Guide to the Russian Words for Female & Male Cats & Kittens

Plus, learn how to refer to cats in singular or plural

Co-authored by Anna Guryeva

Last Updated: February 6, 2025 Approved

Russian does not contain a proper word for gender-neutral English word 'cat'; one can only say 'she-cat' or 'he-cat' for adult cats. However there is a gender-neutral word for kittens. All of these different words for 'cat' may confuse you.^{[1]
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Research source} If you want to say the word 'cat' properly in Russian, see Step 1 to learn how.

Quick Guide to Saying "Cat" in Russian

To refer to a female cat, say, "koshka." To refer to a male cat, say, "kot." A group of cats is called either the plural version of "koshka" ("koshki") or the plural version of "kot" ("koty"). Finally, if you're discussing kittens, say, "kotyonok" for one kitten or "kotyata" for more than one.

Steps

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If you are talking about a single she-cat, say 'koshka' (кошка).You pronounce the 'k' as in 'kind', 'o' as in 'boy', 'sh' as in 'shun', and 'ka' as in 'card'.^{[2]
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Research source}
It is the same as English 'cat' but with 'o' instead of 'a'. This 'o' sounds like the o in 'boy'.^{[3]
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Research source}

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If you would like to call the cat using diminutive form (like Jake for Jakeson or Liz/Lisa/Beth for Elizabeth), you can use 'koshechka' (кошечка) for female and 'kotik' (котик) for male.
- For 'koshechka', you pronounce it like 'k' as in 'kind', 'o' as in 'boy', 'sh' as in 'shun', 'ech' as in 'witch', and 'ka' and 'card'.
- For 'kotik', you pronounce the 'k' as in 'kind', 'o' as in 'boy', 't' as in 'team', and 'ik' as in 'seek'.
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If you are talking about more than one cat, you must use the plural form of the word. She-cats would become 'koshki' (кошки) ; he-cats - 'koty' (коты); diminutive form of these would be respectively 'koshechki' (кошечки) and 'kotiki' (котики).
- For 'koshki', you pronounce it like 'ko' as in 'core', 'sh' as in 'shun', and 'ki' as in 'ski'.
- For 'koty', you pronounce the 'ko' as in 'car', and 'ty' as 'timber'. For 'koshechki', you pronounce the 'ko' as in 'cold', 'she' as in 'Shetland', 'ch' as in 'change', and 'ki' as in 'ski'. For 'kotiki', you pronounce the 'ko' as in 'cold', 'ti' as in 'city', and 'ki' as in 'ski'.
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If you are talking about a kitten or kittens, use 'kotyonok' (котёнок) to say kitten and 'kotyata' (котята) to say kittens. These words are already diminutive and don't have non-diminutive form.
- To pronounce 'kotyonok', say the 'ko' as in 'car', 'ty' as in 'tea' (try to say the 't' softly), 'o' as in 'old', 'no' as in 'gnarly', and 'k' as in 'kind'.
- For 'kotyata', pronounce the 'ko' as in 'car', 'ty' as in 'tea' (once again try to say the 't' softly), 'a' as in 'Allah', and 'ta' as in 'Tarzan'.

Community Q&A

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Question

What if I don't know if the cat is male or female?

Community Answer

if you are not sure, you cat refer to it as either male or female, it doesn't make much of a difference.

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Question

Seems like Google translate is pretty messed up, because (almost) nothing said in this can be translated. Koshka becomes just cat, kot doesn't work, kotyata becomes kittens; why?

Community Answer

Koshka is the general translation for cat, but it can also mean female cat. Kot is male cat. Kotyata is kittens, and kotyonok is kitten.

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Question

How would I say "a brown cat with grey ears"?

Community Answer

A brown cat with grey ears would be "коричневый кот с серыми ушами" (korychneviy kot c cerymy ooshamy).

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