Skip to content
365 Russkiy
Course

ЫЙ ADJECTIVES

Russian adjectives change their endings to match the noun they describe. Learn the four ЫЙ endings (-ый, -ое, -ая, -ые) and pick up 10 colours along the way.

In this lesson:

  • Learn basic information about adjectives
  • Learn how the ЫЙ ending changes depending on the gender
  • Learn 10 colour names

Step 1 of 11: What adjectives do

What adjectives do

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. In Russian, an adjective has to match the noun it describes – change the noun, and the adjective's ending changes with it.

There are four groups to match: masculine, neuter, feminine, and plural.

Each group has a few possible endings. For example, -ый, -ий and -ой are all masculine endings. But the feminine, neuter and plural forms are all built from the masculine form, so the masculine adjective is treated as the default. It's also the form that you'll find in a dictionary.

It starts with ЫЙ

  • кра́сныйred
  • жёлтыйyellow
  • зелёныйgreen

Look at these words. What have you noticed? All 3 ends the same way with -ый, which is the masculine ending.

You probably have seen other -ый adjectives already, like до́брый in до́брый день ("good afternoon") or до́брый ве́чер ("good evening").

Make it neuter with ОЕ

So how do you say "good morning"? До́брое у́тро! What happened? До́брый became до́брое. Why? Because у́тро is a neuter noun, making -ое the neuter ending.

Keep that pair in your head. До́брый день, but до́брое у́тро. It's the whole lesson in two phrases.

ЫЙ ⇨ ОЕ

  • a red bell pepperкра́сный пе́рецred pepper
  • a yellow bell pepperжёлтый пе́рецyellow pepper
  • a green bell pepperзелёный пе́рецgreen pepper

Пе́рец is a masculine noun, so all the adjectives have a masculine ending. How will these adjectives change if we change the noun to я́блоко, which is neuter?

Fill in the blanks with correct endings

0 / 3
  1. кра́сныйкра́сня́блоко
  2. жёлтыйжёлтя́блоко
  3. зелёныйзелёня́блоко

Бе́лый и Чёрный

Let's add more colours.

  • бе́лыйwhite
  • чёрныйblack

Choose the correct ending to match each noun

0 / 5
  1. a white tigerбе́лтигр
  2. a white quilted blanketбе́лодея́ло
  3. a white polar bearбе́лмедве́дь
  4. a white bar of soapбе́лмы́ло
  5. a white towel hanging on a railбе́лполоте́нце

Choose the correct ending to match each noun

0 / 5
  1. a black coatчёрнпальто́
  2. a black swanчёрнле́бедь
  3. a black suitчёрнкостю́м
  4. a cup of black coffeeчёрнко́фе
  5. a black cloudчёрно́блако

The feminine ending

-ая is the feminine ending. For example, if you want to say "a black card" in Russian, it is чёрная ка́рточка.

That gives us three of the four:

  • -ый – masculine

  • -ое – neuter

  • -ая – feminine

Review the colours

Time to recall the colours themselves, not just the endings. Every noun below is feminine, so every answer takes -ая. The challenge is remembering the colour word.

Choose the answer

0 / 10
  1. a red cardка́рточка
  2. a yellow cardка́рточка
  3. a black catко́шка
  4. a green carмаши́на
  5. a red mugкру́жка
  6. a white catко́шка
  7. a yellow t-shirtфутбо́лка
  8. a blank white sheet of paperбума́га
  9. a black shirtруба́шка
  10. a green penру́чка

Two more colours

  • ро́зовыйpink
  • фиоле́товыйpurple

Choose the correct ending to match each noun

0 / 6
  1. a pink sofaро́зовдива́н
  2. a purple chairфиоле́товстул
  3. a purple quilted blanketфиоле́товодея́ло
  4. a pink pillowро́зовподу́шка
  5. a pink dressро́зовпла́тье
  6. a purple t-shirtфиоле́товфутбо́лка

Now, what about plurals?

There is only one plural adjective form, regardless of the gender of the noun.

  • ора́нжевыйorange
ора́нжевый столbecomesора́нжевые столы́orange tableorange tablesmasculinepluralора́нжевое пла́тьеbecomesора́нжевые пла́тьяorange dressorange dressesneuterpluralора́нжевая ру́чкаbecomesора́нжевые ру́чкиorange penorange pensfeminineplural

As you can see, there is only one plural adjective form for all genders. It is formed from the masculine adjective by changing -ый to -ые.

Fill in the blanks with plural endings

0 / 5
  1. two orange pillowsора́нжевподу́шки
  2. two orange dressesора́нжевпла́тья
  3. two orange t-shirtsора́нжевфутбо́лки
  4. two orange pensора́нжевру́чки
  5. two orange mugsора́нжевкру́жки

Let's summarise

Adjective endings by gender and number
PictureGroupEnding
a red houseMasculine-ый
a red appleNeuter-ое
a red carFeminine-ая
two red houses side by sidePlural-ые

The last two

  • кори́чневыйbrown
  • се́рыйgrey

Choose the correct ending to match each noun

0 / 10
  1. a brown tableкори́чневстол
  2. a grey catсе́рко́шка
  3. a brown coatкори́чневпальто́
  4. two grey cloudsсе́роблака́
  5. two brown catsкори́чневко́шки
  6. a brown penкори́чневру́чка
  7. a grey chairсе́рстул
  8. two brown carsкори́чневмаши́ны
  9. a grey shirtсе́рруба́шка
  10. a grey suitсе́ркостю́м

Checkpoint

That's all 10 colours and all four endings. Let's do a quick review.

Match the pairs

0 / 10

Multiple choice

0 / 5

  1. 1.Which ending is the neuter one?

  2. 2.Ко́фе ends in -е. Which is correct?

  3. 3.How many plural adjective endings does Russian have?

  4. 4.Which form would you find in a dictionary?

  5. 5.Соба́ка (dog) is feminine. How do you say brown dog?

You are all done for today 🎉 In the next lesson, you'll meet ten more -ый adjectives! See you there!

Finish lesson

Frequently asked questions

What are the Russian adjective endings?

For the ЫЙ group there are four: -ый for masculine nouns, -ое for neuter, -ая for feminine, and -ые for plurals of any gender. So кра́сный дом, кра́сное я́блоко, кра́сная маши́на, кра́сные дома́.

Why is it до́брое у́тро and not до́брый у́тро?

Because у́тро (morning) is a neuter noun, and adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. День (day) is masculine, so it's до́брый день, but у́тро is neuter, so it's до́брое у́тро.

Is ко́фе masculine or neuter in Russian?

Masculine, despite ending in -е, which normally signals a neuter noun. So you say чёрный ко́фе, not чёрное ко́фе. It's a well-known exception worth memorising early.

How many plural adjective endings does Russian have?

Only one. In the plural, gender stops mattering: ора́нжевый стол becomes ора́нжевые столы́, ора́нжевое пла́тье becomes ора́нжевые пла́тья, and ора́нжевая ру́чка becomes ора́нжевые ру́чки.

What is the dictionary form of a Russian adjective?

The masculine singular form — the one ending in -ый, -ий or -ой. The neuter, feminine and plural forms are all built from it, which is why it's treated as the default.

A new music lesson in your inbox

Get a new Russian lesson every month — free. New music, fresh vocab, and exercises to keep your Russian growing.

One friendly email a month. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.