How to Use Russian Cardinal Numbers Correctly

Russian cardinal numbers are numbers that show quantity: one, two, five, ten, twenty. In Russian, they answer the question сколько? (“how many?”).

Most Russian cardinal numbers do not change for gender. The main exceptions are:

one: один for masculine, одна for feminine, одно for neuter
two: два for masculine and neuter, две for feminine

List of Russian cardinal numbers with stress marks:

0 — ноль

1 — оди́н / одна́ / одно́

2 — два / две

3 — три

4 — четы́ре

5 — пять

6 — шесть

7 — семь

8 — во́семь

9 — де́вять

10 — де́сять

11 — оди́ннадцать

12 — двена́дцать

13 — трина́дцать

14 — четы́рнадцать

15 — пятна́дцать

16 — шестна́дцать

17 — семна́дцать

18 — восемна́дцать

19 — девятна́дцать

20 — два́дцать

30 — три́дцать

40 — со́рок

50 — пятьдеся́т

60 — шестьдеся́т

70 — семьдеся́т

80 — восемьдеся́т

90 — девяно́сто

100 — сто

200 — две́сти

300 — три́ста

400 — четы́реста

500 — пятьсо́т

600 — шестьсо́т

700 — семьсо́т

800 — восемьсо́т

900 — девятьсо́т

1000 — (одна́ ) ты́сяча

1 000 000 — (оди́н) миллио́н

How larger numbers are formed

Russian builds large numbers from biggest to smallest value, just like English:

thousands → hundreds → tens → ones

And usually there is no word like “and” inside the number.

21 = 20 + 1 → два́дцать оди́н
35 = 30 + 5 → три́дцать пять
108 = 100 + 8 → сто во́семь
256 = 200 + 50 + 6 → две́сти пятьдеся́т шесть
1342 = 1000 + 300 + 40 + 2 → (одна́ )ты́сяча три́ста со́рок два

Agreement of Russian Cardinal Numbers with Nouns

One of the most important things to learn about Russian cardinal numbers is that they affect the form of the noun that follows them. In English, we simply say one table, two tables, five tables. In Russian, the noun changes according to the number.

After 1, the noun is used in the nominative singular (basic form):

один стол — one table
одна книга — one book
одно окно — one window

After 2, 3, and 4, the noun takes the genitive singular:

два стола — two tables
три книги — three books
четыре окна — four windows

After 5 and higher, the noun takes the genitive plural:

пять столов — five tables
десять книг — ten books
двадцать окон — twenty windows

The same rule applies to larger compound numbers, but here you need to look at the last part of the number:

двадцать один стол — twenty-one tables
двадцать два стола — twenty-two tables
двадцать пять столов — twenty-five tables

So the general pattern is:
numbers ending in 1 → singular
numbers ending in 2, 3, 4 → genitive singular
numbers ending in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 → genitive plural

However, there is one important exception: 11, 12, 13, and 14 always take the genitive plural, even though they end in 1, 2, 3, and 4:

одиннадцать столов — eleven tables
двенадцать столов — twelve tables
тринадцать столов — thirteen tables
четырнадцать столов — fourteen tables

To learn how to form the genitive case of nouns, see Genitive Case: Basics - Nouns and Personal Pronouns. There you will also find exercises to practice the genitive case with numbers.

Understanding this pattern is essential for using Russian numbers correctly in everyday speech.