication of moving somewhere in куда? (to where?) as opposed to the static
positional aspect of где? (where is/are?).

The Instrumental Case

This case is used to show which “instrument” (a thing or a person) that something
is done with. You need the instrument in order for the action to be set into motion
and/or finished.

Я пишу ручкой.
I write with a pen.

The pen in this sentence is a tool used to perform an action and hence it is in the
instrumental case.

Also remember that all uses of “with” in Russian, including those that actually take
the preposition с (below) are regarded as being in the instrumental case, including
when they refer to people.

Prepositions that call for the instrumental case are:

• с — with

• над — above

• под — below

• за — behind

• между — between

• перед — in front of

The Prepositional Case

This case covers the “who” or “what” but as the sentence’s object (as opposed to
the subject).

Книга на столе.
The book is on the table.
The word столе here is a noun in the prepositional case. Russian nouns in this case
are preceded by prepositions, such as в (in), на (on) and о/об (about).

The noun and preposition together answer the questions о чём? (about what?), о
ком? (about whom?) and где? (where?).

Here are some simple exercises focusing on Russian cases, along with explanations
of each case and how they are used.

1. Nominative Case (Именительный падеж)

Explanation: The nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence. It answers
the question "who?" or "what?"

Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct nominative form of the nouns.

1. _____ (кот) спит на диване.

2. _____ (девочка) играет на улице.

Answers:

1. Кот

2. Девочка

---

2. Accusative Case (Винительный падеж)

Explanation: The accusative case is used for the direct object of the sentence. It
answers the question "whom?" or "what?"

Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct accusative form of the nouns.

1. Я вижу _____ (собака).

2. Она читает _____ (книга).

Answers:

1. собаку

2. книгу

---
 3. Genitive Case (Родительный падеж)

Explanation: The genitive case expresses possession and answers the question "of
whom?" or "of what?"

Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct genitive form of the nouns.

1. У меня нет _____ (книга).

2. Это фотография _____ (друг).

Answers:

1. книги

2. друга

---

4. Dative Case (Дательный падеж)

Explanation: The dative case indicates the indirect object and answers the question
"to whom?" or "for whom?"

Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct dative form of the nouns.

1. Я даю _____ (мама) подарок.

2. Он помогает _____ (друг).

Answers:

1. маме

2. другу

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5. Instrumental Case (Творительный падеж)

Explanation: The instrumental case is used to indicate the means by which or the
agent through whom an action is performed. It answers the question "with whom?"
or "with what?"
Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct instrumental form of the nouns.

1. Я пишу _____ (ручка).

2. Мы говорим _____ (друг).

Answers:

1. ручкой

2. с другом

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