-ный

Usage notes

Note the following properties:

• A velar (as well as ц) normally turns into a palatal as a result of the Slavic first palatalization. This and the following several properties are due to the *ь that was formerly present at the beginning of the suffix.

  не́га (néga, “comfort”) → не́жный (néžnyj, “gentle”)

  грех (grex, “sin”) → гре́шный (gréšnyj, “sinful”)

  се́рдце (sérdce, “heart”), genitive plural серде́ц (serdéc) → серде́чный (serdéčnyj, “cordial”)

• A stem ending in -л turns into -ль before the suffix; contrariwise, all other stems ending in -ь lose this.

  глаго́л (glagól, “verb”) → глаго́льный (glagólʹnyj, “verbal”)

  ла́герь (lágerʹ, “camp”) → ла́герный (lágernyj, “(attributive) camp”)

• With reducible nouns, the stem assumes its non-reduced form before the suffix. With feminine and neuter nouns, this form is found only in the genitive plural. This applies even to nouns with no plural.

  земля́ (zemljá, “land”), genitive plural земе́ль (zemélʹ) → земе́льный (zemélʹnyj, “(attributive) land”)

  ядро́ (jadró, “nucleus”), genitive plural я́дер (jáder) → я́дерный (jádernyj, “nuclear”)

  ёлка (jólka, “Christmas tree”), genitive plural ёлок (jólok) → ёлочный (jóločnyj, “(attributive) Christmas tree”) (к is palatalized in accordance with a preceding property)

  во́дка (vódka, “vodka”), genitive plural *во́док (*vódok) → во́дочный (vódočnyj, “(attributive) vodka”)

  литьё (litʹjó, “casting”), genitive plural *лите́й (*litéj) → лите́йный (litéjnyj, “(attributive) casting”)

• ё may turn back into е before the suffix.

  учёба (učóba, “studies, training”) → уче́бный (učébnyj, “educational, (attributive) training”)

• The stress is sometimes (but not always) drawn onto the preceding syllable.

  не- (ne-, “un-”) +‎ обы́чай (obýčaj, “custom”) → необыча́йный (neobyčájnyj, “unusual, extraordinary”)

  се́рия (sérija, “series”) → сери́йный (seríjnyj, “serial”)

• Foreign nouns ending in invariant -е change this to stressed -е́й before the suffix.

  ко́фе (kófe, “coffee”) → кофе́йный (koféjnyj, “(attributive) coffee”)

  шоссе́ (šossɛ́, “highway”) → шоссе́йный (šossɛ́jnyj, “(attributive) highway”)

• Some adjectives in -ия, -ие change this to stressed -е́й before the suffix (as if they ended in -ья, -ье/-ьё).

  ору́жие (orúžije, “weapon, arms”) → оруже́йный (oružéjnyj, “(attributive) weapon, gun, arms”)

  ли́ния (línija, “line”) → лине́йный (linéjnyj, “linear”)

• But some adjectives in -ия, -ие have the expected change to -и́й:

  ору́дие (orúdije, “large gun”) → оруди́йный (orudíjnyj, “(attributive) large gun”)

  се́рия (sérija, “series”) → сери́йный (seríjnyj, “serial”)

• Adjectives in -ный may be formed directly from foreign nouns or adjectives, as in молекуля́рный (molekuljárnyj, “molecular”) and кассацио́нный (kassaciónnyj, “(attributive) appeal, cassation”) (there is no such adjective *молекуля́р and no such noun *кассацио́н).

Note in particular that nouns in -ка (-ka), -ко (-ko) have corresponding adjectives in unstressed -очный.

Declension

Derived terms