Russian for English speakers Bakery · Lesson 1

Presenting oneself

Introduce yourself in Russian — Как вас зовут? (What's your name?) — using the structure 'how do they call you'.

Conversation

  1. Meera Meera

    Кстати, как вас зовут?

    Kstati, kak vas zovut?

    By the way, what is your name?

  2. Bob Bob

    Меня зовут Боб… Можно на “ты”?

    Menja zovut Bob… Možno na “ty”?

    My name is Bob. Can we chat informally?

    Tip: Можно на “ты” means “can I talk with you in informal way?”

  3. Meera Meera

    Конечно!

    Konečno!

    Sure!

  4. Bob Bob

    А как тебя зовут?

    A kak tebja zovut?

    And what is your name?

  5. Meera Meera

    Меня зовут… Очень приятно!

    Menja zovut… Očenʹ prijatno!

    My name is Meera. Nice to meet you!

  6. Bob Bob

    Мне тоже.

    Mne tože.

    I am pleased too.

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How do you ask 'what's your name?' in Russian?

Как вас зовут? (formal) — literally 'how do they call you?'. Casual: Как тебя зовут?. Response: Меня зовут [Name].

Can we switch to informal?

Можно на «ты»? = 'can we use ты?'. Asking permission to switch to informal pronoun. Common Russian etiquette.

Russian for 'by the way'?

Кстати (kstati) — common conversational connector. Means 'by the way / incidentally'.

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Russian lessons.

6 quick questions on what you just heard.

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