Choose a noun
mat’ mother feminine
A hidden -ер- appears in every form except the nominative and accusative singular.
| Case | Question | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | кто? что? | ||
| Genitive | кого́? чего́? | ||
| Dative | кому́? чему́? | ||
| Accusative | кого́? что? | ||
| Instrumental | кем? чем? | ||
| Prepositional | о ком? о чём? |
Forms in red break the regular pattern. Tap any form to hear it. The prepositional is shown with о (about); after в and на some nouns take a special ending, given in the note.
In a sentence ya pa-zva-NEEL MA-ti-ri ЯIпозвони́лcalledма́териmother I called my mother.
Five kinds of irregular
The sixteen nouns fall into five groups. Learn the group and you can decline other nouns like them.
Hidden stemмать, дочь, вре́мя, и́мя Part of the stem disappears in the dictionary form and comes back everywhere else: мат-ер-и, врем-ен-и.
A different word in the pluralчелове́к → лю́ди, ребёнок → де́ти The singular and plural come from different roots. Both halves decline normally.
Plural in -ьябрат, друг, стул, лист Add -ья in the nominative plural and keep the soft ь through all plural forms.
Plural in stressed -а́дом, го́род, глаз, лес, учи́тель Many common masculine nouns take -а́ or -я́ instead of -ы and move the stress to the end.
Disappearing vowelдень, ребёнок, це́рковь, оте́ц An о or е in the last syllable drops out once an ending is added: оте́ц → отца́.