How to Give Your Name - RussianPod101

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to give your name in Russian.

For example, "Nice to meet you. My name is Milena Maslova."

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

Two passengers, Milena Maslova and Sergey Svalov , are seated next to each other on a plane to Russia.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

Приятно познакомиться. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

"Nice to meet you"

Приятно познакомиться.

Меня зовут (Menya zovut)

"My name is"

Меня зовут

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Milena’s response.

Ready?

Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Сергей Свалов. Приятно познакомиться. (Zdravstvuyte. Menya zovut Sergey Svalov. Priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

Once more with the English translation.

Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Сергей Свалов. Приятно познакомиться. (Zdravstvuyte. Menya zovut Sergey Svalov. Priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

"Hello. My name is Sergey Svalov. Nice to meet you."

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

"Nice to meet you. My name is Milena Maslova."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Milena Maslova introduces herself?

"Nice to meet you. My name is Milena Maslova."

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

First is the expression Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya), meaning "Nice to meet you." Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya).

Let's start with приятно (priyatno), literally "pleasantly." Приятно . Приятно.

Next is познакомиться (poznakomit'sya), literally "to get acquainted." Познакомиться . Познакомиться.

Together, it's Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya), literally, "Pleasantly to get acquainted," but translates as "Nice to meet you." Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya).

This phrase can be used in many contexts and is appropriate for both formal and informal situations.

Do you remember how Milena says,

"My name is Milena Maslova."

Меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

First is меня (menya), "me." Меня . Меня.

After this is зовут (zovut), meaning "[they] call." Зовут . Зовут.

Note, зовут (zovut) is the shortened form of они зовут (oni zovut), “they call.” In Russian они (oni), "they," is usually omitted.

Зовут (Zovut) is from the verb звать (zvat'), meaning "to call." звать (zvat').

Together it's меня зовут (menya zovut). Literally, "me [they] call," but it translates as "my name is." Меня зовут.

Next is the name, Милена Маслова (Milena Maslova). "Milena Maslova." Милена Маслова . Милена Маслова.

All together, it's Меня зовут Милена Маслова (Menya zovut Milena Maslova). Literally, "Me [they] call Milena Maslova," but it translates as "My name is Milena Maslova."

Меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

The pattern is

Меня зовут NAME. (Menya zovut NAME.)

"My name is NAME."

Меня зовут NAME. (Menya zovut NAME.)

To use this pattern, simply replace the NAME placeholder with your given name or given name and surname.

Note: This pattern requires a proper noun.

Imagine you're Miroslav Maslov . In Russian, Мирослав Маслов (Miroslav Maslov). Мирослав Маслов . Мирослав Маслов.

Say

"My name is Miroslav Maslov."

Ready?

Меня зовут Мирослав Маслов. (Menya zovut Miroslav Maslov.)

"My name is Miroslav Maslov."

Меня зовут Мирослав Маслов. (Menya zovut Miroslav Maslov.)

Again, the key pattern is

Меня зовут NAME. (Menya zovut NAME.)

"My name is NAME."

Меня зовут NAME. (Menya zovut NAME.)

Let's look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Меня зовут Сергей Свалов, приятно познакомиться. (Menya zovut Sergey Svalov, priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

"My name is Sergey Svalov, nice to meet you."

Меня зовут Сергей Свалов, приятно познакомиться. (Menya zovut Sergey Svalov, priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

Привет, меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Privet, menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

"Hello, my name is Milena Maslova."

Привет, меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Privet, menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

Здравствуйте, меня зовут Мирослав Маслов. (Zdravstvuyte, menya zovut Miroslav Maslov.)

"Hello, My name is Miroslav Maslov."

Здравствуйте, меня зовут Мирослав Маслов. (Zdravstvuyte, menya zovut Miroslav Maslov.)

Меня зовут Катя Коваленко, приятно познакомиться. (Menya zovut Katya Kovalenko, priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

"My name is Katya Kovalenko, nice to meet you."

Меня зовут Катя Коваленко, приятно познакомиться. (Menya zovut Katya Kovalenko, priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

Приятно познакомиться. Я Каролина Калашникова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Ya Karolina Kalashnikova.)

"Nice to meet you, I'm Karolina Kalashnikova."

Приятно познакомиться. Я Каролина Калашникова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Ya Karolina Kalashnikova.)

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

She says,

Я Каролина Калашникова. (Ya Karolina Kalashnikova.)

"I'm Karolina Kalashnikova."

Я Каролина Калашникова. (Ya Karolina Kalashnikova.)

This pattern uses я (ya), meaning "I." Я . Я.

Note, Я is from Я есть (Ya yest’) "I am," where есть (yest’) "am" is omitted.

Есть is from the verb быть (byt’), meaning “to be.” Быть.

Next is the name Каролина Калашникова (Karolina Kalashnikova). "Karolina Kalashnikova." Каролина Калашникова. Каролина Калашникова.

All together, Я Каролина Калашникова (Ya Karolina Kalashnikova). Literally, "I Karolina Kalashnikova," but it translates as "I'm Karolina Kalashnikova." Я Каролина Калашникова.

The pattern is

Я NAME. (Ya NAME)

"I'm NAME."

To use this pattern, simply replace the NAME placeholder with your given name or given name and surname.

Note: This pattern requires a proper noun.

Remember this pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuyte). "Hello." Здравствуйте . Здравствуйте.

Привет (Privet). "Hello (informal)." Привет . Привет.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say

"Nice to meet you."

Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya).

And the Russian pronunciation of Milena Maslova's name?

Милена Маслова (Milena Maslova).

Do you remember how Milena Maslova says,

"My name is Milena Maslova."

Меня зовут Милена Маслова (Menya zovut Milena Maslova).

And how Milena Maslova says,

"Nice to meet you. My name is Milena Maslova."

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Милена Маслова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Milena Maslova.)

Do you remember how Sergey Svalov says,

"Hello."

Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuyte).

And how to say "I"?

Я (Ya).

Do you remember how Karolina Kalashnikova says,

"I’m Karolina Kalashnikova."

Я Каролина Калашникова (Ya Karolina Kalashnikova).

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Miroslav Maslov . Мирослав Маслов (Miroslav Maslov).

Respond by saying, "My name is Miroslav Maslov."

Ready?

Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Сергей Свалов. Приятно познакомиться. (Zdravstvuyte. Menya zovut Sergey Svalov. Priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

Меня зовут Мирослав Маслов. (Menya zovut Miroslav Maslov.)

Listen again and repeat.

Меня зовут Мирослав Маслов. (Menya zovut Miroslav Maslov.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Karolina Kalashnikova . Каролина Калашникова (Karolina Kalashnikova).

Include "Nice to meet you."

Ready?

Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Сергей Свалов. Приятно познакомиться. (Zdravstvuyte. Menya zovut Sergey Svalov. Priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Каролина Калашникова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Karolina Kalashnikova.)

Listen again and repeat.

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Каролина Калашникова. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Karolina Kalashnikova.)

Let's try one more.

Imagine you're Katya Kovalenko. Катя Коваленко (Katya Kovalenko).

Use the variation pattern to say, "I’m Katya Kovalenko."

Ready?

Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Сергей Свалов. Приятно познакомиться. (Zdravstvuyte. Menya zovut Sergey Svalov. Priyatno poznakomit'sya.)

Я Катя Коваленко. (Ya Katya Kovalenko.)

Listen again and repeat.

Я Катя Коваленко. (Ya Katya Kovalenko.)

In casual situations, you can also use this pattern with just your first name. For example, Miroslav Maslov can simply say,

Меня зовут Мирослав (Menya zovut Miroslav).

"I'm Miroslav."

Меня зовут Мирослав (Menya zovut Miroslav).

Well Done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to give your name in Russian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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