How to Introduce Yourself in Russian

Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Fun &Easy Russian by RussianPod101.com!

Can you understand someone introducing themselves in Russian?

Stay tuned to find out!

Всем привет. С вами Катя. (Vsem privet. S vami Katya.)

Hi everyone! I'm Katja.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to introduce yourself in Russian.

You'll be able to tell people a few personal details about yourself, which will give them an idea of who you are.

This is the first step if you'd like to make Russian speaking friends.

In this video, we'll cover how to say hello in Russian, how to introduce yourself, and how to share your occupation.

You will also learn how to talk about family and your hobbies.

There will also be a listening challenge at the end, so pay attention throughout the video to see if you can understand me introducing myself in Russian.

First, let's have a look at how to start a conversation.

The best way to start would be to greet the person first.

If it is an informal situation, you could simply say,

Привет (Privet)

"Hi"

Привет

If the situation is more formal, you should say,

Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuyte)

"Hello"

Здравствуйте

Very easy, right?

Let's continue with learning how to share your name.

After saying hello, it's time to properly introduce yourself. You can do it like this,

Меня зовут Katya (Menya zovut Katya)

"My name is Katya."

Меня зовут Katya

Меня зовут Katya.

But you will of course use your own name!

You could also add a phrase like this if you have a nickname,

Можно просто Kat (Mozhno prosto Kat)

"You can also call me Kat."

Можно просто Kat.

Again, insert your own nickname in place of Kat!

At this point, you should get a greeting and introduction in return, and perhaps you'll hear this phrase as well,

Расскажите о себе (Rasskazhite o sebe)

"Tell me about yourself."

Расскажите о себе

That was the formal way of asking for more information.

The informal way would be,

Расскажи о себе (Raskazhi o sebe)

"Tell me about yourself."

Расскажи о себе

Learn to recognize these phrases, as you're likely to hear them.

Now you'll learn how to talk about your occupation.

When people learn what you do or plan to do for a living, they also start to understand you better.

Perhaps you're not working yet, but you're studying. Then you could say,

Я студент (Ya student)

"I am a student."

Я студент

If you are already working, however, you could state your occupation.

If you work, for instance, as an engineer, you could say this:

Я работаю инженером. (Ya rabotayu inzhenerom)

"I work as an engineer."

Я работаю инженером.

The pattern here is Я работаю plus the profession, which in this case is инженер, meaning "engineer."

You can use this as a base and exchange the profession with your own to talk about yourself.

You can also use the sentence you learned for "I am a student" and replace студент, or "student," with your current occupation, just like this:

Я музыкант (Ya muzykant)

"I am a musician."

Я музыкант

The next topic is talking about your family.

In Russia, family isn't something you can judge a person by.

People don't usually mention what their parents do for a living, because they consider it to be private information. But you can still talk about your family if you really want to.

If your father is a photographer, for instance, then you could say,

Мой отец работаю фотографом. (Moy otets fotografom)

"My father is a photographer"

Мой отец работаю фотографом.

And if you'd like to chat about your siblings, you could say, for example,

У меня есть сестра. (U menya yest' sestra)

"I have a sister"

У меня есть сестра.

You could also add,

Я их всех очень люблю. (Ya ikh vsekh ochen' lyublyu)

"I love all of them very much."

Я их всех очень люблю.

And if you miss them, you could add,

Я по ним очень скучаю (Ya po nim ochen' skuchayu)

"I miss them a lot."

Я по ним очень скучаю

And the last thing we'll show you is how to tell people what you like.

Talking about your hobbies in Russian allows you to better express who you are and what you're interested in.

If you "like" to do something, you could say, for instance,

Мне нравятся читать книги. (Mne nravyatsa chitat' knigi)

"I like to read books."

Мне нравятся читать книги.

If you "love" to do something, you could say, for example,,

Я люблю ходить по магазинам (Ya lyublyu khodit' po magazinam)

"I love to go shopping."

Я люблю ходить по магазинам.

If, however, you feel exceptionally passionate about your hobby, you can express it with a sentence like this:

Я обожаю слушать музыку. (Ya obozhayu slushat' musyku )

"I LOVE to listen to music."

Я обожаю слушать музыку.

Talking about your pets in Russian can be a great way to add some flair and personality to your self-introduction, too.

У меня есть Кот (U menya yes kot)

"I have a cat."

У меня есть Кот.

Он очень красивый. (On ochen' krasivyy)

"He is very beautiful."

Он очень красивый.

Now let's see how much you remember!

I will introduce myself in Russian; try to understand what I'm saying.

Привет.

(Privet.)

Меня зовут Катя.

(Menya zovut Katya.)

Я работаю инженером.

(Ya rabotayu inzhenerom.)

Мой отец фотографом.

(Moy otets fotografom.)

У меня есть сестра.

(U menya yest' sestra.)

Я их всех очень люблю.

(Ya ikh vsekh ochen' lyublyu.)

Мне нравятся читать книги.

(Mne nravyatsya chitat' knigi.)

Я люблю ходить по магазинам.

(Ya lyublyu khodit' po magazinam.)

Я обожаю слушать музыку.

(Ya obozhayu slushat' muzyku.)

У меня есть кот.

(U menya yest' kot.)

Он очень красивый.

(On ochen' krasivyy.)

Did you get it? One more time!

Привет.

(Privet.)

Меня зовут Катя.

(Menya zovut Katya.)

Я работаю инженером.

(Ya rabotayu inzhenerom.)

Мой отец фотографом.

(Moy otets fotografom.)

У меня есть сестра.

(U menya yest' sestra.)

Я их всех очень люблю.

(Ya ikh vsekh ochen' lyublyu.)

Мне нравятся читать книги.

(Mne nravyatsya chitat' knigi.)

Я люблю ходить по магазинам.

(Ya lyublyu khodit' po magazinam.)

Я обожаю слушать музыку.

(Ya obozhayu slushat' muzyku.)

У меня есть кот.

(U menya yest' kot.)

Он очень красивый.

(On ochen' krasivyy.)

And now listen to the English translation:

"Hi. My name is Katya. I work as an engineer. My father is a photographer. I have a sister. I love all of them very much. I like to read books. I love to go shopping. I LOVE to listen to music. I have a cat. He is very beautiful."

In this lesson, you learned how to greet someone, and how to introduce yourself and talk a bit about your occupation and your family. You also learned how to talk about your hobbies.

Want to learn Russian fast with PDF cheat sheets? You can get cheat sheets for all kinds of topics: travel, hobbies, love and much more…

…and you'll learn all of the must-know words and phrases for each. Click the link in the lesson description and sign up for a free lifetime account to get them!

That's it for today! See you next time!

Пока пока. (Poka poka.)

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