3 ms·

The author is a woman; Masha is the Russian diminutive for Maria.

• adrianratnapala 9y ago
  Is there any phonological rule that can help tell? For the last name you can check "-ov" vs. "-ova", but what about given names? In school I knew a boy named "Misha" (so assuming I am remembering his nationality correctly) it would seem that "-sha" can go with either sex.
  • wruza 9y ago
    Diminutives are all the same, -a, -ya, -ik because of diminutive suffix replacing the ending. Full names usually end on -[y]a for women and on consonant for men. So there is no general rule, I think. (native speaker) Edit: added -ik