Describe Yourself in Russian

Can you describe yourself in Russian? It’s useful to be able to talk about yourself when you’re getting to know new people, speaking to an official person or filling out a form. Whatever the situation, the Rocket Russian team have created this free audio lesson to make it easier for you.

Perhaps you’re booking into a hotel, or going for an interview. You’ll probably be asked some basic personal questions in Russian like “what is your name?” “where are you from?” “what is your date of birth?” or questions about your family.

These are all useful things to be able to talk about for everyday conversations...

Resources for further reading:

How to describe yourself in Russian

Let's go through some of the most common questions you might be asked, whether you're filling out a registration form in a hotel or at the consulate getting a new passport. In these situations, you'll be addressed with "Вы" [vy] (and its forms like вас [vas], вам [vam]). The informal "ты" [ty] will only be used between friends and close family members.

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Как вас зовут?

Kak vaz zavoot?

What's your name?

Откуда вы?

Atkooda vy?

Where are you from?

Кто вы по-национальности?

Kto vy pa natsianal’nasti?

What's your nationality?

Сколько вам лет?

Skol’ka vam let?

How old are you?

Ваша дата рождения?

Vasha data razhdenia?

What is your date of birth?

In Russian there is no one word for ‘siblings’. You will have to use a separate word for each sibling, like брат [brat] for brother, or сестра [sistra] for sister.

У вас есть братья или сëстры?

Oo vas est’ brat'a eeli syostry?

Do you have siblings?

Сколько у вас братьев?

Skol’ka oo vas brat'ef?

How many brothers do you have?

Сколько у вас сестëр?

Skol’ka oo vas sistyor?

How many sisters do you have?

У вас есть дети?

Oo vas est’ deti?

Do you have children?

Сколько у вас детей?

Skol’ka oo vas ditei?

How many children do you have?

Вы женат?

Vy zhinat?

Are you married? (asking a man)

Вы замужем?

Vy zamuzhem?

Are you married? (asking a woman)

Какой ваш адрес?

Kakoi vash adris?

What is your address?

Какой ваш номер телефона?

Kakoi vash nomir tilifona?

What is your telephone number?

Какой номер вашего мобильника?

Kakoi nomir vashiva mabeel’nika?

What is your cell phone number?

Какой номер вашего паспорта?

Kakoi nomir vashiva pasparta?

What is your passport number?

Какой адрес вашей электронной почты ?

Kakoi adris vashei eliktronnai pochty?

What is your email address?

How to answer questions about yourself

When you're responding, you can follow one of the simple formats below. Just insert the appropriate information in the brackets.

Меня зовут [your name]

Minya zavoot [your name]

My name is [your name].

Я из [your country name]

Ya eez [your country name]

I'm from [country name].

Note: Nationalities will have different endings depending on the gender of the person in question:

Я американец.

Ya amirikanits

I'm American (masc.)

Я американка.

Ya amirikanka

I'm American (fem.)

In Russian to express your age you have to use the non-verbal structure: to me + age number + years (example: I'm 30 years old = Мне 30 лет. [mne treetsat’ let])

Мне тридцать лет

Mne treetsat’ let

I'm 30 years old

Мне [number] лет.

Mne [number] let.

I am [number] years old.

Мой день рождения [day] [month] [year].

Moi den’ razhdenia [day] [month] [year].

My birthday is on [day] [month] [year].

У меня есть брат.

Oo minya est’ brat.

I've got a brother.

У меня есть сестра.

Oo minya est’ sistra.

I've got a sister.

If you want to say that you don't have any siblings, it can get quite complicated in Russian. So the best way to answer this question will simply be:

Нет. У меня нет.

Net. Oo minya net.

No, I don't have any.

If you want to say that you have children, describe your marital status, or state your address or phone number here are some simple phrases for you. Please note that Russian men and women use different words for "married":

Да, у меня есть дети.

Da, oo minya est’ deti

Yes, I have children.

Да, я женат.

Da, ya zhinat

Yes, I'm married (male speaking)

Нет, я не женат.

Net, ya ni zhinat

No, I'm not married (male speaking.)

Да, я замужем.

Da, ya zamuzhem

Yes, I'm married (female speaking)

Нет, я не замужем.

Net, ya ni zamuzhem

No, I'm not married (female speaking)

Мой адрес [address]

Moi adris [address]

My address is [address]

Мой номер телефона [number]

Moi nomir tilifona [number]

My telephone number is [number].

Мой мобильный телефон [number]

Moi mabeel’nyi tilifon [number]

My cell phone number is [number].

How to fill out forms in Russian

If you find yourself being asked to fill out forms with your personal details, you may not get the complete questions that you've studied above. Instead, you could get short words or phrases:

Имя

Eemia

First name

Фамилия

fameelia

Family name / surname

Национальность

Natsianal’nast’

Nationality

Пол

Pol

Gender

Возраст

Vozrast

Age

дата рождения

data razhdenia

date of birth

адрес

adris

address

номер паспорта [number]

nomir pasparta [number]

My passport number is [number]

*Addresses in Russian come in a different format than in the US and other English speaking countries. We say the street name first then the house or building number. If you are staying at an apartment, you would have to say your address in this order:

  1. Street name

  2. Building number

  3. Your apartment number.

Example

Москва, ул.Тверская 10, кв.2

Maskva, oolitsa Tvirskaia 10, kvarteera 2

Moscow, st. Tverskaia, apartment 2.

улица

oolitsa

street

квартира

kvarteera

apartment; flat

Here are a few recommended Russian lessons to try next!

До скорого! (da skorava)

Natalya Dubrov: Rocket Russian

Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement

Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!