Singular vs. plural nouns in Russian

To make masculine nouns plural, you need to add the ending -ы (transcribed -y) or -и (transcribed -i). Follow the chart below to understand which ending to choose.

To make feminine nouns plural, you need to replace the singular ending -а (transcribed a) with -ы (transcribed -y), and replace the singular ending -я (transcribed -ya) / -ь with -и (transcribed -i). Follow the chart below to help you pick your ending:

To make neuter nouns plural you need to replace the singular ending -o (transcribed o) with -a (transcribed a), and replace the singular ending -е (transcribed ye) with -я (transcribed ya). Follow the chart below to understand which ending to choose.

Content paragraph goes hereThough most Russian nouns follow the pluralization rules above, there are still many irregular plural nouns, nouns which have plural forms that must be memorized.

• Words for family members:

  Gender	Singular	Plural	English
  Masculine	брат Transcription: brat	братья Transcription: BRATya	brother(s)
  	муж Transcription: moozh	мужья Transcription: moozhYA	husband(s)
  	сын Transcription: syn	сыновья Transcription: synavYA	son(s)
  Feminine	жена Transcription: zhiNA	жёны Transcription: ZHYOny	wife/wives
  	сестра Transcription: sisTRA	сёстры Transcription: SYOStry	sister(s)
  	мать Transcription: mat	матери Transcription: MAteri	mother(s)
  	дочь Transcription: doch	дочери Transcription: DOchiri	daughter(s)

• Nouns with “fleeting vowels”:

  In Russian, we say that masculine nouns that end in -ок (transcribed ok), -ёк (transcribed yok), or -ец (transcribed yets) have a “fleeting” vowel. This is because the vowel in each of these endings does not show up in every form of the noun.

  These nouns are considered “irregular” because when you add the regular masculine endings to them, the “fleeting” vowel will be dropped. For example:

  Singular	Plural	Translation
  кусок Transcription: kooSOK	куски Transcription: koosKEE	piece(s)
  каток Transcription: kaTOK	катки Transcription: katKEE	skating rink(s)
  конец Transcription: kaNETS	концы Transcription: kanTSY	end(s)
  американец Transcription: amiriKAnyets	американцы Transcription: amiriKANtsy	American(s)

• Nouns that use another word entirely for the plural:

  There are very few words in this group. In Russian, some nouns do not follow rules for the plural.

  Singular	Plural	Translation
  ребёнок Transcription: riBYOnak	дети Transcription: DYEti	child / children
  человек Transcription: chilaVEK	люди Transcription: kaLYUdi	skating rink(s)

• Other:

  There is a list of other common irregular nouns in Russian which you’ll need to memorize as exceptions:

  Gender	Irregular Noun	Rule
  Masculine	христианин → христьяне Transcription: khristyaNEEN → KhrisTYAne Translation: Christian → Christians	Remove suffix -ин (transcribed in) and add the ending -е (transcribed ye)to make these nouns plural.
  	крестьянин → крестьяне Transcription: kristyaNEEN → krisTYAne Translation: peasant → peasants
  	гражданин → граждане Transcription: grazhdaNEEN → GRAZHdane Translation: citizen → citizens
  	стул → стулья Transcription: stool → STOOlya Translation: chair → chairs	Very few masculine nouns get the ending -ья (transcribed ya) to make the noun plural.
  	друг → друзья Transcription: drook → drooZYA Translation: friend → friends	Same as above, but remember to change -г into -з (transcribed z)
  Feminine	звезда - звёзды Transcription: zvizDA - ZVYOzdy Translation: star → stars	Stress is shifting from the ending in a singular form to the root in a plural form.
  	страна → страны Transcription: starNA → STRAny Translation: country → countries
  Neuter	дерево → деревья Transcription: DEriva → diREvya Translation: tree → trees	A few neuter nouns get the ending -ья (transcribed ya) to make the noun plural.
  	звено → звенья Transcription: zviNO → ZVYEnya Translation: link, unit → links, units
  	крыло → крылья Transcription: kryLO → KRYlya Translation: wing → wings
  	яблоко → яблоки Transcription: YABlaka → YABlaki Translation: apple → apples	Just as masculine, gets the ending и (transcribed i).