Neuter Nouns in -о/-е

Neuter Nouns Ending in О or Е

Level 1Sounds Like sreden rod na -o/-e

If a noun ends in -о or -е, it is almost always neuter: село, море, дете, кафе.

How It Works

The last letter of a noun usually tells you its gender: a consonant for masculine, -а/-я for feminine and -о/-е for neuter. See род на съществителните.

  • Ending in -о: село (village), писмо (letter), място (place), лято (summer), мляко (milk).
  • Ending in -е: море (sea), дете (child), момиче (girl), кафе (coffee), сирене (white cheese).

Matching words. The number one is едно, adjectives end in -о, and this is това: едно кафе, голямо море, това дете. See един/една/едно and съгласуване на прилагателното.

The article -то. село → селото, море → морето. See членуване -то.

Plurals. Nouns in -о usually change it to -а (село → села), and nouns in -е usually add -та (море → морета, момиче → момичета). Дете is irregular: деца. See множествено число в среден род.

Exceptions. Words for men and boys stay masculine even when they end in -о: дядо, чичо, and names like Марко. So you say стар дядо, not старо дядо. See мъжки род на -а/-о. Longer neuter endings such as -ие and -ме have their own plurals: see среден род на -ие и -ме.

Examples (6)

  1. Селото е малко.

    The village is small.

    Word by Word: Village-the is small.

    Село is neuter, so it takes the article -то and the adjective малко.

  2. Морето е топло.

    The sea is warm.

    Word by Word: Sea-the is warm.

  3. Детето спи.

    The child is sleeping.

    Word by Word: Child-the sleeps.

  4. Искам едно кафе.

    I would like a coffee.

    Word by Word: I-want one coffee.

    Кафе ends in -е, so the number one is едно.

  5. Това писмо е за теб.

    This letter is for you.

    Word by Word: This letter is for you.

    Това is the neuter form of this.

  6. Дядо ми е много стар.

    My grandfather is very old.

    Word by Word: Grandfather my is very old.

    Дядо ends in -о but names a man, so the adjective is masculine стар.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a masculine adjective with a neuter noun.

    Селото е малък.
    Селото е малко.

    Село is neuter, so the adjective ends in -о.

  • Treating дядо as neuter because it ends in -о.

    Дядо ми е старо.
    Дядо ми е стар.

    Words for men stay masculine whatever their ending, so the adjective has no ending.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Neuter Nouns in -о/-еLevel 1Neuter Nouns Ending in О or Е

Learn This First

Recognizing neuter endings requires the idea of noun gender.