My Family in Russian
Family words are among the first Russians ask about — У вас есть семья? — and they're perfect practice for the two patterns you already own: gender agreement and «у меня есть».
The Cast
| Russian | English | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| мама / папа | mom / dad | f / m (папа is masculine!) |
| брат / сестра | brother / sister | m / f |
| сын / дочь | son / daughter | m / f (soft sign!) |
| бабушка / дедушка | grandma / grandpa | f / m |
| муж / жена | husband / wife | m / f |
| родители | parents | plural |
| семья | family | f |
Whose?
You know мой / моя / моё. Family adds two more owners:
| masculine | feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| my | мой брат | моя сестра |
| your (friend) | твой брат | твоя сестра |
| your (polite) | ваш муж | ваша жена |
Это ваш муж? — Да, это мой муж.
Is this your husband? — Yes, this is my husband.
Note: Polite ваш for someone you'd address as вы.
Introducing Them
Two patterns do all the work. У меня есть… says who exists:
У меня есть брат и сестра.
I have a brother and a sister.
And the dash introduces them — it's the written form of the invisible "is":
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| Мой брат — студент. | My brother is a student. |
| Моя мама — врач. | My mom is a doctor. |
| Мой папа — инженер. | My dad is an engineer. |
У тебя есть братья или сёстры?
Do you have brothers or sisters?
Да, у меня есть брат. Ему десять лет.
Yes, I have a brother. He's ten.
А это кто?
And who's this?
Это Барсик. Он тоже семья!
That's Barsik. He's family too!
Common Mistakes
- моя папа. The ending says feminine, the person says masculine — the person wins: мой папа.
- Дочь without its gender. Soft-sign nouns can go either way; дочь is feminine: моя дочь.
- Hunting for “is”. Мой брат студент needs no verb — in writing, a dash marks the spot.
What You Can Do Now
You can present your whole family — who they are, whose they are, what they do, and how old they are (Ему десять лет). That's the second question every Russian conversation asks.