Russian · phrasebook

What is your name in Russian

What is your name in Russian is Как тебя зовут? (kak tebya zovut), literally how do they call you. The formal version is Как вас зовут?, and the answer mirrors the grammar: Меня зовут Анна, they call me Anna.

Aurélien CuvelierAug 9, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

Как тебя зовут?

kak tebya zovut

informal

The ways to say it

How to use it

Russian does not ask what your name IS; it asks how people CALL you. The person is the object in the accusative (тебя, вас, меня) and зовут is literally they call, an impersonal third-person plural. That is why the answer keeps the same shape: Меня зовут Иван.

After the introductions, очень приятно (very pleasant) is the standard nice to meet you, often with the fuller приятно познакомиться, pleasant to have met.

Watch out

The word-for-word translation Что твоё имя? is grammatical rubble to a Russian ear: the language simply does not phrase the question that way. Learn Как тебя зовут? as a unit.

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