Grammar Guides / Russian / Russian Adjectives & Agreement

🎨 Russian Adjectives & Agreement

How adjectives agree in gender, number, and case — hard-stem, soft-stem, and short forms

A1 14 min read 5 sections

How Russian Adjectives Work

Unlike English, where adjectives never change form ("the big dog," "the big house," "the big dogs"), Russian adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in three ways: gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, prepositional). Adjectives are placed before the noun, just like in English. There are two main types based on the stem: hard-stem adjectives (ending in -ый or -ой) and soft-stem adjectives (ending in -ий after a soft consonant). Each type follows its own set of endings.

новый дом, новая книга, новое окно, новые друзьяnew house, new book, new window, new friends
Tip: The nominative masculine form is the "dictionary form" — it is what you will see in word lists. Always learn the masculine nominative and the endings will follow a predictable pattern.

Hard-Stem Endings

Hard-stem adjectives are the most common type. Their masculine nominative ends in -ый (unstressed) or -ой (stressed). Here is the full declension table using новый (new) as the model. For accusative: animate nouns use the genitive form, inanimate nouns use the nominative form.

CaseMasculineFeminineNeuterPlural
Nominativeновыйноваяновоеновые
Genitiveновогоновойновогоновых
Dativeновомуновойновомуновым
Accusative (anim.)новогоновуюновоеновых
Accusative (inanim.)новыйновуюновоеновые
Instrumentalновымновойновымновыми
Prepositionalновомновойновомновых
Я живу в новом доме. Мы говорим о новой книге.I live in a new house. (prepositional) We are talking about a new book. (prepositional)
Tip: The feminine forms are the easiest — genitive, dative, instrumental, and prepositional are all новой. Learn the feminine column first for a confidence boost.

Soft-Stem Endings

Soft-stem adjectives end in -ий in the masculine nominative. Their endings use soft vowels (я, е, ю instead of а, о, у). Here is the full declension using синий (blue) as the model.

CaseMasculineFeminineNeuterPlural
Nominativeсинийсиняясинеесиние
Genitiveсинегосинейсинегосиних
Dativeсинемусинейсинемусиним
Accusative (anim.)синегосинююсинеесиних
Accusative (inanim.)синийсинююсинеесиние
Instrumentalсинимсинейсинимсиними
Prepositionalсинемсинейсинемсиних
У неё синие глаза. Он в синем костюме.She has blue eyes. (nominative plural) He is in a blue suit. (prepositional)
Tip: Compare the soft endings to the hard endings side by side: -ый/-ий, -ая/-яя, -ое/-ее, -ые/-ие. The pattern is consistent — soft-stem just replaces hard vowels with their soft counterparts.

Short-Form Adjectives

Some Russian adjectives have a "short form" that is used only in the predicate position (after the verb "to be," which is usually omitted in the present tense). Short forms agree in gender and number but do not decline for case. They are formed by removing the long-form ending and adding: nothing (masculine), -а (feminine), -о (neuter), -ы (plural).

Long FormMasculineFeminineNeuterPluralMeaning
красивыйкрасивкрасивакрасивокрасивыbeautiful
готовыйготовготоваготовоготовыready
свободныйсвободенсвободнасвободносвободныfree
занятыйзанятзанятазанятозанятыbusy
счастливыйсчастливсчастливасчастливосчастливыhappy
больнойболенбольнабольнобольныsick
нужныйнуженнужнанужнонужныneeded
должныйдолжендолжнадолжнодолжныmust / ought to
Он готов. Она занята. Мы свободны.He is ready. She is busy. We are free.
Tip: Some short forms are used far more often than their long forms — especially должен (must), нужен (needed), and рад (glad, which has no long form at all). You will hear these every day in Russian.

15 Essential Adjectives

These are among the most frequently used adjectives in Russian. Learn these in their masculine nominative (dictionary) form, then practice declining them using the hard-stem pattern above.

RussianPronunciation HintMeaning
большойbal-SHOYbig / large
маленькийMA-lyen-kiysmall / little
хорошийha-RO-shiygood
плохойpla-KHOYbad
новыйNO-viynew
старыйSTA-riyold
красивыйkra-SI-viybeautiful
молодойma-la-DOYyoung
горячийga-RYA-chiyhot
холодныйkha-LOD-niycold
быстрыйBIS-triyfast
медленныйMYED-lyen-niyslow
лёгкийLYOKH-kiyeasy / light
тяжёлыйtya-ZHO-liyheavy / difficult
интересныйin-tye-RYES-niyinteresting
Tip: Notice that большой, плохой, молодой, and горячий have stressed endings (-ой / -ий). When the stress falls on the ending, masculine nominative uses -ой instead of -ый. The declension pattern is the same either way.

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