Belarusian Gender

Welcome to the fifth Belarusian lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Belarusian to help you practice your daily phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

man чалавек [chalavyek]

woman жанчына [ʐanchina]

husband муж [mooʐ]

wife жонка [ʐonka]

boy хлопчык [khlopchik]

girl дзяўчынка [dzyawchinka]

father бацька [batzʲka]

mother маці [matzі]

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Belarusian + Pronunciation
my son is a student [masculine + noun] мой сын студэнт [moy sin stoodent]
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] яе дачка студэнтка [yaye dachka stoodentka]
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] у яго ёсць высокі брат [oo yaguo yostzʲ visokі brat]
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] у яе ёсць высокая сятра [oo yaye yostzʲ visokaya syatra]
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] яго браты маладыя [yaguo brati maladiya]
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] яго сёстры маладыя [yaguo syostri maladiya]

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son сын [sin]

daughter дачка [dachka]

brother брат [brat]

sister сястра [syastra]

grandfather дзед [dzyed]

grandmother бабуля [baboolya]

child дзіця [dzіtzya]

children дзеці [dzyetzі]

Expressions in Belarusian

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Belarusian, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Belarusian - Pronunciation
What do you mean? што вы маеце на ўвазе? [shto vi mayetzye na wvazye?]
I don't understand я не разумею [ya nye razoomyeyo]
I don't know я не ведаю [ya nye vyedayo]
What is that called in Belarusian? як гэта называецца на беларускай мове? [yak gueta nazivayetztza na byelarooskay movye?]
What is this? што гэта? [shto gueta?]
What does that word mean in English? што азначае гэта слова на англійскай мове? [shto aznachaye gueta slova na angulіyskay movye?]
Sorry (if you made a mistake) прабачце [prabachtzye]

I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the gender in Belarusian. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.