Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 6
Вы откуда?Where are you from?
Where are you from? I am from Russia. I am Russian. We learn to talk about country, city and language — and nationality. The word русский changes by gender: он русский (m), она русская (f). As before, there is no verb "to be" in the present: "Я русский" — no "is". New words: country, Russia, Russian, city, America, Japan, China, where-from, language, to know. Culture section: name and patronymic. Reading: countries and nationalities (Росси́я, ру́сский), double consonants.
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Вы откуда?— Where Are You From?
- IvanПривет!Тыоткуда?ЯизРоссии,ярусский.Hi! Where are you from? I am from Russia, I am Russian.
- MikeЯестьизАмерики.I am from America. (slip: inserted есть; Russian uses no copula → "Я из Америки")
- IvanБез«есть»—просто«ЯизАмерики».Хорошо,тыизАмерики!Without "есть" — just "Я из Америки". Good, you are from America!
- MikeДа!ЯизАмерики.Аязнаюрусскийязык!Yes! I am from America. And I know the Russian language!
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Русская или русский?— Russian (f) or Russian (m)?
- AnyaЯизРоссии.Ярусская,иязнаюрусскийязык.I am from Russia. I am Russian (f), and I know the Russian language.
- MikeТырусский?Are you Russian? (slip: русский is masculine; for Anya say русская)
- AnyaЯрусская—яженщина.«Русский»—этомужчина.АтыизАмерики?"Русская" — I am a woman. "Русский" is a man. And you are from America?
- MikeДа,яизАмерики.ГородЧикаго—хорошийгород!Yes, I am from America. The city of Chicago is a good city!
Vocabulary
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
- страна
nouncountry (f)
- Россия
nounRussia
- русский/русская
adjectiveRussian (m / f)
- город
nouncity (m)
- Америка
nounAmerica
- Япония
nounJapan
- Китай
nounChina
- откуда
adverbwhere from
- язык
nounlanguage; tongue (m)
- знать
verbto know
Grammar
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Nationality: русский / русская
Explanation
To say where you are from, use из + country: "Я из России" (I am from Russia), "Я из Америки" (from America) — the final letter shifts a little; for now learn it as a phrase (cases are Book 2). Nationality is an adjective and changes by gender: a man says "Я русский", a woman "Я русская". And again: there is no verb "to be" in the present. "Я русский" is literally "I Russian" — no "is". The question: "Вы откуда?" or "Откуда вы?".
Examples
- Вы откуда? — Я из России.Where are you from? — I am from Russia.
- Он русский, она русская.He is Russian (m), she is Russian (f).
- Я из Америки. Город большой.I am from America. The city is big.
- Я знаю русский язык.I know the Russian language. (знать → я знаю)
Culture
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Имя и отчествоName and patronymic
A Russian's full name has THREE parts, and how you address someone — by first name, or by first name + patronymic — signals exactly how formal you are being.
The three-part name
Given name + patronymic (from the father's name) + surname: Иван Петрович Смирнов = Ivan, son of Pyotr, Smirnov. Women's patronymics end in -овна/-евна: Мария Ивановна = daughter of Ivan.
Name + patronymic = respect
You address teachers, bosses, elders, and officials by first name + patronymic (Мария Ивановна), never by the first name alone. It is the polite default for anyone senior.
Diminutives for closeness
Friends and family use affectionate short forms: Александр → Sasha, Мария → Masha. Surname alone, by contrast, is for rosters and officialdom — not for conversation.
Rule of thumb: address anyone older or senior by first name + patronymic; with friends and peers, the first name (or its diminutive) is fine.
Cyrillic
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Страны и двойные согласные— Countries and double consonants
Today we read country and nationality names. Watch the double consonants: Россия and русский are spelt with two с — hold the "s" a touch longer: "ras-SEE-ya", "ROOS-skiy". Remember the unstressed о: it sounds like "a" — город = "GO-rat" (the final д devoices to "t"). And note: the stress is often at the end — страна = "stra-NA", язык = "ya-ZYK". Read aloud and trust your ear.
Read the country and language words aloud:
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →