он
on[on]
The Russian word for the personal pronoun "he" is он.
Meaning: personal pronoun "he" (pron)
How does it change in a sentence?
The pronoun он changes to его in the genitive and accusative cases, to ему in the dative case and to им in the instrumental case.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is on.
Did you know?
- If a speaker uses он to refer to a woman, it is usually a deliberate sign of disrespect or a way to strip the person of their femininity.
- The Russian pronoun он is a distant relative of the English word 'that', as both trace back to the Proto-Indo-European root for 'that' (*h₂énos).
- Depending on the context, он can be omitted entirely from a sentence because the verb ending often already tells the listener that the subject is 'he'.
Examples in context
- А вот и он.Here he comes.Tatoeba #1720198 by marafon, translation #33120 by CK
- А вот и он!Here he is!Tatoeba #3553637 by marafon, translation #71715 by CK
- Он не в духе.He is in a bad mood.Tatoeba #1537261 by marafon, translation #295082 by CK
- Он работаетHe works
- Он идет в магазинHe is going to the store
- 15776 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sergey and Olga are looking for their friend in a park.
- Сергей SergeyГде он?Gde on?Where is he?
- Ольга OlgaОн идёт по дорожке.On idyot po dorozhke.He is walking along the path.
- Сергей SergeyЭто он?Eto on?Is that him?
- Ольга OlgaДа, это он.Da, eto on.Yes, it is him.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “he” translations and entries он, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries он, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
