Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 4
Меня зовут АннаMy name is Anna
Now you can read — and you start talking about yourself. The chapter's key phrase: меня зовут. Literally it's "[they] call me", and that's exactly how Russian says "my name is": Меня зовут Анна. It's a fixed expression — don't build it word-by-word from имя. (The word меня is in a special case; cases are in Book 2, for now just memorise the whole phrase.) Mike, of course, translates word-for-word from English and says "Я имя Майк" — Anya gives the right version. Also in the chapter: имя and фамилия, человек, друг, and the pointing word вот. Standard Russian.
Dialogue
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Меня зовут Иван— My name is Ivan
- IvanПривет!МенязовутИван.Аты?Hi! My name is Ivan. And you?
- AnyaМенязовутАня.Афамилия—Петрова.My name is Anya. And [my] surname is Petrova.
- IvanИван—тожеимя.Вот:тычеловек,ячеловек.Ivan is also a name. Look: you're a person, I'm a person.
- AnyaДа!Имыздесь,друг.Yes! And we're here, friend.
Dialogue
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Майк и фраза «меня зовут»— Mike and the Phrase "меня зовут"
- IvanМайк,менязовутИван.Аты?Mike, my name is Ivan. And you?
- MikeЯимяМайк.I name Mike. (wrong: a word-by-word calque of "I name Mike"; use the idiom меня зовут)
- AnyaНет,Майк!«МенязовутМайк».«Зовут»,не«имя».No, Mike! "Меня зовут Майк". Use "зовут", not "имя".
- MikeДа!МенязовутМайк.Спасибо,Аня!Yes! My name is Mike. Thank you, Anya!
Vocabulary
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- менязовут
phrasemy name is
- имя
nounname (n)
- фамилия
nounsurname (f)
- человек
nounperson (m)
- друг
nounfriend (m)
- это
pronounthis is / it is
- что
pronounwhat
- тоже
adverbalso, too
- вот
particlehere is, here you go
- а
conjunctionand / but (contrast)
- здесь
adverbhere
Grammar
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"Меня зовут…" — a set phrase
Explanation
To give your name, Russian says меня зовут + name: Меня зовут Анна. Literally it's "me [they] call Anna" — that is, "[people] call me Anna". Memorise the whole phrase as one block and don't translate it word-by-word from English: "Я имя…" is Mike's mistake. The word меня here is in the accusative case (its form is "меня", not "я"); cases are in Book 2, for now just learn it: меня зовут… To speak of another person the form changes (его зовут, её зовут) — but that's later. And remember: there's no verb "to be" in the present, so it's Это Анна, not "Это есть Анна".
Examples
- Меня зовут Иван.My name is Ivan.
- Вот имя и фамилия: Анна Петрова.Here are the name and surname: Anna Petrova.
- Это друг. Это человек.This is a friend. This is a person.
Cyrillic
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Читаем целые слова: имя, фамилия, человек— Reading whole words: имя, фамилия, человек
You know all the letters — now read the chapter's words as whole units and lock in two things. First: unstressed О and Е reduce. Человек sounds "chi-la-VYEK" (both opening vowels weakened), фамилия is "fa-MEEL-i-ya". Second: a voiced consonant at the end of a word devoices, so друг sounds "drook" (Г → "k"). And don't forget the soft sign: здесь = "zdyes'" with a soft "s" at the end. Listen and read aloud, leaning on the stress.
Read aloud, keeping in mind the stress, reduction, and final devoicing:
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