All Russian nouns are attributed to one of the three genders:
- Masculine (M)
- Feminine (F)
- Neuter (N)
You will be glad to know that the gender of the majority of the Russian nouns one can tell from the ending of the dictionary from (Nominative Case).
The gender of nouns is mostly a formal thing. Now you will learn how to determine the gender of a noun.
1. Nouns ending in consonants and –й are Masculine:
| дом – house | друг – friend | иузей – musuem |
| человек – man | город – city | Китай – China |
2. Nouns ending –а, –я, –ья, –ия are Feminine:
| мама – mama | неделя – week | статья – article |
| машина – car | Волга – Volga | фамилия – surname |
3. Nouns ending in-о, –е, –ье, –ие are Neuter:
| место – seat | купе – compartment | телевидение – TV |
| море – sea | здание – building | здоровье – health |
But things are never that simple in languages: irrespective of the Feminine –а, –я ending a small group of nouns denoting males has Masculine gender agreement (so called «Natural Masculines»):
| папа – father, dad | дедушка – grandfather |
| мужчина – man | дядя – uncle |
The following nouns are Neuter:
| время – time | меню – menu | имя – name |
| жюри – jury | интервью – interview | такси – taxi |