What вы changes in the sentence
Polite вы is grammatically plural, even when you speak to one person. Verbs, the past tense, commands and short adjectives all go plural. Full adjectives and nouns don’t: they describe the one real person, so they match that person’s gender. The same choices exist in English; compare with our guide to formal letters in English.
| Word type | ты | вы | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present verb | вы takes the -ете / -ите form, like a plural. | ||
| Past verb | With вы the past is always plural -ли, for a man or a woman. | ||
| Command | Add -те to the command for вы. | ||
| Short adjective | Short forms (the ones after “is”) go plural with вы. | ||
| Full adjective | Full adjectives describe the real person, so they stay singular and match gender. | ||
| Possessive | твой belongs to ты, ваш to вы. Both change for the noun’s gender: твоя́ / ва́ша сестра́. |
In letters and emails to one person, write the polite form with a capital: Вы, Вас, Вам, Ваш. With a group, or in ordinary text, keep it lower case.
Three parts: first name, patronymic, surname
Every Russian has an и́мя (first name), an о́тчество (patronymic: a middle name made from the father’s first name) and a фами́лия (surname). Documents put the surname first. In polite speech you use the first two: first name + patronymic is the Russian equivalent of “Mr Tolstoy”.
In fast speech patronymics shrink: Ива́нович → Ива́ныч, Алекса́ндровна is said “a-lik-SAN-na”. Calling an older man by his patronymic alone (Ива́ныч!) is friendly and familiar.
Surnames have a male and a female form
Most Russian surnames behave like adjectives, so they change for gender. A husband and wife, or a brother and sister, have different endings. A family together takes the plural.
| Ending | Man | Woman | Family | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ов / -ев / -ин | The most common type. Also Пу́шкин, Пу́шкина. | |||
| -ский / -цкий | Full adjective endings throughout. | |||
| -ой / -ый | Also adjective endings: Толста́я, not Толсто́йа. | |||
| -ко / -енко | Usually Ukrainian in origin. Never changes, not even for case. | |||
| -их / -ых | Siberian in origin. Never changes. |
What to call someone, from your boss to a stranger
Russian has no everyday “Mr” or “Mrs”. господи́н and госпожа́ exist but sound stiff and official. Instead, choose by how well you know the person.
The same phrase in two registers
A register is the level of formality you speak in. Many everyday phrases have a ты version and a вы version. Tap either side to hear it.
“Shall we say ты?”
Moving from вы to ты is a small social event in Russia, and usually the older or more senior person suggests it. The phrase is перейти́ на ты (to go over to ты). Here is how it sounds.