The Russian Dative Case: Endings & Examples

The dative is the "to / for someone" case - the recipient of an action. It also powers a whole family of impersonal sentences about age, mood and necessity that are everywhere in real Russian.

What the dative case does

The dative answers кому? / чему? - "to whom?" / "to what?" It marks the indirect object, the recipient: in «я дал книгу другу» ("I gave the book to a friend"), друг becomes другу because the friend receives the book.

It also drives impersonal constructions where the person is in the dative: «мне холодно» ("I am cold", literally "to me it is cold"), «мне нравится Москва» ("I like Moscow"), «ему двадцать лет» ("he is twenty"), and «мне надо работать» ("I have to work").

When to use it: verbs and prepositions

Use the dative for the recipient with verbs like давать (to give), говорить / сказать (to tell), помогать (to help), звонить (to call) and нравиться (to please / to like). The two dative prepositions are к (toward, to someone's place) and по (along / around / by means of).

It is also the case of age ("to him is 20 years"), of feelings and states (холодно, скучно, интересно + a dative person), and of necessity (надо, нужно, нельзя + a dative person). Spotting the "experiencer in the dative" pattern unlocks a huge amount of everyday Russian.

Prepositions that trigger the Dative

к (ко), по, благодаря, согласно

Dative singular endings

Masculine and neuter nouns take -у (hard) or -ю (soft); feminine -а/-я nouns take -е (книга -> книге). Feminine -ь nouns and nouns in -ия take -и instead (ночь -> ночи, армия -> армии).

Dative endings (singular)
Gender	Hard stem	Soft stem	Note / example
Masculine	-у	-ю	столу, коню
Feminine	-е	-е / -и	-ь nouns and -ия take -и (ночи, армии)
Neuter	-у	-ю	окну, морю

Example sentences

Я дал книгу другу.
Ya dal knigu drugu.
I gave the book to a friend.
Мне холодно.
Mne kholodno.
I am cold.
Мы идём к врачу.
My idyom k vrachu.
We are going to the doctor.
Ему двадцать лет.
Yemu dvadtsat let.
He is twenty years old.
Я звоню маме.
Ya zvonyu mame.
I am calling mom.
Мне нравится этот город.
Mne nravitsya etot gorod.
I like this city.
Помоги сестре.
Pomogi sestre.
Help your sister.
Мы гуляем по парку.
My gulyayem po parku.
We are walking around the park.

Practice: which case is it?

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Мы идём к врачу.

My idyom k vrachu.

Why is «врачу» in this case?

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FAQ

When do you use the dative case in Russian?

Use the dative for the recipient or indirect object (дать книгу другу), after the prepositions к and по, for age (ему двадцать лет), and in impersonal sentences about feelings and necessity (мне холодно, мне надо).

What are the dative endings in Russian?

In the singular, masculine and neuter nouns take -у / -ю, and feminine -а/-я nouns take -е (книге). Feminine -ь nouns and -ия nouns take -и (ночи, армии).

Why is the person in the dative in «мне холодно»?

These are impersonal constructions: there is no grammatical subject, and the experiencer is marked with the dative. «Мне холодно» literally means "to me it is cold", and the same pattern gives «ему интересно», «нам надо», and so on.

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The dative runs age, feelings and necessity - the backbone of everyday Russian. Daily Cyrillic drills it with audio and spaced repetition.

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