How to Talk About Your Occupation

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your occupation in Russian.

For example, "I’m an investor." is

Я инвестор. (Ya investor.)

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.

студент (student)

"student"

студент

инвестор (investor)

"investor"

инвестор

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

Note: the speakers in this conversation use formal Russian.

Ready?

Вы студент? (Vy student?)

Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

Once more with the English translation.

Вы студент? (Vy student?)

"Are you a student?"

Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Milena asks,

"Are you a student?"

Вы студент? (Vy student?)

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

Note, Вы (Vy), "you," refers to the plural, as in "you all," but t's also the formal way to address a single person, as is the case here, where Milena is addressing Sergey.

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

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

Next is студент (student), "student." Студент . Студент.

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

Студент is masculine singular, as Milena is addressing Sergey.

All together, Вы студент? (Vy student?) literally, "You student," but translates as, "Are you a student?"

Вы студент? (Vy student?)

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

Do you remember how Sergey says,

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

First is the expression, Нет (Net), meaning, "no." Нет . Нет.

It answers Milena 's yes-or-no question, "Are you a student?" Вы студент? (Vy student?)

After this, Sergey specifies that he’s not a student. Я не студент (Ya ne student). "I'm not a student." Я не студент.

First is я (ya), "I [am]." 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 не (ne). "not." Не . Не.

Together, it's я не (ya ne), literally "I not," but it translates as "I'm not." Я не.

Next is студент (student). "Student." Студент.

Студент is masculine singular, as Sergey is answering the question.

All together, Я не студент (Ya ne student). "I'm not a student." Я не студент.

Sergey then tells Milena his actual occupation. Я инвестор (Ya investor). "I'm an investor." Я инвестор.

First, я (ya) "I [am]." Я.

Next is инвестор (investor), "investor." Инвестор . Инвестор.

Инвестор (Investor) is masculine singular.

Together, Я инвестор (Ya investor). "I'm an investor." Я инвестор.

All together, Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

The pattern is

Нет, я не OCCUPATION. Я ACTUAL OCCUPATION. (Net, ya ne {occupation}. Ya {actual occupation}.)

"No, I'm not OCCUPATION. I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Нет, я не OCCUPATION. Я ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

To use this pattern, simply replace the OCCUPATION and ACTUAL OCCUPATION placeholders with the occupations that are appropriate to the conversation.

Note: This pattern requires nouns. Their gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Imagine you’re Emma Eliasheva , a student. The word for a female student is студентка (studentka). Студентка . Студентка.

Sergey Svalov asks you if you’re a teacher, учитель (uchitel’). Учитель . Учитель.

Say

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Ready?

Нет, я не учитель. Я студентка. (Net, ya ne uchitel', Ya studentka.)

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Нет, я не учитель. Я студентка. (Net, ya ne uchitel', Ya studentka.)

In Russian, there are some rules of thumb for gender of nouns.

In general, nouns that end in -а (-a) tend to be feminine.

For example,

Студентка (Studentka). Female student

Медсестра (Medsestra). Female nurse

Masculine nouns tend to end in a consonant or -й (-y) or ь (-ʼ).

For example,

Инвестор (Investor). "Investor."

Студент (Student). "Student."

Рабочий (Rabochiy). "Employee."

Some occupations have the same word for both genders. For example, учитель (uchitel’), "teacher," in a formal setting.

учитель (uchitel’),

учитель (uchitel’).

Note, there is a word for a female teacher, учительница (uchitel’nitsa), in an informal setting. However, you will not need it for this lesson.

Again, the key pattern is,

Нет, я не OCCUPATION. Я ACTUAL OCCUPATION. (Net, ya ne {occupation}. Ya {actual occupation}.)

"No, I'm not OCCUPATION. I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Нет, я не OCCUPATION. Я ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

Let’s look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

Нет, я не учитель. Я студентка. (Net, ya ne uchitel', Ya studentka.)

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Нет, я не учитель. Я студентка. (Net, ya ne uchitel', Ya studentka.)

Нет, я не врач. Я учёная. (Net, ya ne vrach. Ya uchyonaya.)

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a scientist."

Нет, я не врач. Я учёная. (Net, ya ne vrach. Ya uchyonaya.)

Нет, я не медсестра. Я врач. (Net, ya ne medsestra. Ya vrach.)

"No, I'm not a nurse. I'm a doctor."

Нет, я не медсестра. Я врач. (Net, ya ne medsestra. Ya vrach.)

Нет, я не студентка. Я учитель. (Net, ya ne studentka. Ya uchitel'.)

"No, I'm not a student. I'm a teacher."

Нет, я не студентка. Я учитель. (Net, ya ne studentka. Ya uchitel'.)

Нет, я бариста. (Net, ya barista.)

"No, I'm a barista."

Нет, я бариста. (Net, ya barista.)

Did you notice how the last speaker omits part of the response?

Нет, я бариста (Net, ya barista). "No, I’m a barista."

Нет, я бариста.

When directly responding to someone's question, it’s often possible to omit part of the response.

Here by simply answering Нет (Net), "no," there’s no need to say я не студентка (ya ne studentka), "I’m not a student."

This pattern is

Нет, я ACTUAL OCCUPATIONnoun. (Net, ya {actual occupation}.)

"No, I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

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

Let's review the key vocabulary.

In Russian, occupation terms can vary depending on gender. In these cases, we provide the masculine word for the occupation followed by the feminine one.

"Student."

Студент (Student) , Студент.

Студентка (Studentka) , Студентка.

"Teacher."

Учитель (Uchitel’) . Учитель.

"Nurse."

Медбрат. (Medbrat) Медбрат.

Медсестра. (Medsestra) Медсестра.

"Doctor."

Врач (Vrach) . Врач.

"Barista."

Бариста (Barista). Бариста.

Let's review.

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

Ready?

Do you remember the word for an "investor?"

Инвестор (Investor).

And how Sergey says,

"I'm an investor."

Я инвестор (Ya Investor).

Do you remember the word for a male "student?"

Студент (Student).

And how to say "not?"

Не (Ne).

Do you remember how Sergey says,

"I'm not a student."

Я не студент (Ya ne student).

And how to say,

"No."

Нет (Net).

Do you remember how Sergey Svalov says,

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Нет, я не студент. Я инвестор. (Net, ya ne student. Ya investor.)

Do you remember how Milena Maslova asks,

"Are you a student?"

Remember Milena uses formal Russian.

Вы студент? (Vy student?)

Do you remember the word for a female "student?"

Студентка (Studentka).

And the word for "teacher?"

Учитель (Uchitel’).

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Milena Maslova , and you’re a scientist, or учёная (uchyonaya) in Russian.

Respond to Sergey’s question.

Ready?

Вы учитель (Vy uchitel’)?

Нет, я не учитель. Я учёная. (Net, ya ne uchitel’. Ya uchyonaya.)

Listen again and repeat.

Нет, я не учитель. Я учёная. (Net, ya ne uchitel’. Ya uchyonaya.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Kateryna , and you’re a teacher, or учитель (uchitel’) in Russian.

Ready?

Ты студентка? (Ty studentka?)

Нет, я не студентка. Я учитель. (Net, ya ne studentka. Ya uchitel'.)

Listen again and repeat.

Нет, я не студентка. Я учитель. (Net, ya ne studentka. Ya uchitel'.)

Let's try one more.

Now, imagine you're Emma Eliasheva , and you’re a student, or студентка (studentka) in Russian.

Use the shortened variation pattern.

Ready?

Вы учитель? (Vy uchitel'?)

Нет, я студентка. (Net, ya studentka.)

Listen again and repeat.

Нет, я студентка. (Net, ya studentka.)

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your occupation in Russian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Milena Maslova says,

"My name is Milena Maslova."

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

And do you remember 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.)

And do you remember how Milena says,

"I am from Miami."

Я из Майами. (Ya iz Mayami.)

And do you remember how Sergey Svalov asks,

"Where are you from?"

Вы откуда? (Vy otkuda?)

Do you remember the word for an "American" woman?

американка (amerikanka)

американка (amerikanka).

And do you remember how Milena Maslova says,

"Yes, I'm American?"

Да. Я американка. (Da. Ya amerikanka.)

Do you remember how Sergey Svalov asks,

"Are you American?"

Вы американка? (Vy amerikanka?)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , a student from London, and you're British.

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

Джек Джонс (Dzhek Dzhons)

Respond to Sergey Svalov 's self-introduction and follow-up questions.

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.)

And do you remember how to say "British" in Russian?

англичанин (anglichanin)

Now respond that you’re British.

Вы англичанин? (Vy anglichanin?)

Да. Я англичанин. (Da. Ya anglichanin.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да. Я англичанин. (Da. Ya anglichanin.)

Now, do you remember how to say "student" when talking about a man in Russian?

студент (student)

Respond that you're a student.

Вы учитель? (Vy uchitel'?)

Нет, я студент. (Net, ya student.)

Listen again and repeat.

Нет, я студент. (Net, ya student.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Introduce Yourself unit of this course.

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

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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