In English we have to use a capital letter in the following cases:
- Beginning of sentence
- Names (people or places)
- Pronoun first-person singular (I)
What are the rules for capital letters in Russian language comparing to these three rules in English?
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Basically, capital letter is required in the beginning of a sentence and in names (people, places, books, etc.).
There is a tricky case with singular "вы", which can be capitalized to show respect (note that plural "вы" is capitalized only in the beginning of a sentence).
Also with multi-word names (e.g. name of a book), only first letter is capitalized, not first letter of each word as in English.
Another difference with English will be that not everything that considered to be a name in English is considered to be a name in Russian. For example, names of languages and nations and are not capitalized in Russian. I think it might have to do something with most of those being adjectives in Russian (though it's just an opinion).
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Thank you. What about the pronoun я, is it not supposed to be capitalized as happens to be in English with the pronoun I? – Influx Apr 25 '17 at 12:15
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2no, "я" is only capitalized in the beginning if a sentence and if it's first word of some title, e.g. "Я и мои котики" – Alissa Apr 25 '17 at 14:28
Personal pronoun I is never capitalised (unless positioned at the beginning of a sentence):
Я изучаю китайский язык, и чем больше я его изучаю, тем больше у меня вопросов.
Names of countries are capitalised, but not names of nations and/or languages (it used to be so a couple of centuries ago, but not nowadays). Forms of address and titles are not capitalised, either.
Из всех языков, пани и панство, мадам, мадмуазели, месье, леди, джентльмены, дамы, господа и товарищи, мне наименее симпатичны английский и русский, а из всех известных мне людей наименее вежливы в обиходе - носители советского русского.
Days of weeks and months are not capitalised:
Сегодня - вторник, двадцать пятое апреля.
Abstract nouns (mainly those capitalised in modern English to imitate archaic style and/or to express 'philosophical uniqueness' of the concept they are referring to, or those normally capitalised in 'capitalisation boom' of the 17th-18th centuries following Hart's recommendation are not capitalised, either):
Относительная истина не противоречит абсолютной истине.
As for words for G-d, deities and religious holidays / events, their capitalisation is guarded either by the rules applied for personal names or by a writer's personal beliefs.
