UKRAINIAN GENDERS MADE EASY For Absolute Beginners. Master the Basics!

WHY GENDERS MATTER

Every Ukrainian noun has a gender. It's not random, it's based on endings! Once you know the pattern, you'll guess correctly 90% of the time.

Gender affects three main things:

1. ADJECTIVES (прикметники)

Adjectives must match the noun's gender!

"new" — новий/нова/нове

• new table — новий стіл (M)

• new book — нова книга (F)

• new window — нове вікно (N)

"big" — великий/велика/велике

• big house — великий дім (M)

• big room — велика кімната (F)

• big city — велике місто (N)

2. PAST TENSE VERBS (дієслова в минулому часі)

In the past tense, verbs change endings based on gender!

"was" був/була/було

• Marko was at home — Марко був вдома (M)

• Olya was at home — Оля була вдома (F)

• The window was open — Вікно було відкрите (N)

  
  

"read" читав/читала/читало

• He read a book — Він читав книгу (M)

• She read a book — Вона читала книгу (F)

• The child read a book — Дитя читало книгу (N)

  
  
  
  

3. PRONOUNS (займенники)

Different pronouns for different genders!

• Where is the table? It's here — Де стіл? Він тут. (M)

• Where is the book? It's here — Де книга? Вона тут. (F)

• Where is the window? It's here — Де вікно? Воно тут. (N)

  
  

"my" мій/моя/моє

• my brother — мій брат (M)

• my sister — моя сестра (F)

• my window — моє вікно (N)

  
  

"this" — цей/ця/це

• this student — цей студент (M)

• this lady — ця пані (F)

• this city — це місто (N)

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THE THREE GENDERS

1. MASCULINE (чоловічий рід) M

Typical ending: consonant (zero ending) or -ь

Examples:

• стіл (table)

• дім (house)

• хліб (bread)

• день (day)

  
  

With adjective: - ий -ій

новий стіл (new table)

синій стіл (blue table)

2. FEMININE (жіночий рід) F

Typical endings: -а, -я, zero ending or -ь рідше

Examples:

• книга (book)

• земля (earth)

• ніч (night) zero ending

• тінь (shadow) — ends in ь

  
  

With adjective: -а -я

нова книга (new book)

синя книга (blue book)

3. NEUTER (середній рід) N

Typical endings: -о, -е

Examples:

• вікно (window)

• море (sea)

• місто (city)

• сонце (sun)

With adjective: -е -є

нове вікно (new window)

синє море (blue sea)

QUICK SUMMARY

Look at the last letter!

Ending	Gender	Examples
-а, -я	Feminine	мама, земля
-о, -е	Neuter	вікно, море, поле
consonant	Masculine	стіл, дім

REMEMBER THIS!

"I'm glad" changes with YOUR gender:

Я радий  I'm glad (if you're male)

Я рада  I'm glad (if you're female)

⚠️ WATCH OUT!

Some words break the rules:

• тато (dad) — ends in -о but Masculine (he's a man!)

• дитина (child) — ends in -а, Feminine (even for boys!)

• курча (chick) — ends in -а but Neuter (young animals)

Soft sign -ь words: Feminine or masculine. You'll learn these with practice!

YOUR ACTION PLAN

3 Steps to Master Genders:

1. Learn nouns with endings

   Not just "стіл" but "стіл (M, consonant ending)"

   
   

2. Practice with adjectives

   новий/нова/нове — say them out loud!

   
   

3. Use them in sentences

   "Це новий стіл" (This is a new table)

That's it! You now know 90% of the gender rules!

FINAL TIP

Don't stress about exceptions! Even native speakers sometimes pause with tricky -ь words. Focus on the main patterns, and you'll be fine!

Practice makes perfect!

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