-ы/-и

Plural Ending Ы or И

Level 1Sounds Like množestvennoe čislo -y/-i

To make most Russian nouns plural, change the ending to -ы or -и. Use -ы for hard stems and -и for soft stems or after specific '7-letter' consonants.

How It Works

In Russian, pluralization depends on the 'hardness' or 'softness' of the noun's stem and specific spelling rules.

1. When to use -ы:
Use this for 'hard' endings:

  • Masculine: Nouns ending in a hard consonant (стол → столы).
  • Feminine: Nouns ending in -а (машина → машины).

2. When to use -и:
Use this for 'soft' endings or to satisfy spelling rules:

  • Soft Stems: Nouns ending in -й, -ь, or -я (музей → музеи, словарь → словари, песня → песни).
  • The 7-Letter Rule: After the letters г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ, you must always write -и, never -ы. This applies even if the noun looks 'hard' (книга → книги, парк → парки).

3. Important Note on Animacy:
For inanimate objects (like tables or books), this plural form is also used as the Accusative direct object. However, for people and animals, the plural form changes differently when they are the object of an action.

Examples (5)

  1. Где мои книги?

    Where are my books?

    Word by Word: Where my books?

    Книга (feminine) ends in 'г', so the 7-letter rule requires -и instead of -ы.

  2. Эти столы очень старые.

    These tables are very old.

    Word by Word: These tables very old.

    Стол (masculine) ends in a hard consonant, so it takes the standard -ы ending.

  3. В городе есть новые музеи.

    There are new museums in the city.

    Word by Word: In city there-are new museums.

    Музей (masculine) ends in -й (soft), which changes to -и in the plural.

  4. На столе лежат словари.

    Dictionaries are lying on the table.

    Word by Word: On table lie dictionaries.

    Словарь (masculine) ends in a soft sign (-ь), so it takes the -и ending.

  5. Наши мамы работают здесь.

    Our moms work here.

    Word by Word: Our moms work here.

    Мама (feminine) ends in -а, which changes to -ы for the plural.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing -ы after a 7-letter rule consonant.

    русские паркы
    русские парки

    The letters г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ can never be followed by -ы. You must use -и.

  • Forgetting to change the soft sign (-ь) to -и.

    тетрадьы
    тетради

    Nouns ending in a soft sign (-ь) take -и in the plural: тетради, двери, гости. A few masculine ones take a stressed -я instead, like учителя.

  • Using -ы/-и for all masculine nouns.

    домы
    дома

    Some common masculine nouns use a stressed -а or -я for the plural instead of the regular -ы/-и.

How It Connects

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

-ы/-иLevel 1Plural Ending Ы or И

Learn This First

To form the plural with -ы or -и, you must first understand the basic nominative case and how to identify the gender of a noun in its singular form, as the plural endings are determined by the noun's original ending.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.