Template:be-ndecl/documentation

Parameters

Normally there is only one parameter to specify, e.g. for бана́н (banán, “banana”):

{{be-ndecl|бана́н<>}}

which produces

Declension of бана́н (inan hard masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	бана́н banán	бана́ны banány
genitive	бана́на banána	бана́наў banánaŭ
dative	бана́ну banánu	бана́нам banánam
accusative	бана́н banán	бана́ны banány
instrumental	бана́нам banánam	бана́намі banánami
locative	бана́не banánje	бана́нах banánax
count form	—	бана́ны1 banány1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Note that the lemma is given followed by angle brackets, and an accent needs to be placed on the appropriate syllable (it can be omitted in monosyllabic words). In some cases, properties need to be given inside of angle brackets, for example for брат (brat, “brother”):

{{be-ndecl|брат<c.pr>}}

which produces

Declension of брат (pr hard masc-form accent-c)

	singular	plural
nominative	брат brat	браты́ bratý
genitive	бра́та bráta	брато́ў bratóŭ
dative	бра́ту brátu	брата́м bratám
accusative	бра́та bráta	брато́ў bratóŭ
instrumental	бра́там brátam	брата́мі bratámi
locative	бра́це brácje	брата́х bratáx
count form	—	бра́ты1 bráty1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Here, we specify two properties: c (a stress pattern indicator, in this case specifying that the noun is stem-stressed in the singular and end-stressed in the plural) and pr (indicating that this is a personal noun, where the accusative is the same as the genitive rather than the nominative).

The general format is the accented noun lemma (the nominative singular, or nominative plural for plural-only nouns), followed by a spec in angle brackets. The format of the spec is

<PROP.PROP.PROP...>

i.e. one or more properties, separated by periods. All properties are optional. The following properties are recognized:

• Gender: M for masculine, F for feminine, MF for nouns that can be either masculine or feminine, N for neuter. Most of the time this isn't needed, but it's required for certain nouns (e.g. most nouns ending in -ь and most masculine and neuter nouns ending in -а) to determine the correct declension type. Note that the gender must be given capitalized.
• Stress pattern: a, b, c, d, e or f. These are based on Zaliznyak's Russian-language patterns. Multiple comma-separated stress patterns can be given. See below for more information.
• Reducibility: * to indicate an alternation between a vowel (one of о, а, е, э or ё) and no vowel in the final syllable, where the vowel appears in endings that do not themselves contain a vowel (typically the nominative/accusative singular and/or the genitive plural). This code should be placed directly after or used in place of the stress pattern, e.g. c* to indicate a reducible noun with stress pattern c, b*,b to indicate a noun with stress pattern b that can be either reducible or non-reducible, and just * to indicate a reducible noun with the default stress pattern.
• Reversed genitive plural stress: # to indicate that the genitive plural stress is the opposite of what the stress pattern calls for. This code should be placed directly after or used in place of the stress pattern, e.g. c# to indicate a noun with stress pattern c and reversed genitive plural stress, c*# to indicate a reducible noun with stress pattern c and reversed genitive plural stress, d#,d to indicate a noun with stress pattern d that can have either reversed or normal genitive plural stress, and just # to indicate a noun with reversed genitive plural stress and the default stress pattern.
• Different genitive plural ending: (-) to indicate a null ending (or -ь in soft nouns); (ў) to indicate an ending in -аў (or -яў in soft nouns, or the stressed equivalents -оў/-ёў); (й) to indicate an ending in -ей (or -эй after always-hard consonants, or the unstressed equivalent -ай). The default ending is аў-type in most masculines and neuters, null-type in feminines in -а/-я, and ей-type in feminines ending in -ь or a consonant.
• Animacy: pr for personal nouns, anml for animal nouns, inan for inanimate nouns. The default is almost always inanimate (except when t or surname are specified); animate nouns need an animacy code given.
• Number: sg for singular-only nouns, pl for plural-only nouns. If unspecified, nouns have both singular and plural.
• Softness/hardness:
  • plsoft to indicate soft plural endings, e.g. for сусе́д (susjéd, “neighbor”);
  • plhard to indicate hard plural endings, e.g. for зе́рне (zjérnje, “grain”).
• Vowel alternations:
  • ae: indicates that an а in the lemma in the syllable preceding the stress will appear as э when stressed, as in рабро́ (rabró, “rib”) (plural рэ́бры), or that a я in this syllable will appear as е whenever the stress moves, as in вярба́ (vjarbá, “willow”) (plural ве́рбы) or калянда́р (kaljandár, “calendar”) (genitive singular календара́);
  • ae2, ae3: like ae but applying to the second and third syllables preceding the stress, respectively;
  • ao: indicates that an а in the lemma in the syllable preceding the stress will appear as о when stressed, as in барада́ (baradá, “beard”) (plural баро́ды), or that a я in this syllable will appear as ё when stressed, as in бядро́ (bjadró, “thigh”) (plural бёдры);
  • ao2, ao3: like ao but applying to the second and third syllables preceding the stress, respectively;
  • avo: indicates that an а in the lemma in the syllable preceding the stress will appear as во when stressed, as in акно́ (aknó, “window”) (plural во́кны);
  • avo2, avo3: like avo but applying to the second and third syllables preceding the stress, respectively;
  • voa: indicates that stressed во in the lemma will appear as а when unstressed, as in во́страў (vóstraŭ, “island”) (plural астравы́);
  • yo: indicates that an ы in the lemma in the syllable preceding the stress will appear as о when stressed, as in блыха́ (blyxá) (plural бло́хі);
  • yo2, yo3: like yo but applying to the second and third syllables preceding the stress, respectively;
  • oy: indicates that stressed о in the lemma will appear as ы when unstressed, as in кроў (kroŭ, “blood”) (genitive singular крыві́).
• Special variants:
  • in- to indicate that a noun ending in -ін/-ын (e.g. славяні́н (slavjanín, “Slav”), балга́рын (balháryn, “Bulgarian”)) loses this ending in the plural;
  • 3rd to indicate that a soft feminine plural-only noun is third-declension rather than first-declension (i.e. its singular would end in -ь or a consonant rather than -я or -а);
  • surname to indicate that the noun is a surname, in which case the vocative singular can be the same as the nominative singular in addition to its normal form (this implies pr, as surnames normally refer to people);
  • t to indicate t-stem neuter nouns, i.e. that a neuter noun ending in -я (e.g. ягня́ (jahnjá, “lamb”)) has a stem -ят/-яц in most forms (this implies anml, as nouns of this form usually refer to the young of animals);
  • n to indicate n-stem neuter nouns, i.e. that a neuter noun ending in -мя has endings utilizing a stem in -ен/-ён in most singular forms (e.g. стрэ́мя (strémja, “stirrup”)).
• Stem overrides:
  • stem:STEM to specify a different stem than the lemma's stem to use for endings beginning with a vowel;
  • plstem:STEM to specify a different stem to use in the plural.
• Specific form overrides: Examples are genu to specify that the genitive singular ends in -у, locu:je to specify that the locative singular ends in -у or -е, ínsjem to specify that the instrumental singular ends in -ем with stress on the stem (regardless of the accent pattern) and genpl:ладзе́й to specify that the genitive plural has the value ладзе́й. These are explained more below.

The properties can be given in any order, but it is recommended that the following order be used:

1. Gender
2. Stress pattern, reducibility, reversed genitive plural stress, different genitive plural ending
3. Adjectival indicator
4. Animacy
5. Number
6. Softness/hardness
7. Vowel alternations
8. Special variants
9. Stem overrides
10. Specific form overrides

Gender

The gender can be specified using M for masculine, F for feminine, MF for nouns that can be either masculine or feminine, and N for neuter. The gender can usually be omitted, but is required in certain cases, e.g. with some nouns ending in -ь. If the gender is omitted, it defaults as follows:

1. Nouns ending in a consonant default to masculine.
2. Nouns ending in a soft sign must have the gender explicitly given, except for nouns in unstressed -асць, which default to feminine.
3. Nouns ending in -а default to feminine, except for nouns in unstressed -ства or -цтва, which default to neuter.
4. Nouns ending in -о, -е or -ё default to neuter.
5. Nouns ending in -я default to neuter if the code t (e.g. ягня́ (jahnjá, “lamb”)) or n (e.g. стрэ́мя (strémja)) is given, or if the noun ends in -мя (stressed or unstressed); otherwise they default to feminine.

The gender needs to be explicitly given in the following cases:

1. Nouns ending in a soft sign other than those mentioned above; e.g. ву́сень (vúsjenʹ, “caterpillar”) (masculine), во́сень (vósjenʹ, “autumn”) (feminine).
2. Masculine or neuter nouns in -а (e.g. саба́ка (sabáka, “dog”), which is masculine, or бало́та (balóta, “swamp”), which is neuter).
3. Feminine nouns ending in a consonant; e.g. любо́ў (ljubóŭ, “love”), ноч (noč, “night”).
4. Neuter nouns ending in -я other than the types mentioned above; e.g. жэ́рабя (žérabja, “fate, destiny”).

Examples:

1. аўтамабі́ль (aŭtamabílʹ, “car”) (masculine) ends in a soft sign, and so needs the gender to be specified:

{{be-ndecl|аўтамабі́ль<M>}}

which produces

Declension of аўтамабі́ль (inan soft masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	аўтамабі́ль aŭtamabílʹ	аўтамабі́лі aŭtamabíli
genitive	аўтамабі́ля aŭtamabílja	аўтамабі́ляў aŭtamabíljaŭ
dative	аўтамабі́лю aŭtamabílju	аўтамабі́лям aŭtamabíljam
accusative	аўтамабі́ль aŭtamabílʹ	аўтамабі́лі aŭtamabíli
instrumental	аўтамабі́лем aŭtamabíljem	аўтамабі́лямі aŭtamabíljami
locative	аўтамабі́лі aŭtamabíli	аўтамабі́лях aŭtamabíljax
count form	—	аўтамабі́лі1 aŭtamabíli1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

2. по́ўнач (póŭnač, “midnight, north”) is feminine and ends in a consonant, and so needs the gender to be specified:

{{be-ndecl|по́ўнач<F.sg>}}

which produces

Declension of по́ўнач (inan sg-only hard 3rd-decl fem-form accent-a)

	singular
nominative	по́ўнач póŭnač
genitive	по́ўначы póŭnačy
dative	по́ўначы póŭnačy
accusative	по́ўнач póŭnač
instrumental	по́ўначчу póŭnačču
locative	по́ўначы póŭnačy

3. го́рла (hórla, “throat”) is neuter and ends in -а, and so needs the gender to be specified:

{{be-ndecl|го́рла<N>}}

which produces

Declension of го́рла (inan hard neut-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	го́рла hórla	го́рлы hórly
genitive	го́рла hórla	го́рлаў hórlaŭ
dative	го́рлу hórlu	го́рлам hórlam
accusative	го́рла hórla	го́рлы hórly
instrumental	го́рлам hórlam	го́рламі hórlami
locative	го́рле hórlje	го́рлах hórlax
count form	—	го́рлы1 hórly1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

4. мужчы́на (mužčýna, “man”) is masculine and ends in -а, and so needs the gender to be specified:

{{be-ndecl|мужчы́на<M.(-).pr>}}

which produces

Declension of мужчы́на (pr hard masc in -а accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	мужчы́на mužčýna	мужчы́ны mužčýny
genitive	мужчы́ны mužčýny	мужчы́н mužčýn
dative	мужчы́ну mužčýnu	мужчы́нам mužčýnam
accusative	мужчы́ну mužčýnu	мужчы́н mužčýn
instrumental	мужчы́нам mužčýnam	мужчы́намі mužčýnami
locative	мужчы́не mužčýnje	мужчы́нах mužčýnax
count form	—	мужчы́ны1 mužčýny1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

5. суддзя́ (suddzjá, “judge”) is either masculine or feminine and ends in stressed -я́. In this case, masculine and feminine nouns in -я́ have identical declensions, so the gender doesn't need to be given, but it's a good idea to specify it anyway, because it is needed when the same specification is used in {{be-noun}}.

{{be-ndecl|суддзя́<MF.(ў).pr>}}

which produces

Declension of суддзя́ (pr soft fem-form accent-d)

	singular	plural
nominative	суддзя́ suddzjá	су́ддзі súddzi
genitive	суддзі́ suddzí	су́ддзяў súddzjaŭ
dative	суддзі́ suddzí	су́ддзям súddzjam
accusative	суддзю́ suddzjú	су́ддзяў súddzjaŭ
instrumental	суддзёй, суддзёю suddzjój, suddzjóju	су́ддзямі súddzjami
locative	суддзі́ suddzí	су́ддзях súddzjax
count form	—	суддзі́1 suddzí1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Stress patterns and reducibility

The following table specifies where the stress falls (stem or ending):

	The Stress Falls on:
Pattern Letter	a		b		c		d		e		f
Number	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl	sg	pl
Nom	stem	stem	ending	ending	stem	ending	ending	stem	stem	stem	ending	stem
Acc	stem		ending		stem		ending		stem		ending
Gen	stem	stem	ending	ending	stem	ending	ending	stem	stem	ending	ending	ending
Dat	stem	stem	ending	ending	stem	ending	ending	stem	stem	ending	ending	ending
Ins	stem	stem	ending	ending	stem	ending	ending	stem	stem	ending	ending	ending
Loc	stem	stem	ending	ending	stem	ending	ending	stem	stem	ending	ending	ending
Example	бана́н (banán)		бык (byk)		брат (brat)		вада́ (vadá)		зуб (zub)		рука́ (ruká)

NOTE: Boldfaced cases differ from the other cases in the same number (singular or plural).

The accusative plural is left out in the above table because it is derived from either the nominative plural or genitive plural, depending on the noun's animacy.

An example needing the stress pattern specified is каву́н (kavún, “watermelon”), with stress pattern b (genitive singular кавуна́, nominative plural кавуны́, etc.):

{{be-ndecl|каву́н<b>}}

which produces

Declension of каву́н (inan hard masc-form accent-b)

	singular	plural
nominative	каву́н kavún	кавуны́ kavuný
genitive	кавуна́ kavuná	кавуно́ў kavunóŭ
dative	кавуну́ kavunú	кавуна́м kavunám
accusative	каву́н kavún	кавуны́ kavuný
instrumental	кавуно́м kavunóm	кавуна́мі kavunámi
locative	кавуне́ kavunjé	кавуна́х kavunáx
count form	—	кавуны́1 kavuný1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Some nouns are reducible, meaning they have an alternation between a vowel (а, о, е, э or ё) before the final consonant in forms where the ending does not begin with a vowel, and no vowel in forms where the ending does begin with a vowel. The forms that use the unreduced stem variant are the nominative singular of masculine nouns; the accusative singular of inanimate masculine nouns; the genitive plural of feminine nouns in -а and -я, and of some neuter nouns; and the nominative, accusative and instrumental singular of third-declension feminine nouns. All other forms use the reduced stem variant.

An example is свёкар (svjókar, “wife's father-in-law”), where most forms use a stem свёкр- (genitive singular свёкра, nominative plural свёкры, etc.):

{{be-ndecl|свёкар<*.pr>}}

which produces

Declension of свёкар (pr hard masc-form accent-a reduc)

	singular	plural
nominative	свёкар svjókar	свёкры svjókry
genitive	свёкра svjókra	свёкраў svjókraŭ
dative	свёкру svjókru	свёкрам svjókram
accusative	свёкра svjókra	свёкраў svjókraŭ
instrumental	свёкрам svjókram	свёкрамі svjókrami
locative	свёкру svjókru	свёкрах svjókrax
count form	—	свёкры1 svjókry1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

If both a stress pattern and the reducible indicator need to be given, they should be combined, as with ся́бар (sjábar, “friend”) (reduced stem сябр-, genitive singular ся́бра, nominative plural сябры́, etc.):

{{be-ndecl|ся́бар<c*.pr>}}

which produces

Declension of ся́бар (pr hard masc-form accent-c reduc)

	singular	plural
nominative	ся́бар sjábar	сябры́ sjabrý
genitive	ся́бра sjábra	сябро́ў sjabróŭ
dative	ся́бру sjábru	сябра́м sjabrám
accusative	ся́бра sjábra	сябро́ў sjabróŭ
instrumental	ся́брам sjábram	сябра́мі sjabrámi
locative	ся́бру sjábru	сябра́х sjabráx
count form	—	ся́бры1 sjábry1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Multiple stress patterns can be given, comma-separated. An example needing this is вуж (vuž, “grass snake”), with nominative plural вужы́ and genitive singular either ву́жа (stem-stressed) or вужа́ (ending-stressed):

{{be-ndecl|вуж<c,b.anml>}}

which produces

{{be-ndecl|вуж<c,b.anml>}}

The default stress pattern is as follows:

• b if the lemma is reducible, ends in a consonant or soft sign, and the stress is on the reducible vowel (e.g. аро́л (aról, “eagle”), кане́ц (kanjéc, “end”)).
• b if the lemma is plural-only and ends in a stressed vowel (e.g. трусы́ (trusý, “shorts”)).
• b if the lemma is specified to be of type t (e.g. ягня́ (jahnjá, “lamb”)).
• c if the lemma is specified to be of type n (e.g. стрэ́мя (strémja, “stirrup”)).
• Otherwise, d if the lemma ends in a stressed vowel (-а́, -я́, -о́, -е́ or stressed -ё).
• Otherwise, the default is a.

Reversed genitive plural stress

Several nouns have unexpected stress in the genitive plural. This could be controlled using an override, but because of its commonness, a shortcut is available using the code #. This code should be placed directly after the stress pattern, as with the reducible code *. If both * and # need to be given, either order is possible, but by convention the order *# should be used. Examples:

Examples:

1. печ (pječ, “oven”) is stem-stressed everywhere but in the genitive plural, which has either the form пе́чаў (with unexpected -aў ending) or пячэ́й (with the expected ending but expected end stressed). This can be specified as follows:

{{be-ndecl|печ<F.(ў),#>}}

which produces

Declension of печ (inan hard 3rd-decl fem-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	печ pječ	пе́чы pjéčy
genitive	пе́чы pjéčy	пе́чаў, пячэ́й pjéčaŭ, pjačéj
dative	пе́чы pjéčy	пе́чам pjéčam
accusative	печ pječ	пе́чы pjéčy
instrumental	пе́ччу pjéčču	пе́чамі pjéčami
locative	пе́чы pjéčy	пе́чах pjéčax
count form	—	пе́чы1 pjéčy1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Here, the code (ў) indicates the form with the unexpected -aў ending, and (ў) indicates the unexpected stress.

2. дачка́ (dačká, “daughter”) is end-stressed in the singular and stem-stressed in the plural, e.g. nominative plural до́чкі, dative plural до́чкам (i.e. stress pattern d), except for the genitive plural, which has the form дачо́к instead of expected *до́чак. This can be specified as follows:

{{be-ndecl|дачка́<*#.pr.ao>}}

which produces

{{be-ndecl|дачка́<*#.pr.ao>}}

Here we also supply * to indicate that the noun is reducible (i.e. it has an extra vowel in the genitive plural, whose ending does not begin with a vowel), and ao to indicate that the unstressed а vowel in the lemma unexpectedly changes into о when stressed.

3. смерць (smjercʹ, “death”) mostly follows stress pattern e (stem-stressed in the singular and in the nominative/accusative plural сме́рці, end-stressed elsewhere in the plural, e.g. dative plural смярця́м, locative plural смярця́х). The genitive plural can either be expected смярце́й (end-stressed, as is normal for pattern e) or unexpected сме́рцяў, with both unexpected stem stress and unexpected ending. This can be indicated as follows:

{{be-ndecl|смерць<F.e,e#(ў)>}}

which produces

Declension of смерць (inan soft 3rd-decl fem-form accent-e)

	singular	plural
nominative	смерць smjercʹ	сме́рці smjérci
genitive	сме́рці smjérci	смярце́й, сме́рцяў smjarcjéj, smjércjaŭ
dative	сме́рці smjérci	смярця́м smjarcjám
accusative	смерць smjercʹ	сме́рці smjérci
instrumental	сме́рцю smjércju	смярця́мі smjarcjámi
locative	сме́рці smjérci	смярця́х smjarcjáx
count form	—	сме́рці1 smjérci1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Here, the stress pattern is of two parts: either plain e or modified e#(ў) (i.e. accent pattern e with the reversed genitive plural stress indicator # and the alternative genitive plural ending indicator (ў)).

Adjectival indicator

To indicate that a noun declines as if it were an adjective, use +. An example is лю́ты (ljúty, “February”) (genitive singular лю́тага):

{{be-ndecl|лю́ты<+>}}

which produces

Declension of лю́ты (inan pl-only adj masc accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	лю́ты ljúty	лю́тыя ljútyja
genitive	лю́тага ljútaha	лю́тых ljútyx
dative	лю́таму ljútamu	лю́тым ljútym
accusative	лю́ты ljúty	лю́тыя ljútyja
instrumental	лю́тым ljútym	лю́тымі ljútymi
locative	лю́тым ljútym	лю́тых ljútyx

Other indicators, such as animacy and number, can be included as necessary. An example is ру́ская (rúskaja, “Russian woman”), which is a personal noun:

{{be-ndecl|ру́ская<+.pr>}}

which produces

Declension of ру́ская (pr pl-only adj fem accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	ру́ская rúskaja	ру́скія rúskija
genitive	ру́скай rúskaj	ру́скіх rúskix
dative	ру́скай rúskaj	ру́скім rúskim
accusative	ру́скую rúskuju	ру́скіх rúskix
instrumental	ру́скай, ру́скаю rúskaj, rúskaju	ру́скімі rúskimi
locative	ру́скай rúskaj	ру́скіх rúskix

Another example is маро́жанае (maróžanaje, “ice cream”), which is singular-only:

{{be-ndecl|маро́жанае<+.sg>}}

which produces

Declension of маро́жанае (inan sg-only adj neut accent-a)

	singular
nominative	маро́жанае maróžanaje
genitive	маро́жанага maróžanaha
dative	маро́жанаму maróžanamu
accusative	маро́жанае maróžanaje
instrumental	маро́жаным maróžanym
locative	маро́жаным maróžanym

Animacy

Animacy is specified using pr for personal nouns and anml for animal nouns. The code inan for inanimate nouns can be given, but is almost never needed because nouns default to inanimate except in a few exceptional cases. (Specifically, the neuter variant code t defaults to anml animacy as most terms with this code refer to the young of animals, and surnames with the surname code default to pr animacy.)

Examples:

1. бана́н (banán, “banana”) is inanimate, so the animacy doesn't need to be given:

{{be-ndecl|бана́н<>}}

which produces

Declension of бана́н (inan hard masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	бана́н banán	бана́ны banány
genitive	бана́на banána	бана́наў banánaŭ
dative	бана́ну banánu	бана́нам banánam
accusative	бана́н banán	бана́ны banány
instrumental	бана́нам banánam	бана́намі banánami
locative	бана́не banánje	бана́нах banánax
count form	—	бана́ны1 banány1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

2. але́нь (aljénʹ, “deer”) is an animal noun, so the animacy code anml needs to be specified:

{{be-ndecl|але́нь<M.anml>}}

which produces

Declension of але́нь (anml soft masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	але́нь aljénʹ	але́ні aljéni
genitive	але́ня aljénja	але́няў aljénjaŭ
dative	але́ню aljénju	але́ням aljénjam
accusative	але́ня aljénja	але́няў aljénjaŭ
instrumental	але́нем aljénjem	але́нямі aljénjami
locative	але́ні aljéni	але́нях aljénjax
count form	—	але́ні1 aljéni1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Note that this noun has its accusative plural the same as its genitive plural, as with all other animate (animal and personal) nouns, and its accusative singular the same as its genitive singular, as with other masculine and neuter animate nouns. On the other hand, the locative singular ends in -і, as with inanimate soft masculine nouns, rather than -ю, as personal soft masculine nouns do. (These sorts of locative singular distinctions are one of the primary reasons a distinction is made between animal and personal nouns.)

3. пры́яцель (prýjacjelʹ, “friend”) is a personal noun. Thus the animacy code pr needs to be specified:

{{be-ndecl|пры́яцель<M.pr>}}

which produces

Declension of пры́яцель (pr soft masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	пры́яцель prýjacjelʹ	пры́яцелі prýjacjeli
genitive	пры́яцеля prýjacjelja	пры́яцеляў prýjacjeljaŭ
dative	пры́яцелю prýjacjelju	пры́яцелям prýjacjeljam
accusative	пры́яцеля prýjacjelja	пры́яцеляў prýjacjeljaŭ
instrumental	пры́яцелем prýjacjeljem	пры́яцелямі prýjacjeljami
locative	пры́яцелю prýjacjelju	пры́яцелях prýjacjeljax
count form	—	пры́яцелі1 prýjacjeli1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

This declines similarly to the animal noun але́нь (aljénʹ) above, except for the locative singular in -ю rather than -і. All soft masculines make such a distinction in the locative singular, as do masculines in -й, -ц, and always-hard consonants (-р, -ш, -ж, -ч).

4. жарабя́ (žarabjá, “foal”) is a neuter animal noun of the t-stem type (genitive singular жарабя́ці, nominative plural жарабя́ты). Once t is specified, the animacy doesn't need to be given because code t implies animacy anml:

{{be-ndecl|жарабя́<t>}}

which produces

Declension of жарабя́ (anml t-stem neut-form accent-b)

	singular	plural
nominative	жарабя́ žarabjá	жарабя́ты žarabjáty
genitive	жарабя́ці žarabjáci	жарабя́т žarabját
dative	жарабя́ці žarabjáci	жарабя́там žarabjátam
accusative	жарабя́ žarabjá	жарабя́т žarabját
instrumental	жарабём žarabjóm	жарабя́тамі žarabjátami
locative	жарабя́ці žarabjáci	жарабя́тах žarabjátax
count form	—	жарабя́ці1 žarabjáci1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Number

By default, all nouns are singular/plural, including proper nouns. (Many proper nouns, such as names and surnames, have plural forms.) To indicate that a noun is singular-only, use sg, as with ядва́б (jadváb, “silk”):

{{be-ndecl|ядва́б<sg>}}

which produces

Declension of ядва́б (inan sg-only hard masc-form accent-a)

	singular
nominative	ядва́б jadváb
genitive	ядва́бу jadvábu
dative	ядва́бу jadvábu
accusative	ядва́б jadváb
instrumental	ядва́бам jadvábam
locative	ядва́бе jadvábje

Note that singular-only nouns are sometimes declined differently from singular/plural nouns. For example, for masculine nouns the genitive singular defaults to -у instead of -а.

To indicate that a noun is plural-only, use pl and give the lemma in its plural form, as with абцугі́ (abcuhí, “pincers”):

{{be-ndecl|абцугі́<M.pl>}}

which produces

Declension of абцугі́ (inan pl-only velar masc-form accent-b)

	plural
nominative	абцугі́ abcuhí
genitive	абцуго́ў abcuhóŭ
dative	абцуга́м abcuhám
accusative	абцугі́ abcuhí
instrumental	абцуга́мі abcuhámi
locative	абцуга́х abcuháx

As shown in the example, you will have to give the gender explicitly (M, F, MF or N), so that the module knows how to generate the genitive plural. If you are not sure of the gender, look for a related singular/plural noun or for cognate nouns in other languages (especially Russian or Ukrainian), or base the gender on the genitive plural (M or N if the genitive plural ends in -аў or variant, F if the genitive plural ends in nothing, in -ь or in -ей). An example is ва́гі (váhi, “scales”), which should be indicated as feminine both because it has a null-ending genitive plural ваг and because it is in origin the plural of вага́ (vahá, “weight”):

{{be-ndecl|ва́гі<F.pl>}}

which produces

Declension of ва́гі (inan pl-only velar fem-form accent-a)

	plural
nominative	ва́гі váhi
genitive	ваг vah
dative	ва́гам váham
accusative	ва́гі váhi
instrumental	ва́гамі váhami
locative	ва́гах váhax

Some feminine plural-only nouns belong to the third declension, i.e. their singular equivalent would end in a consonant or -ь rather than -а or -я. This is shown most clearly by a genitive plural in -ей. An example is дзве́ры (dzvjéry, “door(s)”), with genitive plural дзвяре́й (compare Russian дверь (dverʹ)). This should be indicated using the code 3rd:

{{be-ndecl|дзве́ры<F.e.pl.3rd.insplami:yma:mi>}}

which produces

Declension of дзве́ры (inan pl-only hard 3rd-decl fem-form accent-e)

	plural
nominative	дзве́ры dzvjéry
genitive	дзвярэ́й dzvjaréj
dative	дзвяра́м dzvjarám
accusative	дзве́ры dzvjéry
instrumental	дзвяра́мі, дзвяры́ма, дзвярмі́ dzvjarámi, dzvjarýma, dzvjarmí
locative	дзвяра́х dzvjaráx

Here, the stress pattern is e (e.g. dative plural дзвяра́м), and the instrumental plural is irregular.

Softness and hardness

A small number of nouns are hard in the singular but soft in the plural, or vice-versa. These nouns sometimes have other irregularities, such as having a different stem in the plural. An example of a noun with no extra irregularities is сусе́д (susjéd, “neighbor”), with unexpected soft plural сусе́дзі. To specify this, use plsoft:

{{be-ndecl|сусе́д<pr.plsoft>}}

which produces

{{be-ndecl|сусе́д<pr.plsoft>}}

The opposite case also exists, with nouns that are soft in the singular but hard in the plural; for that, use plhard.

Vowel alternations

Many nouns in Belarusian have vowel alternations that manifest when the stress shifts. Some of these alternations are predictable. For example, stressed о always changes into а when unstressed, so the fact that бок (bok, “side”) follows stress pattern c means the plural will necessarily be бакі́, not #бокі́. However, some alternations are unpredictable, especially when the stress moves onto a vowel that is unstressed in the lemma. An example is гара́ (hará, “mountain”), which has nominative plural го́ры. There is no way for the module to know that the vowel needs to change from а to о when stressed. In some words, e.g. рака́ (raká, “river”), an а changes into э (plural рэ́кі). In certain other words, the vowel doesn't change, e.g. вага́ (vahá, “weight”) (plural ва́гі), and in yet other words, the vowel changes into во, e.g. аса́ (asá, “wasp”) (plural во́сы). For this reason, codes need to be given whenever unpredictable vowel alternations occur. For the case of гара́ (hará), where а changes into о use ao (with Latin letters, not Cyrillic letters):

{{be-ndecl|гара́<ao>}}

which produces

Declension of гара́ (inan hard fem-form accent-d а-о)

	singular	plural
nominative	гара́ hará	го́ры hóry
genitive	гары́ harý	гор hor
dative	гары́ harý	го́рам hóram
accusative	гару́ harú	го́ры hóry
instrumental	гаро́й, гаро́ю harój, haróju	го́рамі hórami
locative	гары́ harý	го́рах hórax
count form	—	гары́1 harý1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Also use ao to specify that unstressed я changes into stressed ё, as in гняздо́ (hnjazdó, “nest”) (plural гнёзды):

{{be-ndecl|гняздо́<ao>}}

which produces

Declension of гнязда́ (inan hard fem-form accent-d а-о)

	singular	plural
nominative	гнязда́ hnjazdá	гнёзды hnjózdy
genitive	гнязды́ hnjazdý	гнёзд hnjozd
dative	гняздзе́ hnjazdzjé	гнёздам hnjózdam
accusative	гнязду́ hnjazdú	гнёзды hnjózdy
instrumental	гняздо́й, гняздо́ю hnjazdój, hnjazdóju	гнёздамі hnjózdami
locative	гняздзе́ hnjazdzjé	гнёздах hnjózdax
count form	—	гнязды́1 hnjazdý1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

To specify that unstressed а changes into stressed э, use ae:

{{be-ndecl|рака́<ae>}}

which produces

Declension of рака́ (inan velar fem-form accent-d а-е)

	singular	plural
nominative	рака́ raká	рэ́кі réki
genitive	ракі́ rakí	рэк rek
dative	рацэ́ racé	рэ́кам rékam
accusative	раку́ rakú	рэ́кі réki
instrumental	рако́й, рако́ю rakój, rakóju	рэ́камі rékami
locative	рацэ́ racé	рэ́ках rékax
count form	—	ракі́1 rakí1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Also use ae to specify that unstressed я changes into е when the stress moves. Unlike for the other vowel alternations, this can also occur without the stress moving onto the vowel, as in калянда́р (kaljandár, “calendar”) (plural каледнары́):

{{be-ndecl|калянда́р<b.ae>}}

which produces

Declension of калянда́р (inan hard masc-form accent-b а-е)

	singular	plural
nominative	калянда́р kaljandár	календары́ kaljendarý
genitive	календара́ kaljendará	календаро́ў kaljendaróŭ
dative	календару́ kaljendarú	календара́м kaljendarám
accusative	калянда́р kaljandár	календары́ kaljendarý
instrumental	календаро́м kaljendaróm	календара́мі kaljendarámi
locative	календары́ kaljendarý	календара́х kaljendaráx
count form	—	календары́1 kaljendarý1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

To specify that unstressed а changes into stressed во, use avo:

{{be-ndecl|аса́<anml.avo>}}

which produces

Declension of аса́ (anml hard fem-form accent-d а-во)

	singular	plural
nominative	аса́ asá	во́сы vósy
genitive	асы́ asý	вос vos
dative	асе́ asjé	во́сам vósam
accusative	асу́ asú	вос vos
instrumental	асо́й, асо́ю asój, asóju	во́самі vósami
locative	асе́ asjé	во́сах vósax
count form	—	асы́1 asý1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

The opposite also occurs, with stresse во changing into unstressed а, as in во́страў (vóstraŭ, “island”) (plural астравы́). For this, use voa:

{{be-ndecl|во́страў<c.voa>}}

which produces

Declension of во́страў (inan hard masc-form accent-c во-а)

	singular	plural
nominative	во́страў vóstraŭ	астравы́ astravý
genitive	во́страва vóstrava	астраво́ў astravóŭ
dative	во́страву vóstravu	астрава́м astravám
accusative	во́страў vóstraŭ	астравы́ astravý
instrumental	во́стравам vóstravam	астрава́мі astravámi
locative	во́страве vóstravje	астрава́х astraváx
count form	—	во́стравы1 vóstravy1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

To specify that unstressed а changes into stressed во, use avo:

Two more alternations occasionally found are unstressed ы changing into stressed о, and vice-versa. To specify this, use yo for the former, as in блыха́ (blyxá, “flea”) (plural бло́хі), and oy for the latter, as in кроў (kroŭ, “blood”) (genitive singular крыві́):

{{be-ndecl|блыха́<anml.yo>}}

which produces

Declension of блыха́ (anml velar fem-form accent-d ы-о)

	singular	plural
nominative	блыха́ blyxá	бло́хі blóxi
genitive	блыхі́ blyxí	блох blox
dative	блысе́ blysjé	бло́хам blóxam
accusative	блыху́ blyxú	блох blox
instrumental	блыхо́й, блыхо́ю blyxój, blyxóju	бло́хамі blóxami
locative	блысе́ blysjé	бло́хах blóxax
count form	—	блыхі́1 blyxí1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

and

{{be-ndecl|кроў<F.d.sg.oy.ins:кро́ўю:крывёй:крывёю>}}

which produces

Declension of кроў (inan sg-only soft 3rd-decl fem-form accent-d о-ы)

	singular
nominative	кроў kroŭ
genitive	крыві́ kryví
dative	крыві́ kryví
accusative	кроў kroŭ
instrumental	кро́ўю, крывёй, крывёю króŭju, kryvjój, kryvjóju
locative	крыві́ kryví

Note that the latter example is somewhat complex, specifying the following:

1. the gender F (feminine);
2. the stress pattern d (pattern b would also work, as the noun is singular-only);
3. sg to indicate that the noun is singular-only;
4. oy to indicate that vowel alternation;
5. an override of the instrumental singular.

Occasionally, more than one override is required in a single word. This is allowed, as in свякро́ў (svjakróŭ, “husband's mother”), whose plural свекрыві́ shows both a я-е alternation and о-ы alternation:

{{be-ndecl|свякро́ў<F.f.pr.ae.oy.insjoj:joju>}}

which produces

Declension of свякро́ў (pr soft 3rd-decl fem-form accent-f а-е/о-ы)

	singular	plural
nominative	свякро́ў svjakróŭ	свякро́ві svjakróvi
genitive	свекрыві́ svjekryví	свекрыве́й svjekryvjéj
dative	свекрыві́ svjekryví	свекрывя́м svjekryvjám
accusative	свякро́ў svjakróŭ	свекрыве́й svjekryvjéj
instrumental	свекрывёй, свекрывёю svjekryvjój, svjekryvjóju	свекрывя́мі svjekryvjámi
locative	свекрыві́ svjekryví	свекрывя́х svjekryvjáx
count form	—	свекрыві́1 svjekryví1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Here, additional specs are necessary to specify the gender, stress pattern, animacy and an instrumental singular override.

Finally, it should be noted that all of the alternation codes ао, аe, аvo and yo apply specifically to the syllable directly preceding the stress. In almost all cases, this is correct. Occasionally, however, an alternation occurs in a prior syllable. An example is старана́ (staraná, “side”), with plural сто́раны, containing an alternation two syllables before the stress. To indicate this, use ao2:

{{be-ndecl|старана́<f.ao.ao2>}}

which produces

Declension of старана́ (inan hard fem-form accent-f а-о)

	singular	plural
nominative	старана́ staraná	сто́раны stórany
genitive	стараны́ staraný	старо́н starón
dative	старане́ staranjé	старана́м staranám
accusative	старану́ staranú	сто́раны stórany
instrumental	старано́й, старано́ю staranój, staranóju	старана́мі staranámi
locative	старане́ staranjé	старана́х staranáx
count form	—	стараны́1 staraný1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

Here, the ao alternation code is also needed because of the genitive plural старо́н, which shows an а-о alternation in the syllable directly preceding the stress.

Special variants

There are various miscellaneous codes that can be used to indicate special variant declensions.

Nouns in -ін/-ын

Some nouns in -ін or -ын lose this ending in the plural. An example is расія́нін (rasijánin, “Russian man”), with nominative plural расія́не. For these nouns, use in-:

{{be-ndecl|расія́нін<pr.in->}}

which produces

Declension of расія́нін (pr hard masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	расія́нін rasijánin	расія́не rasijánje
genitive	расія́ніна rasijánina	расія́н rasiján
dative	расія́ніну rasijáninu	расія́нам rasijánam
accusative	расія́ніна rasijánina	расія́н rasiján
instrumental	расія́нінам rasijáninam	расія́намі rasijánami
locative	расія́ніне rasijáninje	расія́нах rasijánax
count form	—	расія́ніны1 rasijániny1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

These nouns have a special nominative plural ending in -е and a null genitive plural ending in place of normal -аў (e.g. расія́н). Both endings are automatically selected by in-.

If the stress is on the ending, it automatically moves to the preceding syllable in the plural. An example is славяні́н (slavjanín, “Slav”) (nominative plural славя́не):

{{be-ndecl|славяні́н<pr.in->}}

which produces

Declension of славяні́н (pr hard masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	славяні́н slavjanín	славя́не slavjánje
genitive	славяні́на slavjanína	славя́н slavján
dative	славяні́ну slavjanínu	славя́нам slavjánam
accusative	славяні́на slavjanína	славя́н slavján
instrumental	славяні́нам slavjanínam	славя́намі slavjánami
locative	славяні́не slavjanínje	славя́нах slavjánax
count form	—	славяні́ны1 slavjaníny1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

A few nouns of this type end in -ын rather than -ін. An example is балга́рын (balháryn, “Bulgarian man”) (nominative plural балга́ры). The same spec works for them:

{{be-ndecl|балга́рын<pr.in-.,(ў)>}}

which produces

Declension of балга́рын (pr hard masc-form accent-a)

	singular	plural
nominative	балга́рын balháryn	балга́ры balháry
genitive	балга́рына balháryna	балга́р, балга́раў balhár, balháraŭ
dative	балга́рыну balhárynu	балга́рам balháram
accusative	балга́рына balháryna	балга́р, балга́раў balhár, balháraŭ
instrumental	балга́рынам balhárynam	балга́рамі balhárami
locative	балга́рыне balhárynje	балга́рах balhárax
count form	—	балга́рыны1 balháryny1

¹Used with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and higher numbers after 20 ending in 2, 3, and 4.

The nominative plural in -ы rather than -е (as in nouns in -ін) is automatically selected. The default genitive plural would be балга́р, with a null ending as in nouns in -ін. However, this noun actually has two genitive plurals, either балга́р (the expected form for nouns in -ін) or балга́раў (the expected form for masculine nouns not in -ін).

Third-declension feminine nouns

Third-declension feminine nouns are those whose singular ends in -ь or a consonant rather than -я or -а. Normally this is autodetected, but this is not possible in the plural, where the ending -і is the same as for nouns ending in -я. To indicate this type of noun, use 3rd. See the section on number for an example.