How to Talk About Your Nationality

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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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 nationality in Russian.

For example, "I'm American" is

Я американка. (Ya amerikanka.)

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

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

американка (amerikanka)

"American"

американка

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

Вы американка? (Vy amerikanka?)

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

Once more with the English translation.

Вы американка? (Vy amerikanka?)

"Are you American?"

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

"Yes, I'm American."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Sergey Svalov asks,

"Are you American?"

Вы американка? (Vy amerikanka?)

First is Вы (Vy), "you." Вы . Вы.

Note, Вы (Vy), "you," refers to the plural, as in "you all," but it's also the 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 (yest’) is from the verb быть (byt’), meaning “to be.” быть.

After this is американка (amerikanka), "American." Американка . Американка.

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

Sergey Svalov uses a feminine noun, американка, to refer to Milena Maslova.

If Sergey was referring to a male, he would use the masculine noun, американец (amerikanets), to refer to him, as in Вы американец? (Vy amerikanets?) "Are you American?" Вы американец?

All together, Вы американка? (Vy amerikanka?) literally "You American?" but it translates as "Are you American?"

Вы американка? (Vy amerikanka?)

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Milena Maslova says,

"Yes, I'm American."

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

This starts with the expression, Да (Da), meaning "yes." Да . Да.

It answers Sergey Svalov’s yes-or-no question, "Are you American?"

Вы американка? (Vy amerikanka?)

Next is я (ya). "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.

After this is американка (amerikanka), "American." Американка.

Here американка is feminine as Milena Maslova is referring to herself.

All together, Да. Я американка. (Da. Ya amerikanka.) Literally "Yes. I American," but it translates as "Yes, I'm American."

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

The pattern is

Я NATIONALITYnoun. (Ya NATIONALITY.)

I'm NATIONALITY.

Я NATIONALITYnoun.

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.

Imagine you're Sergey Svalov, and you're Russian. The word for a "Russian" man is русский (russkiy). Русский . Русский.

Say

"I'm Russian."

Ready?

Я русский. (Ya russkiy.)

"I'm Russian."

Я русский. (Ya russkiy.)

In the conversation, the response to the yes-no question was "yes."

In case the answer was "no," the corresponding Russian response would be нет (net), meaning, "no." Нет . Нет.

For example, if Milena Maslova was asked

Вы русская? (Vy russkaya?)

"Are you Russian?"

She could have answered

Нет, я американка. (Net, ya amerikanka.)

"No, I'm American."

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

Again, the key pattern is

Я NATIONALITYnoun. (Ya NATIONALITY.)

I'm NATIONALITY.

Я NATIONALITYnoun.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Я американка. (Ya amerikanka.)

"I'm American."

Я американка. (Ya amerikanka.)

Я русский. (Ya russkiy.)

"I'm Russian."

Я русский. (Ya russkiy.)

Я австралийка. (Ya avstraliyka.)

"I'm Australian."

Я австралийка. (Ya avstraliyka.)

Я англичанин. (Ya anglichanin.)

"I'm English."

Я англичанин. (Ya anglichanin.)

Я не японка. Я китаянка. (Ya ne yaponka. Ya kitayanka.)

"I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese."

Я не японка. Я китаянка. (Ya ne yaponka. Ya kitayanka.)

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

Я не японка. Я китаянка. (Ya ne yaponka. Ya kitayanka.)

"I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese."

First is Я (Ya), "I." Я . Я.

Next is не (ne). "not." Не.

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

Note, Я не (Ya ne) is from Я не есть (Ya ne yest’) "I am not," where есть (yest’) "am" is omitted.

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

Next is японка (yaponka), "Japanese." Японка . Японка.

Японка is feminine because the speaker is referring to herself.

Note: as японка (yaponka) ends in -ка (-ka), it can refer only to a female.

All together, Я не японка (Ya ne yaponka). "I'm not Japanese." Я не японка.

Jing Liu then states her actual nationality. Я китаянка. (Ya kitayanka.) "I'm Chinese." Я китаянка.

First, Я (Ya) "I [am]." Я.

Next is китаянка (kitayanka), "Chinese." Китаянка . Китаянка.

Китаянка is feminine because the speaker is a woman.

Together, Я китаянка. (Ya kitayanka.) Literally "I Chinese," but it translates as "I'm Chinese." Я китаянка.

All together, Я не японка. Я китаянка. (Ya ne yaponka. Ya kitayanka.) Literally "I not Japanese. I Chinese," but it translates as "I'm not Japanese. I'm Chinese."

Я не японка. Я китаянка. (Ya ne yaponka. Ya kitayanka.)

The pattern is:

Я не NATIONALITYnoun. Я ACTUAL NATIONALITYnoun. (Ya ne NATIONALITY. Ya ACTUAL NATIONALITY.)

I'm not NATIONALITY. I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

This can be shortened to

Нет, я китаянка. (Net, ya kitayanka). "No, I'm Chinese." Нет, я китаянка.

This pattern is:

Нет, я ACTUAL NATIONALITYnoun.

No, I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

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

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

In Russian, adjectives of nationality can change based on gender. In these cases, we provide the masculine word for the nationality followed by the feminine one.

"American."

Американец (Amerikanets) . Американец.

Американка (Amerikanka) . Американка.

"Russian."

Русский (Russkiy) . Русский.

Русская (Russkaya) . Русская.

"Australian."

Австралиец (Avstraliyets) . Австралиец.

Австралийка (Avstraliyka) . Австралийка.

"British."

Англичанин (Anglichanin). . Англичанин .

Англичанка (Anglichanka). . Англичанка.

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 "yes"?

да (da)

And the word for an "American" woman?

американка (amerikanka)

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?)

Do you remember the word for a British man?

англичанин (anglichanin)

And the word for an Australian woman?

австралийка (avstraliyka)

Do you remember the word for a Russian man?

русский (russkiy)

And how to say "no?"

нет (net)

Do you remember how a woman would say, "No, I’m Chinese?"

Нет, я китаянка. (Net, ya kitayanka).

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Marina Maslova , and you’re American, or американка (amerikanka) in Russian.

Respond to the question.

Ready?

Ты американка? (Ty amerikanka?)

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

Listen again and repeat.

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

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Mia Martin , a student from Australia. "Australian" is австралийка (avstraliyka) in Russian.

Pay attention to the nationality in the question.

Ready?

Вы англичанка? (Vy anglichanka?)

Нет. Я австралийка. (Net. Ya avstraliyka.)

Listen again and repeat.

Нет. Я австралийка. (Net. Ya avstraliyka.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Jack Jones , and you're British, or англичанин (anglichanin) in Russian.

Ready?

Вы англичанин? (Vy anglichanin?)

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

Listen again and repeat.

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

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality 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.)

Do you remember how to say "from?"

Из (Iz).

And how Milena says,

"I am 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?)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , 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 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.)

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.)

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