Hello, My name is . Whats your name?

in Russian
, (name). A ?
Zdrastvuyte, menya zavut (name). A kak vas zavut?
Example: Zdrastvuyte, menya zavut Bob. A kak vas zavut?
Dont worry too much about saying your name in Russian pronunciati
on.
I am from . in Russian.
(country or city)
Ya iz (country or city)
Example: . Ya iz Sa-Shi-Ah. I am from America.
is the Russian abbreviation for the United States of America.
I am . years old in Russian
(age #) .
Mne (age #) let.
Example. . Mne dvadsat pyat let. I am 25 years old.
I am a (student/occupation) in Russian.
(occupation)
Ya (occupation)
Example: . Ya stoo-dent. I am a student.
I am learning Russian because in Russian
(reason).
Ya izuchayu russkiy potomu shto (reason).
Example:
. Ya izuchayu russkiy potomu shto mne yazik nravitsa. Im learning Russia
ause I like the language.
Ive been learning Russian for in Russian
(duration).
Ya izuchayu russkiy yazik uzhe (duration).
Example: 2 . Ya izuchayu russkiy yazik uzhe dva go
ars already.
So, heres your Russian self introduction script you might want to use.
Zdrastvuyte, menya zavut Bob. Mne dvadsat pyat let. Ya stoo-dent. Ya izuchay
u russkiy potomu shto mne yazik nravitsa. Ya izuchayu russkiy yazik uzhe dva god
a
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Tanya . Zdrastvuytye.
Woman . Dobry dyen .
[zdrastvuytye] is the most common way of saying hello in Russian.
[dobry dyen ] good day
At different times of the day one can also say:
[dobraye utra] good morning
[dobry vyecher] good evening
2. Katya arrives at Anna Sergeevna s house
Katya , . Zdrastvuytye, Anna Sergeevna.
Anna Sergeevna , . Zdrastvuy, Katya.
[zdrastvuy] is the familiar form of hello used with people you know well or with
en.
Practice what you have learned
The exercise below is to help you become accustomed to the various forms of gree
ting. Concentrate on listening and clearly distinguishing each one.
1. Listen to the recording and see if you can match the voices to the pictures b
elow.
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3. Irina introduces herself, then asks Anna Ivanovna her name
Irina . Zdrastvuytye.
Anna Ivanovna . Zdrastvuytye.
Irina . ? Minya zavut Irina. A kak vas zavut?
Anna Ivanovna . Minya zavut Anna Ivanovna.
Irina . Ochin priyatna.
... [minya zavut...] my name is... (the Russian in fact means they call me ). This
d answer the question ? [kak vas zavut?] how do they call you? i.e. what is yo
You may have noticed that in the word [zavut] the first vowel is not pronounced as i
t looks. It s not a mistake! In Russian when not stressed sounds much closer to
[a] than to []. (It s called akanye !)
The a which begins Irina s question means and in a contrastive sense, as in Th
ats my name. And (but) what s yours?
4. Maria Dmitrievna introduces herself to her new students
Maria Dmitrievna , ! Zdrastvuytye, ribyata!
Students ! Zdrastvuytye!
Maria Dmitrievna . ? Minya zavut Maria Dmi
Olya . Minya zavut Olya.
Maria Dmitrievna ? A tibya kak zavut?
Lena . Minya zavut Lyena.
Maria Dmitrievna ? A tibya?
Volodya . Minya zavut Volodya.
Maria Dmitrievna ? A tibya?
Kolya - . , ? Minya - Kolya. Izvinitye, a kak vas z
Maria Dmitrievna . Minya zavut Maria Dmitrievna.
[ribyata] is an informal way of addressing a group of children or teenagers.
Maria Dmitrievna has used [zdrastvuytye] because she is addressing a group (whil
ren use this form because she is their teacher!)
? [kak tibya zavut?] what is your name? You would use [tibya] addressing a
[izvinitye] excuse me. More often than not you will hear , [izvin
Practice what you have learned
A journey by train through the Russian Federation gives ample time to become acq
uainted! Listen to the snatches of conversation on your recording, then decide w
hich corresponds to each of the pictures below.
=========================================
5. Misha wants his mother to meet a friend.
Misha , . Mama, eta moy druk.
Dima , . Zdrastvuytye, minya zavut Dima.
Anna Sergeevna . . Ochin priyatna. Anna Sergeevna.
... [eta...] this (is)... Introducing somebody can be very simple in Russian. You j
ust need ... [eta...] and then a name or description of the person. To find out who
somebody is, you ask ? [kto eta?] who is this?
[moy druk] my friend. If Misha s friend was a woman, he would say [e
[moy] is used talking about a man and [maya| about a woman.
Remember what was said above about when not stressed. When written down, and are ob
iously closely related, unlike their transliterated versions!
6. Tamara asks Pavel his last name and where he s from
Tamara , ? Pavel, kak vasha familiya?
Pavel - . Maya familiya - Velichenko.
Tamara ? Vi russky?
Pavel , . . Nyet, ya ukrayinets. Eta ukrayiskaya
? [kak vasha familiya?] what is your last name? [familiya] may not be
ne noun (see the grammar section on this page below).
? [vi russky?] are you Russian? , [nyet, ya ukrayinets] no. I m Ukrai
ould answer: , [da, ya russky].
A few more nationalities:
[anglichanin] Englishman, [anglichanka] Englishwoman; [frantsus
rican (male), [amerikanka] American (female): [nyemets] German (male),
[eta ukrayinskaya familiya] it s a Ukrainian last name.
7.
Tamara , . Da svidanya, Pavel.
Pavel . . Da svidanya. Fsivo vam dobrava.
[da svidanya] goodbye (lit. until our next meeting)
[fsivo vam dobrava] all the best.
Practice what you have learned
3. Tanya is in a very cosmopolitan hotel (hotel "Cosmos" on the pictures below).
Can you work out the nationalities of the people she speaks to?
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[zdrastvuytye] hello
[zdrastvuy] hello (to a friend, or child)
[dobry dyen ] good day
[dobraye utra] good morning
[dobry vyecher] good evening
? [kak vas zavut?] what is your name?
? [kak tibya zavut?] what is your name? (to a child)
... [minya zavut...] my name is...
[ochin priyatna] pleased to meet you
() [izvinitye (pazhalsta)] excuse me (please)
... [eta...] this is... / it is...
[moy druk] my friend (male)
[maya padruga] my friend (female)
? [kak vasha familiya?] what is your last name?
... [maya familiya...] my last name is...
? [vi russky?] are you Russian?
, [da, ya russky] yes, I am Russian
, [nyet, ya ukrayinets] no. Im Ukrainian
[eta ukrayinskaya familiya] it s a Ukrainian name
[ya biznismyen] I am a businessman
[da svidanya] goodbye
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