Masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns

Every Belarusian noun belongs to one of three genders: masculine (мужчы́нскі род), feminine (жано́чы род), or neuter (ніякі род). You can usually tell the gender by the noun's ending.

End in a hard consonant, -й, or soft sign -ь:

дом — house — ends in consonant

плот — fence — ends in consonant

хло́пчык — boy — ends in consonant

дзень — day — ends in -нь (soft sign)

край — land / edge — ends in -й

End in -а or -я (sometimes -ь for soft-stem feminines):

цэ́гла — brick — ends in -а

шко́ла — school — ends in -а

рака́ — river — ends in -а

рэ́чка — little river — ends in -а

зямля́ — land / earth — ends in -я

End in -о, -а (after hardened consonants), or -е/-ё:

вакно́ — window — ends in -о

дрэ́ва — tree / wood — ends in -а (neuter after р)

мо́ра — sea — ends in -а (neuter after р)

по́ле — field — ends in -е

**Quick gender test:** Look at the ending: • Consonant / -й / -ь → most likely **masculine** • -а / -я → most likely **feminine** • -о / -е / -ё → **neuter** (Some nouns ending in -а after hardened consonants like р are neuter — you'll learn these exceptions over time.)

Vocabulary

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