A2 Adjektive 6 min read Leicht

Russische Kurzform-Adjektive: Sagen, dass man „bereit“ ist oder „recht hat“ (`готов`, `прав`)

Use short form adjectives to describe how something 'is' right now, matching only gender and number.
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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Short form adjectives are used primarily as predicates to describe a temporary state or quality, rather than a permanent attribute.

  • Use short forms only in the predicate position: 'Он болен' (He is sick).
  • Short forms do not decline by case; they only agree in gender and number.
  • They often imply a temporary state or a specific, limited quality.
Noun + (is) + Short Adjective

Overview

Kurzformen von Adjektiven (краткие прилагательные) sind wie die minimalistischen Cousins der Standardadjektive, die du bereits kennst...

Meanings

Short form adjectives function as the predicate of a sentence, describing the state or quality of the subject.

1

Temporary State

Describing a transient condition.

“Он болен.”

“Она грустна.”

2

Moral/Character Quality

Describing a person's inherent or current character trait.

“Он умён.”

“Она добра.”

3

Degree/Sufficiency

Describing whether something is enough or too much.

“Это слишком дорого.”

“Она готова.”

Short Form Adjective Formation

Long Form Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
умный умён умна умно умны
красивый красив красива красиво красивы
больной болен больна больно больны
готовый готов готова готово готовы
свободный свободен свободна свободно свободны
трудный труден трудна трудно трудны

Reference Table

Reference table for Russische Kurzform-Adjektive: Sagen, dass man „bereit“ ist oder „recht hat“ (`готов`, `прав`)
Gender/Number Ending Example (Smart) Example (Busy)
Masculine Ø (None) Умён Занят
Feminine -а Умна Занята
Neuter -о Умно Занято
Plural -ы / -и Умны Заняты

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Работа трудна.

Работа трудна. (Workplace)

Neutral
Работа трудная.

Работа трудная. (Workplace)

Informell
Работа сложная.

Работа сложная. (Workplace)

Umgangssprache
Работа — жесть.

Работа — жесть. (Workplace)

When to use Short Forms

Short Forms

Current State

  • занят busy
  • свободен free

Readiness

  • готов ready

Obligation

  • должен must/owe

Long vs. Short Adjectives

Long Form (Quality)
красивый вид a beautiful view
занятой человек a busy person
Short Form (State)
Вид красив The view is beautiful
Я занят I am busy

How to form the Masculine Short Form

1

Drop the ending (-ый/-ий). Does the stem end in 2 consonants?

YES
Insert 'о' or 'е' (умный -> умён)
NO
Just use the stem (готов- -> готов)
2

Is it a 'Short-Only' word like 'рад'?

YES
No formation needed, just use it!
NO ↓

Common Short-Only Superstars

👋

Socializing

  • • рад (glad)
  • • согласен (agree)
  • • прав (right)
⏳

Status

  • • готов (ready)
  • • занят (busy)
  • • свободен (free)
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Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Он болен.

He is sick.

2

Она готова.

She is ready.

3

Суп горяч.

The soup is hot.

4

Они рады.

They are happy.

1

Ты готов к уроку?

Are you ready for the lesson?

2

Этот фильм скучен.

This movie is boring.

3

Она не свободна.

She is not free.

4

Дети веселы.

The children are cheerful.

1

Работа трудна, но важна.

The work is difficult, but important.

2

Он очень умён для своего возраста.

He is very smart for his age.

3

Дверь была открыта.

The door was open.

4

Мы были удивлены новостью.

We were surprised by the news.

1

Его слова были полны смысла.

His words were full of meaning.

2

Она была сердита на него.

She was angry at him.

3

Этот вопрос сложен для понимания.

This question is complex to understand.

4

Мы обязаны помочь им.

We are obliged to help them.

1

Он был горазд на выдумки.

He was prone to inventions/tricks.

2

Ситуация была крайне опасна.

The situation was extremely dangerous.

3

Они были единодушны в своем решении.

They were unanimous in their decision.

4

Этот метод был признан эффективным.

This method was recognized as effective.

1

Сей поступок был достоин похвалы.

This act was worthy of praise.

2

Он был искусен в риторике.

He was skilled in rhetoric.

3

Она была преисполнена решимости.

She was filled with determination.

4

Их взгляды были диаметрально противоположны.

Their views were diametrically opposed.

Leicht verwechselbar

Russian Short Form Adjectives: Saying "I'm ready" or "You're right" (`готов`, `прав`) vs. Long vs Short Adjective

Learners use long forms in the predicate position.

Russian Short Form Adjectives: Saying "I'm ready" or "You're right" (`готов`, `прав`) vs. Short Adjective vs Instrumental Case

Both can be used in the predicate.

Russian Short Form Adjectives: Saying "I'm ready" or "You're right" (`готов`, `прав`) vs. Short Adjective vs Participle

Short passive participles look like short adjectives.

Häufige Fehler

✗

красив дом

✓

дом красив

Short forms cannot modify nouns directly.
✗

он больной

✓

он болен

Use short form for temporary states.
✗

она готов

✓

она готова

Gender mismatch.
✗

они готов

✓

они готовы

Number mismatch.
✗

он есть болен

✓

он болен

Do not use 'есть' in present tense.
✗

этот дом красивый

✓

этот дом красив

Use short form for predicate.
✗

он умный

✓

он умён

Short form is better for emphatic state.
✗

он был больной

✓

он был болен

Use short form with past tense.
✗

она была красивая

✓

она была красива

Short form is preferred in predicate.
✗

этот метод эффективный

✓

этот метод эффективен

Short form is more formal.
✗

он был гораздый

✓

он был горазд

Some adjectives only exist in short form.
✗

она была преисполненная

✓

она была преисполнена

Short form is required here.
✗

он был достоинный

✓

он был достоин

Short form is required here.

Satzmuster

Я ___ к работе.

Этот вопрос ___.

Они ___ в своем решении.

Ситуация была ___.

Real World Usage

Texting common

Я готов.

Job Interview very common

Я готов к работе.

Travel common

Я свободен.

Food Delivery occasional

Суп горяч.

Social Media common

Я рад.

Academic Writing common

Метод эффективен.

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🎯

The 'Is' Replacement

Remember that Russian has no present tense 'to be'. The short form adjective essentially contains the 'is' inside it. Он готов = 'He [is] ready'.
⚠️

No Adjective-Noun Sandwich

Never put a short form adjective before a noun. It feels like a sentence fragment. Always put it after the subject.
💬

Politeness with 'Вы'

When using 'Вы' for one person (formal), always use the plural short form (e.g., Вы правы), not the singular.

Smart Tips

Use the short form.

Он больной. → Он болен.

Use the long form.

Он умён. → Он умный человек.

Watch for the fleeting vowel.

умный -> умный → умный -> умён

Use the long form in the instrumental case.

Он болен. → Он был больным.

Aussprache

умный -> умён

Fleeting Vowel

When the stem ends in two consonants, insert 'e' or 'o' in the masculine form.

Predicate Emphasis

Дом — красив.

The beauty is the focus.

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

Short forms are like 'snapshots'—they capture a state, not a permanent trait.

Visuelle Assoziation

Imagine a person standing in a doorway. If they are 'ready' (готова), they are in the doorway (predicate). If they are 'a ready person' (готовый человек), they are walking around with the label attached.

Rhyme

Short form is for the state, long form is for the trait.

Story

Ivan is 'болен' (sick) today, so he stays in bed. But Ivan is a 'больной' (sickly) person, so he is always weak. The short form 'болен' describes his current state, while the long form 'больной' describes his nature.

Word Web

боленготоврадумёнсвободентруден

Herausforderung

Write 5 sentences about your current state using short adjectives (e.g., I am tired, I am ready, I am happy).

Kulturelle Hinweise

Short forms are heavily used in 19th-century literature to create a poetic, elevated tone.

Short forms are preferred in professional reports for conciseness.

Many proverbs use short forms for their rhythmic quality.

Short forms are the original nominal forms of adjectives in Proto-Slavic.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Ты готов к выходным?

“

Как ты думаешь, этот фильм скучен?

“

Почему эта задача трудна для тебя?

“

Считаешь ли ты, что этот метод эффективен?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Describe your current mood using short adjectives.
Write about a task you are ready to complete.
Compare two movies using short adjectives.
Discuss a professional project and its status.
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Test Yourself

Fill in the correct short form of 'готовый' (ready) for a female subject.

Анна, ты ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: готова
Since Anna is feminine, we add the -а ending to the stem 'готов-'.
Find the mistake in this sentence about being busy. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Мы очень занятый сегодня.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Мы очень заняты сегодня.
'Мы' (we) is plural, so the adjective must be the plural short form 'заняты'.
Match the English meaning to the Russian short form. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: matched
These are high-frequency short form adjectives used in daily speech.

Score: /3

Ubungsaufgaben

8 exercises
Fill in the correct form.

Он ___ (больной) сегодня.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: болен
Temporary state requires short form.
Choose the correct sentence. Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Дом красив.
Short form as predicate.
Fix the error. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Она была красивая.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Она была красива.
Short form in predicate.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

готов / я / к / работе

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Я готов к работе.
Standard word order.
Translate to Russian. Übersetzung

He is ready.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Он готов.
Masculine short form.
Match the gender. Match Pairs

Match the form.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Все - верно
All are correct.
Conjugate 'умный'. Conjugation Drill

Masculine form?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: умён
Fleeting vowel.
Is this true? True False Rule

Short forms decline by case.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
They only decline by gender/number.

Score: /8

Practice Bank

10 exercises
Put the words in order to say 'I am not ready'. Sentence Reorder

готов / я / не

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: я не готов
Translate 'They are busy' into Russian. Übersetzung

They are busy.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Они заняты
Choose the correct form for 'The window is open'. Multiple Choice

Окно ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: открыто
Fill in the correct form of 'должен' (must) for 'We'. Lückentext

Мы ___ идти домой.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: должны
Correct the gender: 'Мама, ты прав.' Error Correction

Мама, ты прав.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Мама, ты права.
Match the adjective to its plural short form. Match Pairs

Match the pairs:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: matched
Reorder: 'Everything is ready'. Sentence Reorder

готово / всё

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: всё готово
Which one means 'I agree' (said by a man)? Multiple Choice

How do you say 'I agree'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Я согласен
Translate: 'The tea is hot.' Übersetzung

The tea is hot.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Чай горяч
Fill in the blank with the correct form of 'нужный' (needed). Lückentext

Твоя помощь мне ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: нужна

Score: /10

FAQ (8)

No, only for predicate use.

It's the fleeting vowel rule.

It's not wrong, but it means he is a sickly person, not just sick today.

No, some don't.

Yes, with 'был'.

Yes, but they can sound formal.

Check the ending (no case endings).

Yes, just like normal sentences.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish partial

Ser vs Estar

Spanish changes the verb; Russian changes the adjective form.

French low

Adjective placement

French uses the same adjective form for both.

German low

Predicative adjectives

German does not have a short-form system.

Japanese low

i-adjectives

Japanese does not have a separate short form for predicates.

Arabic moderate

Nominal sentences

Arabic does not change the adjective form.

Chinese low

Adjective as verb

Chinese has no inflection.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Russische Adjektiv-Genus-Anpassung: (новый, новая, новое)

Overview Warum ändert sich das russische Wort für 'neu' dreimal... (German Translation)
A1

Kurzadjektive: Zustände beschreiben (красив, готов)

Hast du dich jemals gefragt, warum manche russischen Adjektive so aussehen, als hätten sie einen Haarschnitt bekommen? I...
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