All nouns in Ukrainian belong to one of the three genders, unless the word only has a plural form (e.g. двері – a door). The gender of a noun is crucial in forming sentences correctly and using the correct grammar rules. Most of the time you can determine the gender of a noun by its ending.
| Masculine (чолові́чий рід) |
Feminine (жіно́чий рід) |
Neuter (сере́дній рід) |
|---|---|---|
| ends in consonant | ends in -а or –я | ends in –о or –е |
| він – he чолові́к – man хло́пець – boy студе́нт – student оліве́ць – pencil |
вона́ – she жі́нка – woman ді́вчина – girl студе́нтка – student пі́сня – song |
воно́ – it де́рево – tree мо́ре – sea мі́сто – town/city село́ – village |
| Some exceptions: | ||
| Personal names Мико́ла Петро́ Gender specific nouns: Ба́тько – father |
ма́ти – mother ніч – night Some abstract nouns ending in ь: тінь – shadow о́сінь – fall (season) |
Some nouns ending in “я”: життя́ – life ща́стя – happiness Baby animals: ягня́ – lamb, кошеня́ — kitten |
The grammatical gender of a noun determines the form of other words that agree with it, such as adjectives, pronouns, and past tense verbs. Agreement in gender is an essential feature of Ukrainian sentence structure. For example:
Це га́рний стіл. – This is a nice table.
Це га́рна кни́га. – This is a nice book.
Це га́рне мі́сто. – This is a nice city.
In each sentence, the adjective гарний / гарна / гарне changes its ending according to the gender of the noun it modifies. Thus, "га́рний" agrees with the masculine noun "стіл", "га́рна" agrees with the feminine noun "книга", and "га́рне" agrees with the neuter noun "місто".
This system of agreement applies consistently across adjectives, pronouns, and verbs in the past tense. Understanding the gender of a noun is therefore fundamental to forming grammatically correct sentences in Ukrainian.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|
| Нови́й друг | Нова́ по́друга. | Нове́ вікно́. |
| A new friend (m.) | A new friend (f.) | A new window. |
| Вели́кий буди́нок. | Вели́ка ва́за. | Вели́ке мо́ре. |
| A big house. | A big vase. | A big sea. |
| Стари́й друг. | Стара́ кни́га. | Старе́ мі́сто. |
| An old friend (m.). | An old book. | An old city. |
| Мале́нький кіт. | Мале́нька соба́ка. | Мале́ньке де́рево. |
| A small cat. | A small dog. | A small tree. |
| Ціка́вий фі́льм. | Ціка́ва істо́рія. | Ціка́ве пита́ння. |
| An interesting film. | An interesting story. | An interesting question. |
| Га́рний парк. | Га́рна ді́вчина. | Га́рне о́зеро. |
| A beautiful park. | A beautiful girl. | A beautiful lake. |
