How to Say Where You're From

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say where you're from in Russian.

For example, "I am from Miami." is

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

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.

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

"Where are you from?"

Вы откуда?

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

Note: the speakers in this conversation use formal Russian.

Ready?

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

Once more with the English translation.

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

"Where are you from?"

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

"I'm from Miami."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Sergey Svalov asks,

"Where are you from?"

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

First is вы (vy), "you," when using formal Russian. Вы . Вы.

Note, Вы (Vy), "you," refers to the plural, as in "you all," but it's also a formal way to address a single person, as is the case here, where Sergey is addressing Milena.

Вы (Vy) is from Вы есть (Vy yest’), "you are," plural, as in "you all are," but есть (yest’) is omitted.

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

Next is откуда (otkuda), meaning "where from?" Откуда . Откуда.

Together, Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?) literally means "You where from," but translates as "Where are you from?"

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

Remember this question. You’ll hear it again later in this lesson.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Milena Maslova says,

"I'm from Miami."

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

First is Я (Ya). "I [am]." Я . Я.

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

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

Next is из (iz), "from." Из . Из.

Last is the city, Майами (Mayami). "Miami." Майами . Майами.

Usually, a noun that follows из (iz) is placed in the genitive case, but since Майами (Mayami) is a foreign name that ends -и, it’s uninclined.

All together, Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.) Literally "I from Miami," but it translates as "I'm from Miami."

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

The pattern is

Я из LOCATION. (Ya iz {LOCATION}).

"I'm from LOCATION."

Я из LOCATION.

To use this pattern, simply replace the LOCATION placeholder with the name of your hometown city.

Note: this pattern requires the proper noun of a location, and this location name must be placed in the genitive.

Imagine you’re from Sydney. In Russian, Сидней (Sidney). Сидней.

Сидней is masculine singular.

To form the genitive of masculine nouns ending in -й (-y), replace it with -я (-ya).

Сидней becomes Сиднея.

Say

"I'm from Sydney."

Ready?

Я из Сиднея. (Ya iz Sidneya.)

"I'm from Sydney."

Я из Сиднея. (Ya iz Sidneya.)

When talking about where you are from, the pattern Я из (Ya iz) requires the proper noun of a location, and this location name must be placed in the genitive.

There are some simple rules that will help you create the genitive case based on the ending of the noun.

For masculine nouns,

if the noun ends in a consonant, add an -а (-a) at the end:

Нью-Йорк (N'yu-York). "New York," becomes Нью-Йоркa (N'yu-Yorka).

If the noun ends in a -й (-y) or ь (-ʼ), replace the ending with -я (-ya):

Сидней. “Sidney." becomes Сиднея. (Sidneya.)

Версаль (Versal'). "Palace of Versaille," becomes Версаля (Versalya).

A good rule of thumb, masculine nouns often end in a consonant or й.

For feminine nouns,

if the noun ends in an -а (-a), replace it with -ы (-y):

Москва (Moskva) becomes Москвы (Moskvy).

If the noun ends in a я or ь, replace it with an и:

Россия (Rossiya). "Russia," becomes России (Rossii).

And as for neuter nouns, if the noun ends in an о, replace it with an а.

cело (selo) becomes села (sela).

If the noun ends in an е, replace it with a я.

Уречье (Urech'ye) becomes Уречья (Urech'ya).

Foreign city names that end in -и, -о, -е usually do not change.

Again, the key pattern is

Я из LOCATION. (Ya iz {LOCATION}).

"I'm from LOCATION."

Я из LOCATION.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

"I'm from Miami."

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

Я из Норильска. А вы? (Ya iz Noril'ska. A vy?)

"I'm from Norilsk. And you?"

Я из Норильска. А вы? (Ya iz Noril'ska. A vy?)

Я из Сиэтла. (Ya iz Sietla.)

"I'm from Seattle."

Я из Сиэтла. (Ya iz Sietla.)

Я из Лондона. А ты? (Ya iz Londona. A ty?)

"I'm from London. And you?"

Я из Лондона. А ты? (Ya iz Londona. A ty?)

Я из России. (Ya iz Rossii.)

"I'm from Russia."

Я из России. (Ya iz Rossii.)

Я австралийка. (Ya avstraliyka.)

"I'm Australian."

Я австралийка. (Ya avstraliyka.)

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

Я австралийка. (Ya avstraliyka.) "I am Australian." Я австралийка.

First is я (ya), "I." Я.

Next is австралийка (avstraliyka), an “Australian,” woman. Австралийка (enuciated). австралийка (avstraliyka).

In Russian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural.

In Mia Martin’s case, she uses a feminine noun, австралийка (avstraliyka), to identify herself.

This pattern is

Я NATIONALITY. (Ya {NATIONALITY}.)

"I'm NATIONALITY."

To use this pattern, simply replace the NATIONALITY placeholder with your nationality.

Note: This pattern requires a noun, and its gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Recall Mia Martin uses a feminine singular noun, австралийка (avstraliyka).

A male speaker from Australia would use a masculine singular noun, австралиец (avstraliyets).

Australian male: Я австралиец. (Ya avstraliyets.) "I’m Australian." Я австралиец.

You can use this response to answer the question, Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

Норильск (Noril’sk) "Norilsk." Норильск . Норильск.

Из Норильска (Iz Noril'ska). "From Norilsk." Из Норильска.

Сиэтл (Sietl). "Seattle." Сиэтл . Сиэтл.

Из Сиэтла (Iz Sietla). "From Seattle." Из Сиэтла.

Лондон (London). "London." Лондон . Лондон.

Из Лондона (Iz Londona). "From London." Из Лондона.

Россия (Rossiya). "Russia." Россия . Россия.

Из России (Iz Rossii). "From Russia." Из России.

А вы? (A vy?) "And you?" when using formal language. А вы?

А ты? (A ty?) "And you?" when using informal language. А ты?

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 "from?"

Из (iz)

And how to say, "from Miami"?

Из Майами. (Iz Mayami.)

Do you remember how Milena says,

"I'm from Miami."

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

Do you remember how to say

"Where from?"

Откуда? (Otkuda?)

And do you remember how Sergey Svalov asks,

"Where are you from?"

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

Do you remember how to say "from London."

Из Лондона (Iz Londona).

And how to say "from Seattle."

Из Сиэтла (Iz Sietla).

Do you remember how to say "from Russia."

Из России (iz Rossii).

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Jack Jones from London or Лондон (London) in Russian.

Respond to Sergey Svalov ’s question.

Ready?

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

Я из Лондона. (Ya iz Londona.)

Listen again and repeat.

Я из Лондона. (Ya iz Londona.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Emma Eliasheva from Seattle.

Ready?

Ты откуда? (Ty otkuda?)

Я из Сиэтла. (Ya iz Sietla.)

Listen again and repeat.

Я из Сиэтла. (Ya iz Sietla.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Katya Kovalenko from Russia.

Ready?

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

Я из России. (Ya iz Rossii.)

Listen again and repeat.

Я из России. (Ya iz Rossii.)

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from in Russian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

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.)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London.

Do you know how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Russian?

Джек Джонс (Dzhek Dzhons)

Respond to Sergey Svalov 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

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

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Джек Джонс. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Dzhek Dzhons.)

Listen again, and repeat.

Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Джек Джонс. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Dzhek Dzhons.)

Do you remember how to say "London" in Russian?

Лондон (London)

Now respond that you’re from London.

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

Я из Лондона. (Ya iz Londona.)

Listen again and repeat.

Я из Лондона. (Ya iz Londona.)

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