он
“он” (on) — he in Russian. Pronoun, level A0, topic — pronouns. Works for people and for things: a table is on too. This pronoun is where the gender of a noun shows itself. In a live sentence: “Он работает в банке” — He works at a bank. Written with the characters о, н. One of 27 words in the set “pronouns” in the Russian course.
In short
| Written in Russian | он |
| Read in Latin letters | on |
| Translation | he |
| Part of speech | pronoun |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Works for people and for things: a table is on too. This pronoun is where the gender of a noun shows itself.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Он работает в банкеOn rabotaet v bankeHe works at a bank
Nearby words: pronouns
I, you, we, they. There is a handful of them, they turn up in every sentence, and politeness rides on them: most of these languages keep a formal “you” apart from a familiar one, and choosing the wrong one is noticed faster than a mispronounced word.
- яyaIOften dropped in speech: the verb ending already names the person, so ponimayu alone means "I understand". English cannot get by without its I.
- тыtyyou (informal)For family, friends and children. Moving from vy to ty is a small ceremony, and the older person or the woman offers it first.
- выvyyou (formal or plural)Polite to one person and plain plural at once — no separate polite form to learn. The verb after it is plural: vy govorite, "you speak".
- онаonasheThe feminine pronoun. Words ending in -a are usually she, but not always — papa is he — so gender is learned along with the word.
- мыmyweTakes the plain plural verb: my rabotayem. The same job English gives "we", and one form covers everybody.
- ониonitheyOne word for groups of any makeup. The past tense still gives gender away: oni byli uses the plural form of "to be".
- мойmoymyAgrees with the thing owned, not with the owner: moy gorod, moya kvartira, moyo mesto. English "my" never changes; this one does.
- твойtvoyyour (informal)The informal "your" that goes with ty, agreeing with the thing: tvoy chay, tvoya kniga.
- нашnashourAgrees with the thing owned: nash dom, nasha ulitsa. The same pattern as moy, one form further.
- вашvashyour (formal or plural)The "your" for vy — polite to one, plain for several — agreeing with the thing: vash avtobus, vasha ochered.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “pronouns”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “he” in Russian?
Works for people and for things: a table is on too. This pronoun is where the gender of a noun shows itself.
- How do you say “my” in Russian?
Agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner: moy gorod, moya kvartira, moyo mesto. English "my" never changes; this one does.
- How do you say “you (formal or plural)” in Russian?
Polite to one person and plain plural at once — no separate polite form to learn. The verb after it is plural: vy govorite, "you speak".
- How do you say “your (formal or plural)” in Russian?
The "your" for vy — polite to one, plain for several — agreeing with the thing: vash avtobus, vasha ochered.
- How do you say “they” in Russian?
One word for groups of any makeup. The past tense still gives gender away: oni byli uses the plural form of "to be".
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “he” in Russian?
«он», read “on”. In a live sentence: “Он работает в банке” — He works at a bank. Pronoun, level A0, from the set “pronouns”; written with the characters о, н.
How is “он” written in Latin letters?
on. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Works for people and for things: a table is on too. This pronoun is where the gender of a noun shows itself. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.