Russian/Lesson 1

Герб России

Lesson 1 — Как тебя зовут?

Кремль

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The Kremlin, which is known to be headquarters of Russian authorities.

Dialogue

Read an introductory dialogue between a boy, Sasha, and a girl, Katya. You can read the lines using pronunciation respelling key.

Line	Respelling
Са́ша: Приве́т! Меня́ зову́т Са́ша. Как тебя́ зову́т?	SA-sha: preev-YET! men-YA za-VOOT SA-sha. kak tye-BYA za-VOOT?
Ка́тя: Приве́т, Са́ша. Меня́ зову́т Ка́тя. Как дела́?	KAT-ya: preev-YET, SA-sha. men-YA za-VOOT KAT-ya. kak dye-LA?
Са́ша: Хорошо́. А у тебя́?	kha-ra-SHO. a oo teb-YA?
Ка́тя: О́чень хорошо́.	O-chen kha-ra-SHO
Са́ша: Я студе́нт. А ты студе́нтка?	ya stoo-DYENT. a ti stoo-DYENT-ka?
Ка́тя: Да, я студе́нтка.	da, ya stoo-DYENT-ka
Са́ша: Ну, пока́!	noo, po-KA

Notes

• Приве́т! is an informal greeting, loosely translated as 'Hi!' or 'Hey!'. The more formal meeting is здра́вствуйте (ZDRAV-stvooy-tye)
• Меня́ зову́т... literally means 'Me they call...' or 'They call me...', and is the Russian way of saying 'My name is...'. Similarly, как тебя́ зову́т? literally means 'How you they call?', or 'How do they call you?', and is how Russians ask 'What's your name?'.
• Как дела́? literally means 'How (are) things?' (the word 'are' is omitted in Russian). А у тебя́? means 'And by you?'.
• Хорошо́ is a general catch-all word that means 'good', 'fine', 'OK', etc.
• Студент and студентка both mean 'student', but the former is for males and the latter is for females. Feminine words often end in a -а or a -я, while masculine words often end in a consonant. See the page on gender for more details.
• Russians often omit the copula, i.e., words like 'is', 'are', 'am' - any present tense form of the verb 'to be'. They also omit articles, which in English are 'a', 'an', and 'the'. Thus, 'I am a student' becomes Я студент / Я студентка.
• Ну is an interjection, a filler word that corresponds to the English 'well'.

Translation (test yourself)

Hello!

Здравствуйте!

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Привет! Hello!
English	Русский	Listen	Notes
Hello	здрáвствуйте	·
	здрáвствуй	·
Hi	привéт	·	X
Good morning!	дóброе ýтро
Good day!	дóбрый день
Good evening!	дóбрый вéчер
Good night!	спокóйной нóчи
See you later!	покá	·	X
Goodbye	до свидáния	·	O

• The first "в" in "здравствуйте" is silent.
• The adjective добрый means "kind".

Formal and Informal

Russian distinguishes between formal and informal modes of address (register). Friends and family address each other using the informal register with the second person singular pronoun "ты" (you), while employees and students use the formal register with bosses and professors with the second person plural pronoun "вы" (you, referring to more than one person). Adults always use "ты" when talking to a child. In the vocabulary tables "Notes" column, the "X" denotes an exclusively informal term, and the "O" indicates an exclusively formal term.

Example

• Доброе утро, студенты!

  Good morning, students!

• До свидания, профессор.

  Good bye, professor.

• Катя, пока!

  Katya, bye!

What's your name?

— Как тебя зовут?
— Владимир. А тебя?
— Иосиф. Очень приятно.

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Как тебя зовут? What is your name?
English	Русский	Notes
What is your name?	как тебя́ зову́т?	X
	как вас зову́т?	O
My name is..	меня́ зову́т..
Your name is..	тебя́ зову́т..	X
	вас зову́т..	O
Nice to meet you.	óчень прия́тно

• "Как тебя зовут?", the phrase used to ask someone's name, translates to "How do they call you?"
• "Очень приятно", means "very pleasant."

Example

• Как тебя зовут?

  What is your name?

• Меня зовут Пётр.

  My name is Pyotr.

• Очень приятно.

  Nice to meet you.

Grammar

• It should now be obvious that тебя and вас are interchangeable, the former used in casual / familiar settings and the latter in formal settings; вас is also the plural form of "you". An example may be у вас есть хлеб? meaning, "do you have bread?" - being both plural and formal.

• With the first phrase comes an interesting note. Because the function of words is mostly determined by declension, word order is mostly free. "Меня зовут Пётр" and "Пётр меня зовут" mean the same thing. "Mostly" is highlighted, however, because some combinations do not work, so avoid straying too far from the word order of the examples until later.

Go to the exercise

Russian names

Экскурсовод:
— В этом доме Владимир Ильич Ленин с Инессой Арманд скрывался от Надежды Константиновны Крупской.

Russian names for people are composed of a given name, a patronymic, and a family name. The given name is a person's first name, and is usually chosen by the parents at birth. The patronymic is a derivation of the father's name, modified by gender. The family name is the name shared by the immediate family and passed down by the male descendants, but also modified by gender.

• Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин) is Russia's second president.
  • Vladimir is his given name.
  • Vladimirovich is his patronymic. His father was also named Vladimir. If he had a sister, her patronymic would be Vladimirovna (Владимировна).
  • Putin is his family name. His former wife, Lyudmila Putina has the feminine version of the name, Putina.
• Maria Yuryevna Sharápova (Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова) is a famous tennis player.
  • Maria is her given name.
  • Yuryevna is her patronymic. Her father was named Yuri. If she had a brother, his patronymic would be Yuryevich (Юрьевич).
  • Sharapova is her family name. Her father's family name is Sharapov.

How are you?

— Мария, как дела?
— Неплохо.

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Как дела? How are you?
English	Русский	Listen	Notes
How are you?	Как дела́?
Well ("good")	хорошо́	·
Bad	пло́хо
Not bad	непло́хо
And you?	А у тебя́?		X
	А у вас?		O
Thank you	спаси́бо	·

• The three answers to "как дела" are adverbs.
• You can append "очень" (very) to the front of any adverb.

Example

• Иван: Привет, Юлия. Как дела?

  Hello, Yuliya. How are you?

• Юлия: Очень хорошо, спасибо. А у тебя, Иван?

  Very well, thanks. And you, Ivan?

• Иван: Неплохо. Пока!

  Not bad. See you later!

Go to the exercise

Who is this?

— Кто это?
— Это Миша. Он лев.
— Ясно. Очень приятно.

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Кто это? Who is this?
English	Русский	Listen	Notes
I am..	Я..	·
You are..	Ты..		X
	Вы..		O
He is..	Он..		M
She is..	Она..		F
Student	студе́нт	·	M
	студе́нтка		F
Who is..	кто	·
This	э́то	·

Example

• Сергей: Доброе утро, Наташа. Как дела?

  Good morning, Natasha. How are you?

• Наташа: Хорошо, спасибо. Кто это?

  Well, thanks. Who is this?

• Сергей: Это Иван. Он студент.

  This is Ivan. He is a student.

• Иван: Очень приятно. Вы студентка?

  Nice to meet you. Are you a student?

• Наташа: Да, я студентка.

  Yes, I am a student.

Grammar

• Russian lacks "is" and articles: Russian does not use the existence verb "быть" in the present tense, or articles such as "a", "an", or "the." The verb "быть" does have a present tense, but it is considered archaic and old fashioned in standard Russian, albeit still used regularly in most dialects. Simply following "я" (I, me) with a noun suffices to say "I am a.." However, in written Russian, when the subject is a noun (not a pronoun), an em dash (—) functions as the verb. The proper sentence to say "Ivan is a student" is "Иван — студент."
• Gender: The noun "студент" is the first instance of grammatical gender. "Студент" is used when the speaker is referring to himself or another male. "Студентка" is used when the speaker is referring to herself or another female.

Go to the exercise

Summary

In this lesson, you have learned:

• How to greet people (Привет, доброе утро)
• How to introduce yourself (Меня зовут Иван)
• How to introduce others (Это Сергей)
• How to say how you are (Хорошо, неплохо)

Finish the exercises and translate the introductory dialogue before moving on.

External links

• Russian for Beginners (free online course) Learning method based on dialogues and audio.

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