Red Kalinka Forum

Hello everyone,

I write stories in English, but I have a character in one story who is Russian. The character has a granddaughter, and I thought it would be nice if she called the granddaughter "солнышко" or "solnyshko" in English letters. I was wondering, since the word is for a girl, should I change it to "solnyshka"? I am trying to learn about Russian, but I haven't figured this out yet.

I hope it is okay to post this here I want to be sure my Russian character says the right word.

Thank you kindly,

Cate

Hi Cate,
"солнышко" is a lovely hypocoristic form of addressing a person (usually a child). This form does not depend on the gender -- a person called "солнышко" may be a boy as well as a girl. "Солнышка" is the genitive singular of the noun "солнышко". So, in order to address a person you have warm feelings for, you may use "солнышко" but not "солнышка".

Have good luck writing stories!

Thank you very much! That is a great explanation

Привет! Изучаете русский язык?