Colors & Basic Adjectives
Colors
| Russian (masc.) | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| красный | KRAS-niy | red |
| синий | SI-niy | blue (dark) |
| голубой | ga-loo-BOY | blue (light) |
| зелёный | zyi-LYO-niy | green |
| жёлтый | ZHOL-tiy | yellow |
| белый | BYE-liy | white |
| чёрный | CHOR-niy | black |
| оранжевый | a-RAN-zhi-viy | orange |
| розовый | RO-za-viy | pink |
| коричневый | ka-RICH-ni-viy | brown |
Adjective Agreement
Russian adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
| Gender | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | -ый / -ий | красный дом (KRASniydом) (red house) |
| Feminine | -ая / -яя | красная машина (KRASna-ya ma-SHEE-na) (red car) |
| Neuter | -ое / -ее | красное яблоко (KRASna-ye YABla-ka) (red apple) |
| Plural | -ые / -ие | красные цветы (KRASni-ye tsve-TY) (red flowers) |
Basic Adjectives
| Russian | Pronunciation | Meaning | Opposite |
|---|---|---|---|
| большой | bal’-SHOY | big | маленький (MA-len’-kiy) (small) |
| хороший | kha-RO-shiy | good | плохой (pla-KHOY) (bad) |
| новый | NO-viy | new | старый (STA-riy) (old) |
| красивый | kra-SEE-viy | beautiful | некрасивый (nye-kra-SEE-viy) |
| интересный | in-tye-RYES-niy | interesting | скучный (SKOOCH-niy) (boring) |
| дорогой | da-ra-GOY | expensive | дешёвый (dye-SHYO-viy) (cheap) |
Practice
What ending does a masculine adjective take?
-ый or -ий (e.g. красный, синий)
Translate: красная книга
red book (feminine noun книга → feminine adj ending -ая)
What is the Russian word for 'green'?
зелёный (zyi-LYO-niy)