мла́дший
mládšij
The Russian word for junior is мла́дший (mládšij).
мла́дший is used to describe someone who is younger than someone else, either in terms of age or in a professional and hierarchical sense. It can function as an adjective or as a noun to refer to a person who is younger than another.
Meaning: younger (adj)
Which one should you use?
мла́дший is the direct antonym of ста́рший, which means older. While мла́дший describes being younger in age or rank, ста́рший describes being older in age or rank.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the adjective changes to match the gender and number of the noun it modifies. Use мла́дшая for feminine nouns, мла́дшее for neuter nouns and мла́дшие for plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
mládšij
Did you know?
- In the Russian Orthodox Church, младший can refer to a monk who has entered a monastery more recently than others, regardless of their biological age.
- The word 'мла́дший' shares its root with 'мла́денец', which means 'infant' or 'baby'.
- In a business environment, calling someone a 'младший сотрудник' marks their professional rank regardless of whether they are actually young in age.
Examples in context
- Иванов-младшийIvanov-Mladshiy
- младший адвокатJunior lawyer
Example conversation
Maria is introducing her family photo to Dmitry.
- Мария MariaСмотри, это мой мла́дший брат.Smotri, eto moy mladshiy brat.Look, this is my younger brother.
- Дмитрий DmitryОн очень похож на тебя.On ochen pokhozh na tebya.He looks a lot like you.
- Мария MariaДа, мы очень похожи.Da, my ochen pokhozhi.Yes, we are very similar.
- Дмитрий DmitryСколько ему сейчас лет?Skolko emu seychas let?How old is he now?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “junior” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
