Quick answer
The genitive answers “of whom / of what?” (кого́? чего́?). Use it after нет (there is no), after numbers and quantities, for possession (“of”) and after prepositions like у, из, от, до, без, для.
У меня́ нет вре́мени.
I have no time. — вре́мя → вре́мени
When you need the genitive
Five situations cover almost every genitive you will meet as a beginner. Learn the trigger, and the case follows automatically.
1. After нет — “there is no”
2. Possession — the English “of” or ’s
3. After numbers and quantities
This is the part that surprises everyone: after 2, 3 and 4 Russian uses the genitive singular; from 5 upwards, the genitive plural.
4. After these prepositions
5. “Some” of something
Singular endings
Look at the last letter of the noun in the dictionary form. That decides the ending.
| Noun ends in | Genitive | Example |
|---|---|---|
| consonant (m.) | +а | стол → стола́ |
| -й / -ь (m.) | → я | музе́й → музе́я, слова́рь → словаря́ |
| -о (n.) | → а | окно́ → окна́ |
| -е (n.) | → я | мо́ре → мо́ря |
| -а (f.) | → ы | ма́ма → ма́мы |
| -я (f.) | → и | неде́ля → неде́ли |
| -ь (f.) | → и | ночь → но́чи |
The stress can move to the ending — стол → стола́. That is why every form here is marked.
The spelling rule you need here
After г, к, х, ж, ш, щ, ч Russian never writes ы — it writes и instead. So кни́га becomes кни́ги, not “книгы”.
Plural endings
The genitive plural is the hardest form in basic Russian — some nouns lose their ending entirely. Start with these four patterns:
| Type | Genitive plural | Example |
|---|---|---|
| m. hard consonant | +ов | стол → столо́в |
| m. -й | → ев | музе́й → музе́ев |
| m. -ь, -ж, -ш, -щ, -ч; f. -ь | → ей | врач → враче́й, ночь → ноче́й |
| f. -а, n. -о | ending drops | кни́га → книг, окно́ → о́кон |
When the ending drops and two consonants would clash, Russian slips a vowel in between: окно́ → о́кон, де́вушка → де́вушек. You do not have to predict it yet — notice it when you see it.
Adjectives in the genitive
| Masculine / neuter | Feminine | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ending | -ого / -его | -ой / -ей | -ых / -их |
| но́вый | но́вого | но́вой | но́вых |
Say it right
The г in -ого is pronounced like a v: но́вого = nóvava. Same in его́ (him, his) and сего́дня (today). Spelling will never tell you.
Typical mistakes
У меня́ нет брат.
У меня́ нет бра́та.
English “no” changes nothing, Russian нет changes the noun. Every time.
пять стола́
пять столо́в
2, 3, 4 take the genitive singular; 5 and up take the plural. The number 1 takes neither.
но́вого with a hard g
nóvava
Written г, spoken v — only in these endings.
Check yourself
У меня́ нет ___. (сестра́ — sister)