Dengi: the word with no singular
Dengi exists only in the plural: dengi est, dengam rad, o dengakh molchat. There is no one dengi. For a single coin there are separate words: moneta, monetka — and long ago there was denga, a small coin, where it all began. For example: “Нет времени — нет денег” — No time — no money. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Dengi exists only in the plural: dengi est, dengam rad, o dengakh molchat. There is no one dengi. For a single coin there are separate words: moneta, monetka — and long ago there was denga, a small coin, where it all began.
It bends like any plural: no deneg, give dengam, happy with dengami, thinking o dengakh. The stress wanders as it goes: dEngi, but dengAmi — one form runs the stress to the end, and every speaker lives with it.
Table
| The job | The form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| none of what | deneg | deneg do zarplaty |
| give to whom | dengam | dengam zdes ne rady |
| proud of what | dengami | raspplatilis dengami |
| think of what | dengakh | dumayut o dengakh |
| one coin | moneta | moneta katitsya po polu |
| the stress | dengAmi | the stress runs to the end |
By example
- Нет времени — нет денегNet vremeni — net denegNo time — no money
- Довольны деньгами, а не обещаниямиDovolny dengami, a ne obeshchaniyamiHappy with the money rather than the promises
- Одна монета катится по полуOdna moneta katitsya po poluOne coin rolls across the floor
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Why dengi is always plural?
Dengi exists only in the plural: dengi est, dengam rad, o dengakh molchat. There is no one dengi. For a single coin there are separate words: moneta, monetka — and long ago there was denga, a small coin, where it all began.
How to speak of one coin?
It bends like any plural: no deneg, give dengam, happy with dengami, thinking o dengakh. The stress wanders as it goes: dEngi, but dengAmi — one form runs the stress to the end, and every speaker lives with it.
The stress in dengami?
Dengi exists only in the plural: dengi est, dengam rad, o dengakh molchat. There is no one dengi. For a single coin there are separate words: moneta, monetka — and long ago there was denga, a small coin, where it all began.
How dengi bends?
It bends like any plural: no deneg, give dengam, happy with dengami, thinking o dengakh. The stress wanders as it goes: dEngi, but dengAmi — one form runs the stress to the end, and every speaker lives with it.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Нет времени — нет денег” (Net vremeni — net deneg) — No time — no money. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.