Russian course
Basic Russian for beginners
Lesson 4:
What does this mean?
In this lesson you will learn:
- that in Russian articles do not exist.
- the full conjugation of a new Russian verb in the present
- two question words: "what" and "how"
Useful phrase in Russian
Listen and repeat the following sentence:
Что э́то зна́чит?
shto é-ta zná-chit?
What does this/it mean?
Что э́то?: This is another useful question. It means "what is this? / what is that?". So now you know how to ask two important questions: what is this? and what does it mean?
Russian vocabulary
Read, listen and repeat the basic vocabulary of this lesson:
English
Russian
Pronunciation
What
Что
shto
This / that/ it
Э́то
é-ta
Excuse me / sorry (informal)
Извини́
iz-vi-ní
Excuse me / sorry (formal)
Извини́те
iz-vi-ní-tye
Of course
Коне́чно
ka-nyésh-na
To know
Знать
znat'
How
Как
kak
How do you say...?
Как сказа́ть...?
kak ska-zát'
Dialogues in Russian
These dialogues will help you memorise this lesson's vocabulary:
Dialogue 1
English
Russian
Pronunciation
Excuse me, Lena. What is this?
Ле́на, извини́, что э́то?
lyé-na, iz-vi-ní, shto é-ta?
This is a book.
Э́то кни́га.
é-ta kní-ga.
What means "книга"?(*)
Что зна́чит "кни́га"?
shto zná-chit kní-ga?
"Книга" means "book" in English.
"Кни́га" зна́чит "book" по-англи́йски.
kní-ga zná-chit "book" pa-an-glíjs-ki.
Ok, thank you.
Хорошо́, спаси́бо.
ha-ra-shó, spa-sí-ba.
(*) что зна́чит "кни́га" = what does "book" mean?
Here we give you a literal translation ("what means 'кни́га'?" instead of "what does 'кни́га' mean?") to help you understand how the Russian sentence is built.
Dialogue 2
English
Russian
Pronunciation
Michael, do you know what means "book" in Russian?
Майкл, ты зна́ешь, что зна́чит "book" по-ру́сски?
Mai-kl, ty zná-yesh, shto zná-chit "book" pa-rús-ki?
No, I don't know, but Sasha knows.
Нет, я не зна́ю, но Са́ша зна́ет.
nyet, ya nye zná-yu, no Sá-sha zná-yet.
Sasha, do you know how to say "book" in Russian?
Са́ша, ты зна́ешь, как сказа́ть "book" по-ру́сски?
sá-sha, ty zná-yesh, kak ska-zát' "book" pa-rús-ki?
Книга
Кни́га.
kní-ga.
Thanks!
Спаси́бо!
spa-ś-ba!
Dialogue 3
English
Russian
Pronunciation
Excuse me, Mr. Smith. What is this?
Ми́стер Смит, извини́те, что э́то?
mís-ter smit, iz-vi-ní-tye, shto é-ta?
This is a book.
Э́то кни́га.
é-ta kní-ga.
I don't know what "книга" means. Do you know what "книга" (is) in Spanish?
Я не зна́ю, что зна́чит "кни́га". Вы зна́ете, как "кни́га" по-испа́нски?
ya nye zná-yu, shto zná-chit kní-ga. vy zná-ye-tye, kak kní-ga pa-is-páns-ki?
Of course I know. "Книга" means "libro" in Spanish.
Коне́чно, зна́ю. "Кни́га" зна́чит "libro" по-испа́нски.
ka-nésh-na zná-yu. kní-ga zná-chit "libro" pa-is-páns-ki.
Do you want to learn Russian with the best courses and books?
We recommend you the best Russian course, with 150 videos and personal tutor.
If you love reading, have a look at these books with stories in easy Russian with audio.
If you want to practice your Russian, here you can find exercise books, with key and grammar tables.
Russian grammar
Read the following grammar explanations for this lesson:
The articles in Russian
In Russian articles (a, an, the) do not exist. That is why a word like "кни́га" could mean either "a book" or "the book". Usually the context will help us know which is the right translation.
- Э́то кни́га = This/it is a book.
- Э́то кни́га = This/it is the book.
How to say "it" in Russian
In English "it" is used very often. In most cases "it" will be translated in Russian with the word "э́то" (which also means "this" and "that").
Above you have seen the example of "э́то кни́га". In future lessons you will have the chance to see more ways to say "it" in Russian.
Russian conjugations: the verb знать
In the previous lesson you have seen the present tense of the verb говори́ть. In this lesson you will learn the verb знать (to know).
Compare the endings of both verbs. As you can see, they have similarities and differences. In Russian there are two different "conjugations", that is, two different ways to build the present tense of a Russian verb.
- Verb: знать
- Я зна́ю
- Ты зна́ешь
- Он/она́/оно́ зна́ет
- Мы зна́ем
- Вы зна́ете
- Они́ зна́ют
- Verb: говори́ть
- Я говорю́
- Ты говори́шь
- Он/она́/оно́ говори́т
- Мы говори́м
- Вы говори́те
- Они́ говоря́т
Test
Check how much you have learnt in this lesson:
