Кто это? Что это? — Identifying Things

The single most useful thing you can do on day one of Russian is point at something and name it. A child does it constantly — "What's that?" "A dog." "And that?" "A book." — and Russian lets you do exactly the same with almost no grammar. You need only two question words, кто (kto, "who") and что (shto, "what"), one frozen pointing-word э́то (éto, "this is / that is"), and one happy fact: in the present tense, Russian has no verb "to be" at all. That is the whole machinery of this page, and it carries you a surprisingly long way.

Кто (people) vs Что (things)

Russian splits "what is this?" into two questions depending on whether you are pointing at a living being or an object.

Кто э́то? — literally "who is this?" — you use it for people and animals (anything alive that you'd call who, not what, in English): your mother, your friend, a cat, a dog.
Что э́то? — "what is this?" — you use it for things: a table, a book, a phone, a window.

— Кто э́то? — Э́то ма́ма.

— Who is this? — This is mum. (ма́ма = mum, a person → кто)

— Что э́то? — Э́то стол.

— What is this? — This is a table. (стол = table, a thing → что)

This animate/inanimate split is not a quirk of these two words — it runs through the entire Russian case system, where "who-type" (animate) and "what-type" (inanimate) nouns sometimes take different endings. Here, at A1, it shows up in its gentlest form: just pick кто for the living and что for the lifeless.

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A reliable test: if you could answer "a person's name" or "an animal," ask with кто. If the answer is an object you'd never give a name, ask with что. A cat is кто (Кто э́то? — Э́то кот); a chair is что (Что э́то? — Э́то стул).

The magic word э́то — it never changes

The word you answer with — э́то — is the heart of this lesson, and the good news is that it is completely frozen. It means "this is," "that is," "it is," and even "these are" / "those are," all at once. It does not change for gender, and it does not change for singular or plural. One word covers every case.

Look at how э́то stays identical no matter what follows it:

You point at…	You say…	Meaning
a table (masculine)	Э́то стол.	This is a table.
a book (feminine)	Э́то кни́га.	This is a book.
a window (neuter)	Э́то окно́.	This is a window.
tables (plural)	Э́то столы́.	These are tables.

Э́то столы́, а э́то сту́лья.

These are tables, and these are chairs. (э́то stays the same even though both nouns are plural)

Э́то окно́, а э́то дверь.

This is a window, and this is a door. (neuter окно́ and feminine дверь — э́то doesn't budge)

This is a relief for English speakers, who expect "this/that/these/those" to be four different words. In Russian, for the purpose of identifying something, you have just one: э́то. (Later you'll meet э́тот / э́та / э́то / э́ти — the matching demonstrative "this table," "this book" that DOES agree with its noun. But the standalone pointing-word here is always the frozen neuter form э́то, and it is invariable.)

The big secret: no verb "to be"

Look again at Э́то стол ("This is a table"). Where is the word for "is"? It isn't there — and it shouldn't be. In the present tense, Russian simply omits the verb "to be." Russians don't say "this is a table"; they say, word for word, "this — table." The pause where English puts is is sometimes even written as a dash in more formal sentences (Москва́ — столи́ца, "Moscow is the capital").

Э́то мой друг.

This is my friend. (literally 'this — my friend'; there is no word for 'is')

Я студе́нт.

I'm a student. (literally 'I — student'; again, no 'am')

This is why these questions are the ideal first thing to learn: you don't have to conjugate any verb, and you don't have to change the noun's ending. The noun stays in its plain dictionary form — the form you'd find in a glossary — which is called the nominative case. Everything you say here is in the nominative, the home base of the case system.

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Resist the urge to insert "is." English speakers reflexively reach for a verb and produce ❌ Э́то есть стол. The word есть does exist, but it means "there is / there exists," not the linking "is," and it does not belong here. Plain Э́то стол is correct and complete.

Это vs Вот — "this is" vs "here is"

Alongside э́то you'll quickly meet вот (vot), which means "here is / there it is" — the word you say when you present or point out something, often handing it over or drawing attention to it.

Э́то identifies: "(What's that?) — It's a book."
Вот presents: "Here's the book (you were looking for)."

Вот твоя́ кни́га.

Here's your book. (presenting it — вот, not э́то)

— Где мой телефо́н? — Вот он.

— Where's my phone? — Here it is. (вот points it out)

A natural exchange uses both: you ask что э́то?, get told э́то..., and if you then locate the thing you say вот. They are partners, not rivals.

Saying your name: Как тебя́ зову́т?

One more everyday identification belongs here, because the answer uses the same plain dictionary form. To ask someone's name, Russian says Как тебя́ зову́т? — literally "how do they call you?" — and you answer with your name in its nominative form, usually after меня́ зову́т ("they call me").

— Как тебя́ зову́т? — Меня́ зову́т Анна.

— What's your name? — My name is Anna. (the name Анна is in its plain dictionary form)

— Как вас зову́т? — Ива́н.

— What's your name? (polite/plural) — Ivan. (you can answer with just the name)

Note that the polite or plural "you" version swaps тебя́ (informal "you") for вас (formal/plural). The name itself, however, stays in the nominative — the same home-base form as стол and кни́га. (The form меня́ / тебя́ / вас is a different case on the person, but you can simply memorize the whole phrase for now.)

A little picture tour

String these together and you can already narrate a whole picture book:

— Кто э́то? — Э́то на́ша соба́ка, Ре́кс.

— Who is this? — This is our dog, Rex. (an animal → кто; the name stays nominative)

— Что э́то? — Э́то наш дом, а вот сад.

— What is this? — This is our house, and here's the garden. (что for things; вот to point out the garden)

Common Mistakes

❌ Что э́то? — Э́то моя́ сестра́.

Incorrect question word — a sister is a person, so you must ask with кто, not что.

✅ Кто э́то? — Э́то моя́ сестра́.

Who is this? — This is my sister. (people → кто)

❌ Э́то есть стол.

Incorrect — Russian has no linking 'is' in the present; don't insert есть here.

✅ Э́то стол.

This is a table. (zero copula — no verb at all)

❌ Э́ти столы́.

Incorrect when you mean 'these are tables' — the pointing-word is the frozen э́то, which never changes for plural.

✅ Э́то столы́.

These are tables. (э́то is invariable; only the noun goes plural)

❌ Вот стол? — when you mean 'What is this?'

Incorrect — вот presents ('here is'), it doesn't ask. To ask, use Что э́то?

✅ Что э́то? — Э́то стол. И вот ещё оди́н.

What is this? — This is a table. And here's another one. (что asks; вот presents)

Key Takeaways

Ask Кто э́то? for people and animals, Что э́то? for things — the animate/inanimate split that runs through all of Russian, in its easiest form.
Answer with the frozen э́то ("this/that/these are"), which never changes for gender or number: Э́то стол, Э́то кни́га, Э́то столы́.
Russian has no present-tense "to be." You say "this — table," not "this is a table"; don't insert есть.
Every noun here stays in its plain dictionary form, the nominative case — no endings to change.
Вот ("here is") presents a thing; э́то identifies it. Use Как тебя́ зову́т? to ask a name, answered with the name in its plain form.

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