Feminine Declension Types
Feminine nouns ending in -a follow žena after a hard consonant and ulica after a soft one. Feminine nouns ending in a consonant follow dlaň or kosť.
How It Works
Choosing the model.
- žena (woman): -a after a hard or neutral consonant: mama, kniha, škola, izba
- ulica (street): -a after a soft consonant: stanica, práca, tabuľa, sukňa
- dlaň (palm): most nouns ending in a consonant: pieseň, jeseň, báseň, posteľ
- kosť (bone): mostly nouns ending in -c, -s, -p, -v or -sť, plus some others: vec, noc, radosť, jar
The singular side by side.
- Genitive: ženy, ulice, dlane, kosti
- Dative and locative: žene, ulici, dlani, kosti
- Accusative: ženu, ulicu, dlaň, kosť
- Instrumental: ženou, ulicou, dlaňou, kosťou
The plural side by side. Nominative: ženy, ulice, dlane, kosti. Genitive: žien, ulíc, dlaní, kostí. Dative: ženám, uliciam, dlaniam, kostiam.
Dlaň or kosť? These two look alike, so check the genitive in a dictionary: pieseň, piesne follows dlaň and radosť, radosti follows kosť. That tells you to say bez piesne but bez radosti.
Adjective-like nouns. A few nouns in -ná decline like the adjective pekná in the singular: gazdiná, princezná, švagriná. Say bez gazdinej, o princeznej, s gazdinou, vidím gazdinú. In the plural the nominative is gazdiné, and most other forms follow žena: gazdinám, o gazdinách.
Examples (6)
- Bez mamy nikam nejdem.
I'm not going anywhere without Mom.
Word by Word: Without mom nowhere I-not-go.
Mama follows žena, so the genitive ends in -y.
- Čakám na stanici.
I'm waiting at the station.
Word by Word: I-wait on station.
Stanica follows ulica, so the locative ends in -i.
- Poznáš slová tej piesne?
Do you know the words of that song?
Word by Word: You-know words that song?
Pieseň follows dlaň: the genitive is piesne.
- Deti skákali od radosti.
The children were jumping for joy.
Word by Word: Children jumped from joy.
Radosť follows kosť: the genitive is radosti.
- V noci je tu ticho.
It's quiet here at night.
Word by Word: In night is here quiet.
Noc follows kosť: the locative is noci.
- Rozprávka je o princeznej a drakovi.
The fairy tale is about a princess and a dragon.
Word by Word: Fairy-tale is about princess and dragon.
Princezná takes the adjective ending -ej in the locative.
Common Mistakes
Using the žena ending for a soft-stem noun.
Som bez prácy.Som bez práce.Práca ends in a soft consonant plus -a, so it follows ulica and the genitive ends in -e.
Using the kosť ending for a dlaň noun.
Poznáš slová tej piesni?Poznáš slová tej piesne?Pieseň follows dlaň, whose genitive ends in -e. Only kosť-type nouns take -i.
Declining an -ná noun like žena.
Kniha je o princezne.Kniha je o princeznej.Princezná declines like the adjective pekná in the singular, so the locative is princeznej.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Feminine Declension Types, learn Dative, Locative and Instrumental Plural and Feminine Accusative in -u. The declension types bring all singular and plural endings together. žena shows the accusative in -u.
Related Patterns
- Feminine Nouns
Introduces the feminine nouns that these four models sort.
Level 1 - Genitive Singular Endings
Covers the genitive singular, where the four models differ most clearly.
Level 2 - Instrumental Singular Endings
Covers the instrumental ženou, ulicou, dlaňou and kosťou.
Level 2 - Genitive Plural Endings
Covers the plural forms žien, ulíc, dlaní and kostí.
Level 2 - Hard Adjectives Like pekný
Nouns like gazdiná borrow these adjective endings.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Feminine Declension Types in Bubblegum
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