Pronouns are among the most frequent words in any language and Russian is no exception. A learner who can confidently produce я, меня, мне, мной, and о мне has mastered the full case paradigm in miniature. Russian pronouns decline in all six cases, agree with their antecedents in gender and number where relevant, and sometimes change form after prepositions (adding an н-). This page lays out the full inventory of Russian pronouns with complete declension tables, usage notes, and examples.
For the case system these pronouns obey, see the Russian six cases reference. For how pronouns interact with gender agreement, see the Russian gender of nouns and adjectives guide. For a broader orientation, start with the Russian grammar cases complete guide.
Personal Pronouns
Table 1. Personal pronouns across all six cases.
| 1sg (я) | 2sg (ты) | 3sg m (он) | 3sg f (она) | 3sg n (оно) | 1pl (мы) | 2pl (вы) | 3pl (они) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom | я | ты | он | она | оно | мы | вы | они |
| Gen | меня | тебя | его | её | его | нас | вас | их |
| Dat | мне | тебе | ему | ей | ему | нам | вам | им |
| Acc | меня | тебя | его | её | его | нас | вас | их |
| Ins | мной | тобой | им | ей | им | нами | вами | ими |
| Pre | (обо) мне | (о) тебе | (о) нём | (о) ней | (о) нём | (о) нас | (о) вас | (о) них |
Key usage notes:
- Ты is singular and informal. Вы is plural or formal singular. Using ты with a stranger can be rude; using вы to a friend can sound cold or sarcastic. Children, pets, and God traditionally take ты.
- Вы when used as formal "you" to one person is grammatically plural (Вы пришли, not *Вы пришёл), but the written form may capitalize Вы in letters as a mark of respect.
- Он, она, оно are chosen by the grammatical gender of the antecedent noun, not by natural gender. Книга is feminine, so "she" - Я читаю книгу. Она интересная.
The н-prefix after prepositions
Third-person pronouns (он, она, оно, они) add an initial н- after most prepositions:
- Without preposition: Я вижу его. (I see him.)
- With preposition: Я говорю о нём. (I talk about him.) - not *о ём.
Table 2. Н-forms of third-person pronouns.
| Case | Base | With preposition |
|---|---|---|
| Gen | его / её / их | (у) него, неё, них |
| Dat | ему / ей / им | (к) нему, ней, ним |
| Acc | его / её / их | (на) него, неё, них |
| Ins | им / ей / ими | (с) ним, ней, ними |
| Pre | (о) нём, ней, них (always with н-) |
Prepositions that do not govern these pronouns (there are very few, mostly archaic) do not trigger н-, but for practical purposes a learner can assume н- after any preposition.
Reflexive Pronoun: себя
Себя means "oneself" and covers all genders, numbers, and persons. It has no nominative (you cannot be the subject of a verb acting on yourself in the same clause without a different subject).
Table 3. Declension of себя.
| Case | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nom | - | (none) |
| Gen | себя | Он боится себя. (He fears himself.) |
| Dat | себе | Я купил себе книгу. (I bought myself a book.) |
| Acc | себя | Она видит себя. (She sees herself.) |
| Ins | собой | Возьми с собой зонт. (Take an umbrella with you.) |
| Pre | (о) себе | Расскажи о себе. (Tell me about yourself.) |
The reflexive verb ending -ся / -сь is a contracted form of себя, fused to the verb (учиться = to teach oneself / to learn). For many reflexive verbs, see any standard verb list.
Possessive Pronouns
Russian possessives decline like adjectives, agreeing with the thing possessed in gender, number, and case - not with the possessor.
Table 4. Possessive pronouns in the nominative.
| Person | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| my | мой | моя | моё | мои |
| your (sg inf) | твой | твоя | твоё | твои |
| his | его (indeclinable) | |||
| her | её (indeclinable) | |||
| its | его (indeclinable) | |||
| our | наш | наша | наше | наши |
| your (pl/formal) | ваш | ваша | ваше | ваши |
| their | их (indeclinable) |
Его, её, их never change form. The other possessives decline across all six cases. Example: мой through all cases:
Table 5. Full declension of мой.
| Case | M | F | N | Pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom | мой | моя | моё | мои |
| Gen | моего | моей | моего | моих |
| Dat | моему | моей | моему | моим |
| Acc | мой/моего | мою | моё | мои/моих |
| Ins | моим | моей | моим | моими |
| Pre | моём | моей | моём | моих |
Твой follows the same pattern; наш and ваш follow a parallel hard-stem pattern with slightly different vowels (нашего, нашу, нашими).
Reflexive possessive: свой
Свой means "one's own" and refers back to the subject of the clause. It replaces мой, твой, наш, ваш, его, её, их when the possessor is the subject.
- Я взял свою книгу. (I took my book - my own.)
- Он взял свою книгу. (He took his book - his own, not someone else's.)
- Он взял его книгу. (He took his book - someone else's, another man's.)
English collapses these; Russian distinguishes them. Using свой correctly is a marker of intermediate competence.
Demonstrative Pronouns: этот and тот
Table 6. Демонстratives in the nominative.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| this, these (этот) | этот | эта | это | эти |
| that, those (тот) | тот | та | то | те |
Этот refers to something near the speaker. Тот refers to something farther away or previously mentioned. In many contexts тот contrasts with этот ("this one vs that one").
Full declension of этот:
Table 7. Full declension of этот.
| Case | M | F | N | Pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom | этот | эта | это | эти |
| Gen | этого | этой | этого | этих |
| Dat | этому | этой | этому | этим |
| Acc | этот/этого | эту | это | эти/этих |
| Ins | этим | этой | этим | этими |
| Pre | этом | этой | этом | этих |
Тот follows the same pattern with тот, та, то, те.
Note: the neuter form это is also used as a copular pronoun meaning "this is / it is" regardless of the gender of the thing it points to: Это моя сестра. (This is my sister.) Это мой брат. (This is my brother.)
Interrogative and Relative Pronouns
Table 8. Кто (who) and что (what).
| Case | кто | что |
|---|---|---|
| Nom | кто | что |
| Gen | кого | чего |
| Dat | кому | чему |
| Acc | кого | что |
| Ins | кем | чем |
| Pre | (о) ком | (о) чём |
These same words also serve as relative pronouns in some constructions ("the person who..."), but Russian more often uses который (which, that, who) as the main relative pronoun. Который declines like a hard adjective (an -ый adjective) and agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, while taking whatever case the relative clause requires.
- Человек, который пришёл, - мой брат. (The person who came is my brother.) Nominative, masculine.
- Книга, которую я читаю, интересная. (The book which I am reading is interesting.) Accusative, feminine.
Indefinite and Negative Pronouns
Table 9. Indefinites and negatives.
| Type | Pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite "some-" | кто-то, что-то, кто-нибудь, что-нибудь | someone / something |
| Indefinite "any-" | кое-кто, кое-что | a certain someone |
| Negative | никто, ничто (ничего) | no one, nothing |
| Negative existential | некого, нечего | there is no one / nothing to |
| Universal | все, всё | everyone, everything |
Negatives require double negation with the verb: Я никого не вижу. (Literally: I no one don't see - I don't see anyone.) Negation cannot be left implicit as in English.
The -то forms assert that someone/something exists but is unknown; the -нибудь forms are indefinite and hypothetical, often in questions and conditionals.
Common Mistakes Learners Make
- Forgetting the н-prefix. "У его" is wrong; "у него" is right.
- Using ты with strangers. Always start with вы for adults you don't know.
- Choosing possessive by the possessor's gender. "My sister" is моя сестра (feminine noun), not *мой сестра even if the speaker is male.
- Using мой instead of свой. "He took his book" should be "Он взял свою книгу" if it's his own.
- Omitting the required second negation. "Я никого видел" is ungrammatical; you need "не видел."
- Confusing это (demonstrative neuter) with это (copula). Both are spelled the same; context distinguishes.
- Declining indeclinable possessives. его, её, их never change; writing *егого is an error.
- Treating кто as gendered. Кто is always masculine in agreement, even for a female referent: Кто пришёл? (Who came?) - verb in masculine.
Quick Reference
Personal pronouns decline through all six cases and acquire н- after prepositions in the third person. Possessives agree with the noun possessed, not the possessor. Его, её, их are indeclinable. Свой refers to the subject of its clause and is required in formal speech for subject-referring possession. Этот = this (close), тот = that (far or previously mentioned). Both decline as adjectives. Кто/что decline through six cases with regular patterns. Negative pronouns require не on the verb (double negation).
FAQ
Why does "his book" translate sometimes as его and sometimes as свой?
If the possessor is the subject of the clause, use свой: Он читает свою книгу = he reads his own book. If the possessor is someone else, use его: Он читает его книгу = he reads his (another man's) book.
Do I really have to memorize н-?
Yes, if you want to sound native. Prepositional phrases with о нём, у него, с ним are extremely common; the n-less forms mark non-native speech.
Is вы always formal?
Вы is always plural. Вы to a single person is formal. In some regions older speakers may use вы to younger ones too as a general politeness.
How do I know whether to use тот or этот?
Этот is the default "this." Тот is used when contrasting, pointing to something distant, or referring back to a previously mentioned item. In many contexts both would work; этот is safer for beginners.
Can себя be the subject?
No. Russian allows no nominative of себя. If you need "I help myself" the subject is still я: Я помогаю себе.
What about polite second-person addressed to children?
Use ты. Children address adults as вы but are addressed as ты.
Are there gender-neutral Russian pronouns?
Russian, like most Slavic languages, does not have a widely accepted gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun. Use of они as singular is occasionally attempted in activist writing but is not standard.
See Also
- Russian six cases reference
- Russian grammar cases complete guide
- Russian gender of nouns and adjectives
- Russian verb aspects perfective vs imperfective
- Russian verb aspects guide
- Russian Cyrillic alphabet reference
- Russian numbers 1-100 with declension
- Russian pronunciation and stress guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'his book' sometimes translate as его and sometimes as свой?
If the possessor is the subject of the clause, use свой (Он читает свою книгу = his own book). If someone else possesses it, use его (Он читает его книгу = another man's book).
Do I really have to memorize the н- prefix?
Yes for native-sounding speech. After prepositions, third-person pronouns take н-: у него, к ней, о них. The n-less forms mark non-native speech.
Is вы always formal?
Вы is always grammatically plural. Addressed to one person it is formal. In writing it may be capitalized as Вы as a mark of respect in letters.
How do I choose between тот and этот?
Этот is the default 'this' for things near or in focus. Тот is used for contrast, distant objects, or referring back to a previously mentioned item.
Can себя be the subject of a sentence?
No. Себя has no nominative. The subject is always the person performing the action; себя is the reflexive object.
What pronoun do I use with children?
Ты. Children use вы to adults but are addressed as ты.
Are there gender-neutral Russian pronouns?
Not in standard Russian. Some activist writing uses они in a singular sense, but this is not accepted in mainstream or formal usage.
