она
«ona»
The Russian word for 'she' is она («ona»).
она is a pronoun used to refer to a female person or animal that has already been mentioned in conversation or text.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to use the possessive form to say 'her', use её. To say 'to her' using the dative case, use ей.
How do you pronounce it?
ona
Did you know?
- If a person is referred to by a feminine noun like личность ('personality'), a speaker might use она to refer to that person even if the individual is male.
- In Russian, the word она can refer to any noun that is grammatically feminine, such as 'moon' (луна) or 'idea' (идея), even if the speaker is not referring to a person.
- While она is the standard pronoun for 'she', in older literature or very formal poetic contexts, you might encounter the word оная, which functions as a more archaic, demonstrative way to refer to a woman previously mentioned.
Examples in context
- Она умная женщина.She is an intelligent woman.
- Она говорит по-русски очень хорошо.She speaks Russian very well.
- Она работает в музее.She works at the museum.
- Она очень добрая.Ona ochen' dobraya.She is very kind.
- Где она сейчас?Gde ona seychas?Where is she now?
- Она читает книгу.Ona chitayet knigu.She is reading a book.
Example conversation
Anastasia and Dmitry are talking about a mutual friend.
- Анастасия AnastasiaТы видел Марину?Ty videl Marinu?Have you seen Marina?
- Дмитрий DmitryНет, а где она?Net, a gde ona?No, where is she?
- Анастасия AnastasiaОна уже в офисе.Ona uzhe v ofise.She is already at the office.
- Дмитрий DmitryПонятно, спасибо.Ponyatno, spasibo.I see, thanks.
