Russian Vocabulary: Interrogatives and Pronouns

Below is a list of interrogatives and pronouns found in Russian records. Each word is generally listed first in its modern form, followed by relevant variants, including some with archaic spelling. If the word you are looking for is not found here, consider looking at our other word lists or the FamilySearch Wiki Russian Genealogical Word List. If you're still struggling to find the right word, it may be a person's or place name. Follow the guidelines listed under Practical Suggestions and use other resources on our site such as those found on the Names page.

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Case

Like nouns and adjectives, many pronouns and interrogatives in Russian change form based on their grammatical case in a sentence. This is similar to English, where pronouns like "he" refers to the same person as "him" and "who" refers to the same person as "whom," with the former being subjects and the latter being objects. Russian has more cases and greater variation in how pronouns change than English does. Click here for a brief review of cases in the Russian language.

Gender

Like in English, third-person singular pronouns in Russian are gendered. The gender reflects the sex of the person or the gender of the noun to which the pronoun refers. Masculine pronouns refer to men or masculine nouns. Feminine pronouns refer to women or feminine nouns. Neuter pronouns refer to neuter nouns only.

For example, "о нём" could be translated as "about him", referring to a man, or as "about it" referring to a masculine noun such as город (city). Surrounding context will help you know which word the pronoun has replaced. Click here for a brief review of gender in the Russian language.

Formality

When addressing others in Russian, it is important to use the correct formal or informal 2nd-person pronouns, ты or вы. While in English, the pronoun "you" can refer to any one person or any group of people, in many other European languages there is a distinction between the singular/informal and plural/formal. Today, the singular/informal "ты" is commonly used when referring to one person of a similar or lower status such as a friend, family member, or young person. The plural/formal "вы" is used when referring to a group of people or to one person of a higher status such as a superior, stranger, or older person. Historically, the rules governing pronoun usage were much stricter and "вы" was used more broadly than it is today.

Personal Pronouns

English

Notice that the pronouns below come in pairs: I/me, we/us, she/her. These are examples of cases in English. The following sections include the Russian equivalent of the following pronouns in various cases. See the description below each section heading for a brief explanation of when each case is used, most common English equivalents, and examples.

Nominative

The nominative case is considered the "dictionary form" of the word and is most commonly used when stating the subject of a sentence. These pronouns correspond to English subject pronouns (I, he, we, etc.).

Он — мой брат.

He is my brother.

Point of View	Singular	Examples	Plural	Examples
1st Person	я		мы
2nd Person	ты		вы
3rd Person (masc, neut, fem)	он, оно, она	(arch. онъ)	они

Accusative/Genitive

The accusative case is generally used when expressing the direct object of a sentence. Some verbs and prepositions also force the accusative case.

The genitive case commonly expresses possession. Other verbs and prepositions also force the genitive case. Pronouns in both these cases are the same and generally correspond to the English object pronouns (me, her, us, etc.).

Александр любит её.

Aleksander loves her.

This set of pronouns may also correspond to English subjective pronouns in certain constructions.

У меня есть брат.

I have a brother. (Literally, at me there is a brother.)

Point of View	Singular	Examples	Plural	Examples
1st Person	меня		нас
2nd Person	тебя		вас
3rd Person (masc/neut, fem)	(н)его, (н)её		(н)их	(arch. ихъ) (arch. нихъ)
Oneself	себя

The "н" before these 3rd person pronouns is used when the word is the object of a preposition. Otherwise, the regular form— его, её, их— is standard. The additional "н" does not change the meaning of the word.

* This word refers back to the subject of the sentence and can mean "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "ourselves", "yourselves", or "themselves".

Prepositional

Certain Russian prepositions (though not all of them) are used with prepositional case. The objects of the prepositions "about," "in," and "on" are all expressed in this case. These pronouns generally correspond to the English object pronouns (me, her, us, etc.).

A book about them

Книга о них

Point of View	Singular	Examples	Plural	Examples
1st Person	мне		нас
2nd Person	тебе		вас
3rd Person (masc/neut, fem)	нём, ней		(н)их	(arch. ихъ) (arch. нихъ)
Oneself	себе

Dative

The dative case is often used to express the indirect object of a sentence. Certain verbs and prepositions also force the dative case. These pronouns generally correspond to the English object pronouns (me, her, us, etc.).

Мама читает им.

Mother is reading to them.

Point of View	Singular	Examples	Plural	Examples
1st Person	мне		нам	(arch. намъ)
2nd Person	тебе		вам	(arch. вамъ)
3rd Person (masc/neut, fem)	(н)ему, (н)ей		(н)им
Oneself	себе

The "н" before these 3rd person pronouns is used when the word is the object of a preposition. Otherwise, the regular form— ему, ей, им— is standard.

Instrumental

Instrumental case is used most often to show when something is done with another person or object. Certain verbs and prepositions also force the instrumental case. These pronouns generally correspond to the English object pronouns (me, her, us, etc.).

Она со мной.

She is with me.

Point of View	Singular	Examples	Plural	Examples
1st Person	мной		нами
2nd Person	тобой		вами
3rd Person (masc/neut, fem)	(н)им, (н)ей		(н)ими
Oneself	собой

The "н" before these 3rd person pronouns is used when the word is the object of a preposition. Otherwise, the regular form— его, её, их— is standard.

Possessive Pronouns

The pronouns in the following table act as adjectives: their case and gender match the case and gender of the noun they modify.

Это — моя сестра.

This is my sister.

In Russian, the possessive pronouns "его" (his, its), "её" (her), and "их" (their) do not change according to gender or case. They function as genitive case pronouns and can be literally translated as "of him," "of her," and "of them."

Это — его брат, а это — его сестра.

This is his brother, and this is his sister.

* The set of reflexive possessive pronouns based on "свой" refers back to the subject of a sentence and means "one's own." It is optional in the first and second person, as "мой" and "твой" can only refer to the speaker or the listener in a given context. However, its use is required in the third person to avoid ambiguity.

Аня любит свою семью.

Anya loves her own family.

Here, "свою" refers back to Anya, indicating that she is talking about her own family. If "её" is used instead of "свою," it would imply that Anya is referring to someone else's family:

Аня любит её семью.

Anya loves her family.

Who/What

Case	Who/what	Examples from documents
Nominative	кто/что
Accusative	кого/что*	—
Genitive	кого/чего
Prepositional	ком/чём
Dative	кому/чему
Instrumental	кем/чем	(arch. кѣмъ)

*Notice that the word "who" in the Russian accusative case is the same in the genitive case. The word "what" in the accusative case is the same as in the nominative case. This reflects the animate/inanimate divide found in the accusative case.

Russian	English	Examples
где	where	(arch. гдѣ)
как	how	(arch. какъ)
какой (gen. какого, какогѡ gen. plu. какихъ instr. какимъ)	which	(arch. gen. какогѡ) (arch. gen. plu. какихъ)
когда	when
кой	which	(gen. plu. коихъ)
который (gen. котораго)	which
оба	both
оной	this, that, the said (referring back to something previously mentioned)
сей	this
чей	whose	(dat. чьему)

To view translations of specific words and phrases you may encounter in a certain document type, visit the corresponding Document Types page of this tutorial.

1. Nikolai Ge, Петр I допрашивает царевича Алексея Петровича в Петергофе, 1871, Oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons.(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_the_Great_Interrogating_the_Tsarevich_Alexei_Petrovich.jpg : accessed 27 August 2024). This image is in the public domain.