Key takeaways
- One to ten in Russian is один, два, три, четыре, пять, шесть, семь, восемь, девять, десять; zero is ноль or нуль.
- One agrees in gender (один, одна, одно) and two has a feminine form, две.
- After a number ending in 1 the noun is nominative singular; after 2, 3 or 4 it is genitive singular; after 5 to 20 and 0 it is genitive plural.
- Numbers ending in 11 to 14 always take the genitive plural, so 21 рубль but 111 рублей.
- Тысяча (1,000) behaves like a feminine noun: две тысячи, пять тысяч, and always takes a genitive plural noun after it.
Russian numbers have two layers. The first is the words themselves, which are regular once you see how they are built. The second is the grammar: in Russian the number decides the case and number of the noun after it, so "one rouble", "two roubles" and "five roubles" use three different forms of the noun. This reference covers both, using Wikipedia's articles on Russian grammar and Russian declension. Romanisations are a simplified BGN/PCGN style, with ' for the soft sign, and are only a guide; stress is shown with an accent on the Cyrillic.
Zero to ten
| Number | Russian | Romanised |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | ноль / нуль | nol' / nul' |
| 1 | оди́н, одна́, одно́ | odin, odna, odno |
| 2 | два, две | dva, dve |
| 3 | три | tri |
| 4 | четы́ре | chetyre |
| 5 | пять | pyat' |
| 6 | шесть | shest' |
| 7 | семь | sem' |
| 8 | во́семь | vosem' |
| 9 | де́вять | devyat' |
| 10 | де́сять | desyat' |
Two of these change form. One agrees with its noun in gender: оди́н (masculine), одна́ (feminine), одно́ (neuter), and even has a plural, одни́. Two is два with masculine and neuter nouns and две with feminine ones. Wikipedia adds that раз is used for "one" when counting.
Eleven to a million
The teens all end in -надцать: оди́ннадцать (11), двена́дцать (12), трина́дцать (13), четы́рнадцать (14), пятна́дцать (15), шестна́дцать (16), семна́дцать (17), восемна́дцать (18), девятна́дцать (19).
| Tens | Hundreds | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | два́дцать | 100 | сто |
| 30 | три́дцать | 200 | две́сти |
| 40 | со́рок | 300 | три́ста |
| 50 | пятьдеся́т | 400 | четы́реста |
| 60 | шестьдеся́т | 500 | пятьсо́т |
| 70 | се́мьдесят | 600 | шестьсо́т |
| 80 | во́семьдесят | 700 | семьсо́т |
| 90 | девяно́сто | 800 | восемьсо́т |
| 900 | девятьсо́т |
As the table shows, forty (со́рок) and ninety (девяно́сто) do not end in -дцать or -десят like their neighbours, so they need learning on their own. Compound numbers are simply listed, with no "and": Wikipedia's example is сто пятьдеся́т три ры́бы, "153 fish".
Above that come ты́сяча (1,000), миллио́н (1,000,000) and миллиа́рд (1,000,000,000). Wikipedia notes these behave as nouns, which is why "two thousand" is две ты́сячи and "five thousand" is пять ты́сяч, following the rule in the next section. The leading "one" can be dropped: ты́сяча и одна́ ночь, "a thousand and one nights".
The noun after the number
This is the rule to learn first. Wikipedia's Russian declension article states it for a number in the nominative or accusative: the last word of the number decides the form of the noun. Wikipedia words each line as applying to "most" numbers of that kind, and the special cases follow below.
| Number ends in | Noun form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | nominative singular | два́дцать одна́ маши́на, 21 cars |
| 2, 3, 4 | genitive singular | три соба́ки, 3 dogs; со́рок два окна́, 42 windows |
| 5–9, 0 | genitive plural | пять я́блок, 5 apples; де́сять рубле́й, 10 roubles |
| 11–14 | genitive plural | сто оди́ннадцать ме́тров, 111 metres |
The last row is the exception to watch: 21 ends in оди́н, but 111 ends in оди́ннадцать, so it takes the genitive plural. Wikipedia also notes that the plain nominative plural is used only without numerals: э́ти дома́, "these houses", but три до́ма, "three houses".
A few nouns have their own counted forms. Wikipedia gives четы́ре го́да but пять лет for "years", and три челове́ка for "three people". In other cases, such as instrumental "with five cars", the number and noun both take that case.
If the grammar of cases is new, Russian cases explained introduces the nominative and genitive this rule depends on.
Working out the noun for six prices
Apply the last-word rule to рубль, "rouble". Wikipedia's own examples give оди́н рубль and де́сять рубле́й; the genitive singular рубля́ fills the middle row.
- 1 → ends in 1 → оди́н рубль.
- 3 → ends in 3 → три рубля́.
- 5 → genitive plural → пять рубле́й.
- 21 → ends in оди́н → два́дцать оди́н рубль.
- 111 → ends in оди́ннадцать → сто оди́ннадцать рубле́й.
- 2,024 → ends in четы́ре → две ты́сячи два́дцать четы́ре рубля́.
A quick check: take the number modulo 100. If the result is 11 to 14, use the genitive plural. Otherwise look at the number modulo 10: 1 gives nominative singular, 2 to 4 give genitive singular, anything else gives genitive plural. Running 1, 3, 5, 21, 111 and 2024 through that test gives the six answers above.
Ordinals, halves and money
Ordinals are adjectives in Russian: пе́рвый (first), второ́й (second), тре́тий (third), четвёртый (fourth), пя́тый (fifth). Wikipedia notes they decline exactly like adjectives, and in a long ordinal only the last word changes: сто пятьдеся́т три ты́сячи пе́рвый, "153,001st".
For one and a half there is a special word, полтора́ (feminine полторы́), which takes the genitive singular: полторы́ ты́сячи, 1,500. Decimals use a comma, as in 3,14.
The rouble, Wikipedia says, is technically divided into 100 kopecks, though kopeck coins are now rarely used because of inflation.
Practising numbers aloud
Regal - Learn Russian Language has a unit on numbers alongside greetings, family and food, and its grammar steps cover cases and agreement, with exercises that explain why an answer is correct. It is one of our language-learning apps. Several number words carry unstressed vowels (во́семь, де́вять), so pair this with Russian vowel reduction; if the letters are still new, start with the Cyrillic alphabet guide.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How do you count to ten in Russian?
What case does a noun take after a number in Russian?
Why does 111 take the genitive plural in Russian?
How do you say thousands in Russian?
Sources
- Russian declension: Numerals (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Russian grammar: Numerals (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Russian ruble (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
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