Russian Vocabulary: Interrogatives and Pronouns
Below is an alphabetical 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.
Point of View | Singular | Plural | ||
Subject | Object | Subject | Object | |
1st Person | I | me | we | us |
2nd Person | you (thou) | you (thee) | you | you |
3rd Person (masc, neut, fem) | he, it, she | him, it, her | they | them |
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.
Case | Gender | My | Your(singular/ | One's own* | Your(plural/ | Our |
Nom. | M | мой | твой | свой | ваш | наш |
F | моя | твоя | своя | ваша | наша | |
N | моё | твоё | своё | ваше | наше | |
P | мои | твои | свои | ваши | наши | |
Acc. | M | мой/ моего | твой/ твоего | свой/ своего | ваш/вашего | наш/нашего |
F | мою | твою | свою | вашу | нашу | |
N | моё | твоё | своё | ваше | наше | |
P | мои/ моих | твои/ твоих | свои/ своих | ваши/ваших | наши/наших | |
Gen. | M/N | моего | твоего | своего | вашего | нашего |
F | моей | твоей | своей | вашей | нашей | |
P | моих | твоих | своих | ваших | наших | |
Prep. | M/N | моём | твоём | своём | вашем | нашем |
F | моей | твоей | своей | вашей | нашей | |
P | моих | твоих | своих | ваших | наших | |
Dat. | M/N | моему | твоему | своему | вашему | нашему |
F | моей | твоей | своей | вашей | нашей | |
P | моим | твоим | своим | вашим | нашим | |
Instr. | M/N | моим | твоим | своим | вашим | нашим |
F | моей | твоей | своей | вашей | нашей | |
P | моими | твоими | своими | вашими | нашими |
* 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 | |
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.
- 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.