Это книги. Это столы. Это окна.These are books. These are tables. These are windows.

In Russian most nouns show the plural by changing the ending. The ending you need depends on the last letter of the singular form (and so, indirectly, on the gender from Noun gender). Here we look at the plural in the nominative, the form you use for plural subjects and for naming things (The nominative case).

Quick shortcut: -ы / -и for most masculine and feminine nouns, -а / -я for neuter nouns. The spelling is -и instead of -ы after г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ.

The main endings

Singular ending Plural ending Examples
masculine, consonant -ы стол → столы, журнал → журналы
masculine, -й -и музей → музеи, трамвай → трамваи
masculine, -ь -и словарь → словари, гость → гости
feminine, -а -ы школа → школы, мама → мамы
feminine, -я -и неделя → недели, семья → семьи
feminine, -ия -ии история → истории
feminine, -ь -и дверь → двери, ночь → ночи
neuter, -о -а окно → окна, слово → слова
neuter, -е -я море → моря, здание → здания

A neuter plural in -а can look like a feminine singular, but the context and the words around it tell them apart: Это окно is "this is a window", Это окна is "these are windows".

The spelling rule: и after г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ

Russian spelling doesn't allow ы after the letters г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ; и is written instead. This changes the plural of many common nouns:

  • книга → книги (not ❌ книгы)
  • мальчик → мальчики, язык → языки
  • нож → ножи, врач → врачи, карандаш → карандаши
  • рука → руки, подруга → подруги

After ц the regular -ы is written: улица → улицы.

Pronouns for plurals: они

Whatever the gender of the singular noun, the plural is replaced by они ("they"): Где столы? — Они там. (Where are the tables? They're over there.) The gender distinction between он, она and оно disappears in the plural.

Common irregular plurals

Some very frequent nouns have a plural you simply learn along with the word:

Singular Plural Meaning
дом дома house(s)
город города city, cities
глаз глаза eye(s)
учитель учителя teacher(s)
брат братья brother(s)
друг друзья friend(s)
сын сыновья son(s)
человек люди person, people
ребёнок дети child, children
мать матери mother(s)
дочь дочери daughter(s)

A group of masculine nouns takes -а / -я in the plural (дома, города, глаза, учителя), and the singular doesn't tell you which ones, so the plural is best learned together with the word. The same goes for человек → люди and ребёнок → дети, which use a different word in the plural.

Words that don't change or only exist in the plural

  • Unchanging loanwords keep the same form in the plural: одно такси, много такси; одно пальто, много пальто; метро, кино. The words around them show the number (эти такси).
  • Plural-only nouns exist in the plural alone, even when they name one object: очки (glasses, one pair), часы (clock, watch), деньги (money), брюки (trousers), ножницы (scissors).
  • Many mass nouns are used mostly in the singular: молоко, вода, хлеб.

Numbers change the noun

After a number the noun doesn't stay in the simple nominative plural: один стол, два стола, пять столов. This is covered later in Cardinal numbers 1–20; for now the nominative plural is what you use for "these are …" and for plural subjects.

Common mistakes

  • ❌ книгы → ✅ книги (ы isn't written after г)
  • ❌ окны → ✅ окна (neuter nouns in -о take -а)
  • ❌ человеки → ✅ люди (человек has a different word for its plural)
  • ❌ ребёнки → ✅ дети (the same with ребёнок)
  • ❌ Мои стол здесь. → ✅ Мои столы здесь. (a plural word like мои goes with a plural noun)

Quick check

Can you form the plural of each word?

  1. школа → ?
  2. окно → ?
  3. нож → ?
  4. словарь → ?
  5. друг → ?
Show answers
  1. школы (feminine -а → -ы)   2. окна (neuter -о → -а)   3. ножи (и, not ы, after ж)   4. словари (masculine -ь → -и)   5. друзья (an irregular plural to learn with the word)

Key takeaways

  • For most nouns the nominative plural is made by changing the ending: -ы / -и for most masculine and feminine nouns, -а / -я for neuter nouns.
  • After г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ the spelling is -и, not -ы (книги, ножи).
  • A handful of very common nouns have irregular plurals: дома, друзья, люди, дети, which are easiest to learn together with the word.
  • Plurals of all genders are replaced by они.
  • Some loanwords don't change, and some nouns exist only in the plural (очки, деньги).