Это не моя вина.

It is not my fault.

Breakdown of Это не моя вина.

• мой: my
• не: not
• это: it
• вина: the fault

Questions & Answers about Это не моя вина.

What does each word in Это не моя вина mean?

• Это = this / it
• не = not
• моя = my
• вина = fault, blame, guilt

So literally, the sentence is something like This is not my fault or It is not my fault.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So where English says:

• It is not my fault

Russian normally says:

• Это не моя вина

There is no present-tense есть here. Using есть would sound unnatural in this sentence.

Why does the sentence start with Это?

Это often works like this or it in English.

In this sentence, it helps create the meaning It’s not my fault or That’s not my fault.

It is very common to use это in sentences that identify or label something:

• Это моя книга. = This is my book.
• Это не проблема. = It’s not a problem.
• Это не моя вина. = It’s not my fault.

You can sometimes omit it in context and just say Не моя вина, but Это не моя вина is a complete, neutral sentence.