человек
Russian
editAlternative forms
edit- человѣ́къ (čelově́k) — Pre-reform orthography (1918)
Etymology
editInherited from Old East Slavic человѣкъ (čelověkŭ), from Proto-Slavic *čьlověkъ, *čelověkъ.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editчелове́к • (čelovék) m anim (genitive челове́ка, nominative plural лю́ди or челове́ки*, genitive plural люде́й or челове́к* or челове́ков*, relational adjective челове́ческий or челове́чий or людско́й, diminutive челове́чек, augmentative челове́чище, pejorative челове́чишко) (* Nominative plural - rare, poetic, other cases of челове́к in plural are used with numbers.)
- person, human being, man
- 1866, Фёдор Достое́вский [Fjódor Dostojévskij, Fyodor Dostoyevsky], chapter 4, in Преступление и наказание (Prestuplenije i nakazanije) [Crime and Punishment], part 1:
- Отгово́рка-то кака́я капита́льная: „уж тако́й, де́скать, делово́й челове́к Пётр Петро́вич, тако́й делово́й челове́к, что и жени́ться-то ина́че не мо́жет, как на почто́вых, чуть не на желез́ной доро́ге“.
- Otgovórka-to kakája kapitálʹnaja: „už takój, déskatʹ, delovój čelovék Pjotr Petróvič, takój delovój čelovék, što i ženítʹsja-to ináče ne móžet, kak na počtóvyx, čutʹ ne na želeźnoj doróge“.
- A magnificent excuse: "Pyotr Petrovitch is such a busy man that even his wedding has to be done post-haste, almost by express."
- (collective, singular only) mankind, man, the human race
- взаимоде́йствие челове́ка и приро́ды ― vzaimodéjstvije čelovéka i priródy ― man's (mankind's) interaction with nature
- also plural when used with cardinal words:
- оди́н челове́к ― odín čelovék ― one person
- два челове́ка ― dva čelovéka ― two persons, people
- пять челове́к ― pjatʹ čelovék ― five persons, people
- два́дцать челове́к ― dvádcatʹ čelovék ― twenty persons, people
- два́дцать оди́н челове́к ― dvádcatʹ odín čelovék ― twenty-one persons, people
- два́дцать два челове́ка ― dvádcatʹ dva čelovéka ― twenty-two persons, people
Usage notes
edit- Usage of челове́к with numerals ending in one (1):
- If the cardinal number ends in a one (excluding 11) then человек is declined in the singular the same way as any other masculine, singular noun.
- Usage of челове́к with numerals which equal or end in two, three, or four (excluding 12, 13, and 14):
- In the nominative case, человек will decline in the genitive singular: "человека".
- In the accusative case, if человек is not preceded by an adjective, the genitive plural "человек" is used. If человек is preceded by an adjective, the genitive plural "людей" is used. However, there is an exception, whereby the number can remain in the nominative case rather than animate accusative (meaning the noun will remain in genitive singular, rather than genitive plural). E.g.:
- "Я видел два человека," versus "Я видел двух человек."
- However, if syntax would render the subject of the sentence excessively ambiguous, the second variant (animate accusative "двух человек") is preferred.
- Usage of челове́к with numerals which equal or end in five or greater:
- In the nominative and accusative case, if человек is not preceded by an adjective, the genitive plural "человек" is used. If человек is preceded by an adjective, the genitive plural "людей" is used. E.g.:
- "25 человек," versus "25 хороших людей."
- In all other cases (genitive, dative, instrumental, prepositional), the words "людей," "людям," "людьми" and "людях" are used. The oblique plural cases of "человек" ("человекам," "человеками" etc.) are extremely rare and many native speakers do not recognize them as legitimate at all.
- In the nominative and accusative case, if человек is not preceded by an adjective, the genitive plural "человек" is used. If человек is preceded by an adjective, the genitive plural "людей" is used. E.g.:
- In the nominative and accusative, if a non-specific number is mentioned, or a word that refers to a number but is not itself a numeral, the word "людей" is used. E.g.:
- cто человек but сотня людей — 100 people but (a group of) a hundred people
- тысяча человек but тысячи людей — 1000 people but thousands of people
- Declining numerals that represent large numbers often sounds extremely stilted in informal speech. Russians will either deliberately phrase their sentences in order to avoid having to use these constructions in the first place, or will decline only the last numeral in the number, leaving the rest in nominative. E.g.:
- "С четыреста пятьдесять двумя людьми" (prescriptive norm: "с четырьмястами пятьюдесятью двумя человеками")
- For longer numbers, sometimes the beginning and end of a number will be declined, but the middle numerals will remain in the nominative. E.g.
- "С пятью тысячами четыреста пятьдесять двумя людьми" (prescriptive norm: "с пятью тысячами четырьмястами пятьюдесятью двумя человеками")
- Usage of the words "человек" and "людей" with Russian collective numerals (двое, трое, четверо, etc.) is officially proscribed, but used colloquially.
- Certain words such as сколько, несколько, and много may be used with either "человек" or "людей" depending on the context. Generally if an exact number is sought, or if the people are perceived as individuals, "человек" is used. If an inexact number is sought, or if the people are perceived as an indistinct mass, "людей" is used. E.g.:
- "Сколько человек в зале?" "В зале 20 человек," versus "Сколько людей в зале?" "В зале мало людей."
Declension
editDeclension of челове́к (anim masc-form velar-stem accent-a irreg)
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | челове́к čelovék |
лю́ди△, челове́ки* ljúdi△, čelovéki* |
genitive | челове́ка čelovéka |
люде́й△, челове́к△*, челове́ков* ljudéj△, čelovék△*, čelovékov* |
dative | челове́ку čelovéku |
лю́дям△, челове́кам* ljúdjam△, čelovékam* |
accusative | челове́ка čelovéka |
люде́й△, челове́ков△* ljudéj△, čelovékov△* |
instrumental | челове́ком čelovékom |
людьми́△, челове́ками* ljudʹmí△, čelovékami* |
prepositional | челове́ке čelovéke |
лю́дях△, челове́ках* ljúdjax△, čelovékax* |
vocative | челове́че* čelovéče* |
△ Irregular.
* The forms человече, человеки, человеков are rare, poetic; other cases of челове́к in plural (gen. человек, dat., instr., prep.) are used with numbers.
Derived terms
edit- челове́йник (čelovéjnik)
- человеконенави́стничество (čelovekonenavístničestvo)
- человеколю́бие (čelovekoljúbije)
- по-челове́чески (po-čelovéčeski)
- челове́ческий (čelovéčeskij)
- челове́чный (čelovéčnyj)
- очелове́ченный (očelovéčennyj)
- очелове́чивать (očelovéčivatʹ)
Categories:
- Russian terms inherited from Old East Slavic
- Russian terms derived from Old East Slavic
- Russian terms inherited from Proto-Slavic
- Russian terms derived from Proto-Slavic
- Russian 3-syllable words
- Russian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Russian terms with audio links
- Russian lemmas
- Russian nouns
- Russian masculine nouns
- Russian animate nouns
- Russian terms with quotations
- Russian collective nouns
- Russian singularia tantum
- Russian terms with usage examples
- Russian nouns with multiple argument sets
- Russian nouns with multiple declensions
- Russian nouns with mixed declension
- Russian velar-stem masculine-form nouns
- Russian velar-stem masculine-form accent-a nouns
- Russian nouns with accent pattern a
- Russian nouns with irregular plural stem
- Russian irregular nouns
- Russian nouns with irregular nominative plural
- Russian nouns with irregular genitive plural
- Russian nouns with irregular dative plural
- Russian nouns with irregular instrumental plural
- Russian nouns with irregular prepositional plural
- Russian nouns with irregular accusative plural
- Russian nouns with vocative singular
- Russian suppletive nouns
- ru:Mammals
- ru:People