Russian personal pronouns (я, ты, он, она, оно, мы, вы, они)

Я говорю по-русски. Она говорит по-английски.I speak Russian. She speaks English.

The Russian subject pronouns tell you who does the action: я, ты, он, она, оно, мы, вы, они. In Russian the pronoun can be left out when the verb ending or the context shows who is meant, but it is very often said, especially in everyday statements, and it is added for emphasis, contrast or clarity. Either way, these eight words come up all the time.

Quick shortcut: я (I) · ты (you, one person, informal) · он / она / оно (he / she / it) · мы (we) · вы (you, polite or several people) · они (they).

The pronouns

ты or вы?

Russian has two ways to say "you" to one person:

• ты is for someone you know well or are on informal terms with: family, close friends, children, and often people of your own age in casual settings.
• вы is polite and formal: strangers, someone older or senior, a shop assistant, a teacher you don't know well. It is also simply the word for several people, whoever they are.

The same word вы therefore covers both polite "you" and plural "you". Verbs follow it in the plural form either way: Вы говорите (you, polite or several people), but Ты говоришь (you, informal). If you're unsure, вы is the safer choice with a person you've just met. In letters and messages, the polite Вы is often written with a capital letter, though lowercase is also standard.

он, она, оно: people and things

The three singular pronouns follow the grammatical gender of the noun they replace, not the meaning (see Noun gender):

• Где стол? — Он здесь. (Where is the table? It's here.)
• Где книга? — Она здесь. (Where is the book? It's here.)
• Где окно? — Оно здесь. (Where is the window? It's here.)

For people, он is a man or boy and она a woman or girl, even for a word like папа that ends in -а. English "it" doesn't always become оно: it depends on the noun being replaced. And when English uses "it" with no real thing behind it, as in "It's cold" or "It's raining", Russian has no such pronoun: Холодно. has no subject at all, and Идёт дождь. literally says "rain is going", with the noun дождь as its subject.

они: all plurals

Они replaces any plural noun, whether the nouns are masculine, feminine, neuter, or a mixed group of people: Где столы? — Они здесь. Анна и Иван? Они дома. The gender difference between он, она and оно disappears in the plural (see Plural of nouns in the nominative).

The pronoun with a present-tense verb

Russian verb endings change with the person, which you'll see in the lessons on the first conjugation and the second conjugation. Because of that, the pronoun can be left out when the verb ending or the context already shows who is meant, for example in a reply like Читаю. ("Reading.") to Что ты делаешь? Even so, speakers often say it in everyday statements (Я читаю, Ты знаешь, Мы живём), and it is added for contrast, emphasis or clarity: Я читаю, а ты отдыхаешь. (I'm reading, and you're resting.)

Pronouns change form too

Like nouns, the pronouns have other case forms: я becomes меня or мне depending on the job it does, for example. Those forms are covered in the case lessons (The accusative case: animate objects and pronouns and others); this lesson is only about the subject forms.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Где книга? — Он здесь. → ✅ Где книга? — Она здесь. (the pronoun follows the gender of книга, which is feminine)
• ❌ Где окно? — Они там. → ✅ Где окно? — Оно там. (one window is neuter singular; они is only for plurals)
• ❌ Вы читаешь. → ✅ Вы читаете. (вы takes the вы verb form, even for one polite person)
• ❌ Ты читаете. → ✅ Ты читаешь. (ты takes its own verb form)
• ❌ Анна и Иван? Он дома. → ✅ Анна и Иван? Они дома. (two people take они)

Quick check

Which pronoun fits?

1. Talking about a table (стол): "____ здесь." (он / она / оно)
2. Talking about the sea (море): "____ большое." (он / она / оно)
3. Talking to a stranger: "____ говорите по-русски?" (ты / вы)
4. Talking about Anna and Ivan: "____ дома." (он / они)
5. Talking about a book (книга): "____ новая." (он / она / оно)

Key takeaways

• The subject pronouns are я, ты, он, она, оно, мы, вы, они. They can be left out when the verb ending or context shows the subject, but they are often said, and they add contrast, emphasis or clarity.
• ты is informal, one person; вы is polite for one person and also the word for several people.
• он / она / оно follow the grammatical gender of the noun they replace; они replaces any plural.
• English "it" has no single Russian match: it depends on the gender of the noun, and sentences about the weather have no "it" pronoun.