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A1How to saymenyá zovút

How to say “my name is” in Russian

Russian does not say “I am Tom”. It says “they call me Tom” — and that is the standard.

Quick answer

Меня́ зову́т…

menyá zovút — literally “they call me…”

The options

Меня́ зову́т Том.My name is Tom.
Как вас зову́т?What is your name? — polite
Как тебя́ зову́т?What is your name? — informal
Я Том.I’m Tom. — short, casual, fine among friends
О́чень прия́тно.Nice to meet you.

Why зову́т is plural

Literally the sentence means “they call me Tom” — an unnamed “they”. That is why the verb is in the third person plural and never changes: меня́, тебя́, его́, её зову́т.

What you hear back

О́чень прия́тно!Nice to meet you!
Прия́тно познако́миться.Pleased to meet you.
А меня́ А́нна.And I’m Anna.

Typical mistakes

Мой и́мя Том.

Меня́ зову́т Том.

Grammatically possible, but nobody introduces themselves that way.

Как ты зову́т?

Как тебя́ зову́т?

The person named goes into the accusative: тебя́.

Check yourself

How do you ask a stranger for their name?

Strangers get вас.

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