In the dictionary form, Russian adjectives have four endings: one each for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns, and one for all plurals. The dictionary always lists the masculine form.
1. Build a phrase: adjective + noun
Choose an adjective and a noun. The adjective’s ending changes to match the noun’s gender, or its number if it’s plural. The noun’s gender comes from its last letter.
2. Three types of adjective
Most adjectives follow the hard pattern above. Two smaller groups look slightly different. You can tell which group an adjective belongs to from its dictionary form.
| Type | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardmost adjectives“new” | ||||
| The default pattern. Masculine -ый, feminine -ая, neuter -ое, plural -ые. Unstressed endings are said quickly and softly. | ||||
| Stressed endingstress on the ending“young” | ||||
| When the stress falls on the ending, masculine -ый becomes -о́й. Everything else is the same as hard. Other examples: большо́й (big), плохо́й (bad), дорого́й (expensive). | ||||
| Softending in -ний“dark blue” | ||||
| A small group, mostly about time and place: ле́тний (LYET-niy, summer), вчера́шний (fchi-RASH-niy, yesterday’s). Every а becomes я, о becomes е, ы becomes и. | ||||
| Spelling-ruleafter г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ“Russian” | ||||
| The spelling rule turns ы into и after these seven letters: ру́сский (Russian), not “ру́сскый”. After ж, ш, ч, щ, unstressed о becomes е too: хоро́шее (kha-RO-she-ye, good, neuter). | ||||
3. Before the noun, or after “is”
Like English, Russian puts the adjective before the noun: “a new house”. To say “the house is new”, just put it after: Russian drops “is”, so word order does the work.
4. Adjectives in every case
When the noun changes case, the adjective changes with it. This full table is for reference; you’ll learn each row as you learn each case. Every form below is но́вый (NO-viy), “new”, with its pronunciation underneath. Notice how similar masculine and neuter are.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | но́выйNO-viy | но́ваяNO-va-ya | но́воеNO-va-ye | но́выеNO-vy-ye |
| Genitive | но́вогоNO-va-va | но́войNO-vai | но́вогоNO-va-va | но́выхNO-vykh |
| Dative | но́вомуNO-va-mu | но́войNO-vai | но́вомуNO-va-mu | но́вымNO-vym |
| Accusative | но́вый / ого*NO-viy / NO-va-va | но́вуюNO-vu-yu | но́воеNO-va-ye | но́вые / ых*NO-vy-ye / NO-vykh |
| Instrumental | но́вымNO-vym | но́войNO-vai | но́вымNO-vym | но́вымиNO-vy-mi |
| Prepositional | но́вомNO-vam | но́войNO-vai | но́вомNO-vam | но́выхNO-vykh |
5. 24 adjectives to learn first
These cover most everyday descriptions. Many come in opposite pairs, which makes them easier to remember. Tap any to hear it.
6. Short adjectives: “is ready”, “is busy”
Many adjectives have a short form, used only after the noun to mean “is …”. It has four endings: none (m.), -а (f.), -о (n.), -ы (pl.). Some, like рад and до́лжен, exist only in this form.
7. Comparatives: bigger, better, more interesting
Add -ее to the stem: интере́сный → интере́снее. The most common adjectives are irregular. “Than” is чем, or put the second thing in the genitive: ста́рше меня́, “older than me”.
8. Superlatives: the biggest, the best
The easy way: put са́мый (the most) before any adjective. It matches the noun like any adjective. A few adjectives have their own superlative form.
9. Adjectives used as nouns
Some adjectives stand on their own as nouns. They keep adjective endings in every case, so моро́женое (ice cream) becomes моро́женого after хоте́ть.
10. Choose the ending
Look at the noun’s last letter, decide its gender, then pick the matching adjective.