Russian/Lesson 1

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Lesson 1 — Как тебя зовут?

Contents 1 Dialogue 2 Hello! 2.1 Formal and Informal 3 What's your name? 3.1 Russian names 4 How are you? 5 Who is this? 6 Summary

[edit] Dialogue

Саша: Привет! Меня зовут Саша. Как тебя зовут?

Катя: Привет, Саша. Меня зовут Катя. Как дела?

Саша: Хорошо. А у тебя?

Катя: Очень хорошо.

Саша: Я студент. А ты студентка?

Катя: Да, я студентка.

Саша: Ну, пока.

Translation (wait until the end of the lesson).

[edit] Hello!

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".

[edit] 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). In the vocabulary tables "Notes" column, the "X" denotes an exclusively informal term, and the "O" indicates an exclusively formal term.

Examples

—Доброе утро, студенты!

—До свидания, профессор.

—Катя, пока!

[edit] What's your name?

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."

Examples

• 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 the plural and formal both.

• 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.

[edit] Russian names

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 (or sometimes mother'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 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.

[edit] How are you?

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Как дела? How are you?
English	Русский	Listen	Notes
How are you?	Как дела́?
Well ("goodly")	хорошо́	·
Badly	пло́хо
Not badly	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.

[edit] Who is this?

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	·

Examples

• 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." 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.

[edit] 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.

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Lesson 2 >>