пол
pol[poɫ]masculine
The English phrase 'gender' translates to the Russian word пол (pol).
The term пол is used to refer to biological sex.
Meaning: biological sex (noun)
Which one should you use?
While пол refers to biological sex, the loanword гендер is used specifically to refer to social or cultural gender identity.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form пола is the genitive singular of пол, which is used after words indicating possession or change, such as in the phrase изменение пола (change of gender). The form полы is the genitive plural of пол, used when referring to multiple genders or sexes in a possessive context.
How do you pronounce it?
pol
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often use пол for both biological sex and social gender, but in modern Russian, гендер is the preferred term for social identity to avoid ambiguity.
Did you know?
- The Russian word for 'gender' or 'sex', пол, is spelled exactly like the word for 'floor' or 'ground'.
- In older Russian texts, пол was sometimes used to describe the 'half' or 'side' of something, reflecting its early linguistic roots.
- While пол is the traditional term, the use of the loanword гендер often signals that the speaker is using academic, sociological or activist terminology.
Examples in context
- Некоторые животные меняют пол.Some animals change gender.This sentence shows how to use пол when discussing animals.Tatoeba #4893405 by Helginka, translation #3559471 by pleidian
- Некоторые рыбы могут менять пол.Some fish are able to change their gender.This sentence uses пол to describe the ability of fish to change sex.Tatoeba #13613733 by marafon, translation #560498 by darinmex
- Том записался на операцию по изменению пола.Tom registered for gender reassignment surgery.This sentence demonstrates the use of the genitive form пола in the context of surgery.Tatoeba #4051621 by odexed, translation #3674689 by patgfisher
- Врачи изучают влияние пола на заболевания.Doctors study the impact of gender on diseases.
- Международная конференция по гендерным исследованиям.International conference on gender studies.
- Он ставит акцент на равенстве между полами.He emphasizes gender equality.
- Я интересуюсь гендерными вопросами.I'm interested in gender issues.
- Все граждане, независимо от своего пола, могут принять участие в выборах.All citizens, regardless of their gender, can participate in the elections.
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A scientist and a researcher are discussing a new species of butterfly in a laboratory.
- Александр AleksandrУ этой бабочки уже определен пол?U etoy babochki uzhe opredelen pol?Has the sex of this butterfly already been determined?
- Анастасия AnastasiaНет, мы еще не знаем её пол.Net, my yeshche ne znayem yeyo pol.No, we don't know its sex yet.
- Александр AleksandrЭто важно для нашего исследования.Eto vazhno dlya nashego issledovaniya.This is important for our research.
- Анастасия AnastasiaЯ проверю это завтра утром.Ya proveryu eto zavtra utrom.I will check it tomorrow morning.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “gender” translations and entries пол, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
