Меня зовут Иван.

My name is Ivan.

Breakdown of Меня зовут Иван.

• меня: me
• Иван: Ivan
• звать: to call

Questions & Answers about Меня зовут Иван.

Why is it меня, not я, in Меня зовут Иван?

Russian changes noun and pronoun endings depending on their grammatical role (case system).

• я = I (nominative case, the subject of a sentence)
• меня = me (accusative/genitive case, typically the object)

In Меня зовут Иван, the hidden, literal idea is (They) call me Ivan.
So меня is the object of the verb зовут (they call), just like me in English:

• They call me Ivan. → Меня зовут Иван.

That’s why я (subject form) is wrong here and меня (object form) is correct.

What does зовут literally mean, and what form is it?

Зовут comes from the verb звать, which literally means to call (someone by a name).

• звать – to call (someone)
• зовут – they call

Grammatically, зовут is:

• 3rd person
• plural
• present tense

So a very literal translation of Меня зовут Иван is (They) call me Ivan.

Why is зовут plural (they call) when I’m talking about myself?

Russian has many impersonal or semi-impersonal constructions where they is used in a general sense.

Меня зовут Иван is one of them. It doesn’t refer to specific people; it’s like saying:

• I am called Ivan or
• People call me Ivan

So the 3rd person plural зовут is a fixed, idiomatic way to say someone is called X.
You do not change it to match yourself:

• ❌ Меня зову Иван
• ✅ Меня зовут Иван

Can I say Я Иван instead of Меня зовут Иван? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say Я Иван, and it’s very common.

Nuance:

• Меня зовут Иван.

  • Literally: They call me Ivan.
  • Natural in introductions, especially slightly more formal or neutral situations.
  • Often used like: Здравствуйте, меня зовут Иван.

• Я Иван.

  • Literally: I am Ivan.
  • Shorter, more casual, often used when the context is very informal or when you’re pointing yourself out in a group:
    Я Иван, а это Анна. – I’m Ivan, and this is Anna.

Both are correct; Меня зовут Иван just sounds a bit more like a “set phrase” for introducing yourself.

What’s the difference between Меня зовут Иван and Моё имя Иван?

Both mean My name is Ivan, but they feel different:

• Меня зовут Иван.

  • Most common, natural way in conversation.
  • Neutral, everyday speech.
  • Used for introductions.

• Моё имя Иван.

  • Literally: My name is Ivan.
  • Feels more formal, bookish, or like something from a document, form, or official speech.
  • In everyday speech, it can sound stiff or overly formal.

In most real-life situations (meeting people), use Меня зовут Иван or Я Иван.

How do I ask someone’s name using this pattern?

The standard question is:

• Как тебя зовут? – What’s your name? (informal ты)
• Как вас зовут? – What’s your name? (formal or plural вы)

Literally: How do they call you?

So a typical exchange is:

• Как тебя зовут? – What’s your name?
• Меня зовут Иван. – My name is Ivan.

What case is Иван in, and why isn’t it Ивана or Иваном?

In Меня зовут Иван, Иван is in the nominative case (the basic dictionary form).

The verb звать can take:

• the person in the accusative (меня)
• the name either in nominative (Иван) or sometimes instrumental (Иваном)

In modern everyday Russian:

• Меня зовут Иван. (nominative) – by far the most common and natural.
• Меня зовут Иваном. (instrumental) – grammatically correct, but feels more formal/old-fashioned or stylistically marked.

So you almost always say Меня зовут Иван with Иван in the nominative.

Is Меня зовут Иван gender-specific? Do women say something different?

The phrase is not gender-specific. It stays the same for men and women:

• A man: Меня зовут Иван.
• A woman: Меня зовут Анна.

Nothing in меня or зовут changes with gender.
Only the name itself changes, of course.

Can I change the word order, like Иван меня зовут?

The neutral, correct word order is:

• Меня зовут Иван.

Other orders are possible but sound different:

• Иван меня зовут.
  
  • Grammatically possible but sounds unusual, poetic, or like you’re emphasizing Иван in a marked way.
  • Not what beginners should use in normal conversation.

For everyday introductions, stick to Меня зовут Иван or Я Иван.

How do I pronounce Меня зовут Иван correctly?

Phonetic hints (stressed vowels in caps):

• Меня – [mee-NYA]
  
  • Stress on ня: me-NYA
  • е is like ye in yes, but unstressed here and sounds closer to и/йи.
• зовут – [za-VOOT]
  
  • Stress on вут: za-VOOT
  • о before the stressed syllable often sounds like a, so it’s closer to za-VOOT than zo-VOOT.
• Иван – [ee-VAHN]
  
  • Stress on -ван: ee-VAHN

Together:

• Меня зовут Иван. → roughly mee-NYA za-VOOT ee-VAHN.

Why can’t I just translate word-for-word and say Я зовут Иван?

Because зовут is 3rd person plural (they call), and я is 1st person singular (I). They don’t match:

• Я зовут Иван. – literally I they call Ivan → ungrammatical.

The structure is:

• (Они) зовут меня Иван. – (They) call me Ivan.
  → Меня зовут Иван.

Russian is using a kind of impersonal “they”, not I. That’s why the subject я is not used here.

Is there another verb I can use, like зовусь?

Yes, there is a more old-fashioned or formal reflexive verb зваться:

• Я зову́сь Иван. – I am called Ivan.

This is grammatically correct but in modern everyday speech it sounds:

• old-fashioned,
• poetic, or
• very formal.

In normal conversation, Меня зовут Иван and Я Иван are much more natural.

Is Меня зовут Иван formal or informal? In what situations can I use it?

Меня зовут Иван is neutral in style and works almost everywhere:

• meeting friends of friends
• in class
• at work
• in semi-formal or even fairly formal settings

It’s polite enough for most situations but not stiff.
If you need to be very polite, you can extend it:

• Здравствуйте, меня зовут Иван Петров. – Hello, my name is Ivan Petrov.