Quick answer
A Russian word is usually prefix + root + suffix + ending. Each piece carries meaning, so an unfamiliar word is often decodable rather than new.
Suffixes for people
| Suffix | Means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -тель | the one who does it | учи́тель, писа́тель, чита́тель |
| -ник / -ик | occupation, agent | учени́к, худо́жник, рабо́тник |
| -ист | adherent, specialist | журнали́ст, тури́ст, пиани́ст |
| -щик | tradesman | сва́рщик, убо́рщик, обма́нщик |
| -ка | the feminine form | студе́нтка, сосе́дка, журнали́стка |
The feminine -ка is productive but not universal: врач and инжене́р have no everyday feminine form, so a female doctor is simply врач.
Suffixes for things and ideas
| Suffix | Means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ость | quality (always feminine) | но́вость, ра́дость, возмо́жность |
| -ство | state, collective | ка́чество, госуда́рство, большинство́ |
| -ение / -ание | the action as a noun | образова́ние, объясне́ние, совеща́ние |
| -ция | borrowed -tion words | информа́ция, регистра́ция, ситуа́ция |
| -ка | a thing, often from a verb | остано́вка, стри́жка, трениро́вка |
The -ция group is a gift: almost any English word in -tion exists in Russian with -ция and the stress on the -а́-: организа́ция, опера́ция, федера́ция.
Decoding in practice
Take переводчик: the root -вод- (lead), the prefix пере- (across), the suffix -чик (agent) — someone who leads across, a translator. Or подснежник: под (under) + снег (snow) + -ник — a snowdrop.
Guess, then verify
Decoding gets you to the right neighbourhood, not always to the exact word. Учи́тель is a teacher, but чита́тель is a reader, not a teacher of reading. Use the parts to form a hypothesis and let context confirm it.
Typical mistakes
мой но́вость
моя́ но́вость
Everything in -ость is feminine.
информа́ция → информа́ций in the singular
информа́ция
-ция nouns are ordinary feminine nouns in -я.
Check yourself
What gender are nouns in -ость?