Tutorial
In Course: Russian A2

Naming People Versus Naming Things

Master the spoken contrast between personal naming with зовут and inanimate naming with называться in conversational Russian.

A professional Russian tour guide, smiling, stands in the mid-ground, slightly to the left, with the vibrant, onion-domed St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow filling the background under a clear blue sky. Crisp daylight illuminates the scene, highlighting the architectural details and the guide's friendly expression, composed for a 3:2 landscape frame.
en-GB → ru-RU

Management & Tools

Deck Contents

25 Cards
Lesson#1
In Russian, you cannot name an object, a place, or a business the same way you name a person. While people and pets are called using the verb 'зовут', inanimate things use the reflexive verb 'называться'. In this deck, you will master the spoken contrast between these two naming frames in everyday conversation.
Lesson#2
When asking for someone's name, you use 'Как зовут?'. When asking for the name of an object, organisation, or landmark, you use 'Как называется?'. To ask both in one go, say: 'Как зовут этого человека и как называется его компания?'.
Quiz#3
Translate into Russian: 'What is this person called, and what is his company called?'

Как зовут этого человека и как называется его компания

Quiz#4
Translate into Russian: 'What is the director called, and what is the firm called?'

Как зовут директора и как называется фирма

Lesson#5
In statements, people take 'зовут', while venues, hotels, and businesses take 'называется'. For example: 'Наша гостиница называется Волга, а администратора зовут Михаил', which means 'Our hotel is called Volga, and the receptionist is called Mikhail'.
Quiz#6
Translate into Russian: 'Our hotel is called Volga, and the receptionist is called Mikhail.'

Наша гостиница называется Волга, а администратора зовут Михаил

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