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A2How to sayya skucháyu po tebé

How to say “I miss you” in Russian

Two ways to miss someone, and the grammar is different in each.

Quick answer

Я скуча́ю по тебе́

ya skucháyu po tebé — по + dative — one of the few places it appears

The options

Я скуча́ю по тебе́.I miss you. — по + dative
Я скуча́ю по вам.I miss you. — polite or plural
Мне тебя́ не хвата́ет.I miss you. — literally “you are lacking to me”
Скуча́ю!Missing you! — short, in a message
Когда́ уви́димся?When will we see each other?

Two different sentences

Скуча́ть по takes the dative: по тебе́, по до́му, по Москве́. The other version flips it: you go into the dative and the missing person into the genitive — мне тебя́ не хвата́ет. Both are common; the second is a shade more literary.

What you hear back

Я то́же скуча́ю.I miss you too.
И я по тебе́.Me too.
Ско́ро уви́димся.We’ll see each other soon.

Typical mistakes

Я скуча́ю тебя́.

Я скуча́ю по тебе́.

The verb needs по plus the dative.

Я скуча́ю по тебя́.

Я скуча́ю по тебе́.

по takes the dative, not the accusative.

Check yourself

Which is correct?

по + dative. (The third is a regional form you may hear in the south.)

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