Feminine Nouns
Most nouns that end in -а or -я are feminine: мама, кніга, зямля. They go with мая and adjectives in -ая: мая новая кніга.
How It Works
Nouns in -а and -я. This is the largest group: мама (mom), кніга (book), школа (school), кава (coffee), кватэра (apartment), зямля (earth), песня (song).
Nouns with no ending. Some feminine nouns end in a consonant:
- a soft consonant with ь: соль (salt), восень (autumn), радасць (joy), памяць (memory)
- ж, ш or ч, which are always hard, so no ь is written: ноч (night), мыш (mouse), рэч (thing), печ (stove)
- ў: кроў (blood)
Abstract nouns in -асць or -осць are feminine: радасць (joy), маладосць (youth). Other nouns in -ь must be learned one by one, because дзень (day), конь (horse) and госць (guest) are masculine. See the always-hard ж, ш, ч.
Not every -а is feminine. Бацька (father) and мужчына (man) are masculine. Мора (sea) and слова (word) are neuter; they end in -а only because of akanye. See neuter nouns.
Not the same as Russian. Гусь (goose), таполя (poplar), жырафа (giraffe) and шафа (wardrobe) are feminine in Belarusian.
What agrees with a feminine noun.
- мая, твая: мая сястра
- adjectives in -ая, or -яя after a soft stem: новая кніга, сіняя сукенка (a blue dress)
- the pronoun яна, even for things: Дзе кніга? Яна тут.
- the past tense in -ла: кніга ляжала (feminine past tense)
The two groups change differently. As a direct object, кніга becomes кнігу, but ноч stays ноч. See the feminine accusative.
Examples (6)
- Мая сястра жыве ў Гродне.
My sister lives in Hrodna.
Word by Word: My sister lives in Hrodna.
Сястра ends in -а and is feminine: мая.
- Гэта вельмі цікавая кніга.
This is a very interesting book.
Word by Word: This very interesting book.
Кніга is feminine, so the adjective ends in -ая.
- Сёння ціхая ноч.
It is a quiet night tonight.
Word by Word: Today quiet night.
Ноч ends in ч and is feminine. Ч is always hard, so no ь is written.
- Восень у Беларусі прыгожая.
Autumn in Belarus is beautiful.
Word by Word: Autumn in Belarus beautiful.
Восень ends in -ь but is feminine: прыгожая.
- Зямля мокрая пасля дажджу.
The ground is wet after the rain.
Word by Word: Earth wet after rain.
Зямля ends in -я and is feminine: мокрая.
- Дзе мая кава? — Яна на стале.
Where is my coffee? — It is on the table.
Word by Word: Where my coffee? — She on table.
A feminine thing is яна.
Common Mistakes
Writing ь after ч, as in Russian ночь.
Сёння ціхая ночь.Сёння ціхая ноч.Belarusian ч is always hard, so no soft sign is written after it: ноч, рэч, печ.
Treating a feminine noun in -ь as masculine.
Восень у Беларусі прыгожы.Восень у Беларусі прыгожая.Восень is feminine, so the adjective takes the feminine ending -ая.
Copying the gender of the Russian word гусь.
Гэта шэры гусь.Гэта шэрая гусь.Belarusian гусь is feminine, so the adjective is шэрая.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Feminine nouns follow the gender overview.
Related Patterns
- Masculine Nouns
Masculine nouns, some of which also end in -ь.
Level 1 - Neuter Nouns
Neuter nouns in unstressed -а that are not feminine.
Level 1 - Feminine Accusative -у/-юFeminine Accusative -у and -ю
How feminine nouns in -а/-я change as objects.
Level 1 - Adjective Agreement
Adjectives take feminine endings like новая.
Level 1 - Always-Hard ж, ш, ч, р, цAlways-Hard Ж, Ш, Ч, Р and Ц
Why ноч and мыш are written without ь.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Feminine Nouns in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Belarusian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
