Breakdown of Смените пароль, отключите онлайн-платежи; никому не сообщайте код и реквизиты карты.
Questions & Answers about Смените пароль, отключите онлайн-платежи; никому не сообщайте код и реквизиты карты.
Why do смените and отключите end in -ите?
Because they are imperative forms addressed to:
- more than one person, or
- one person politely (like you in a formal notice)
So:
- смените = change
- отключите = disable / turn off
In warnings, instructions, and official messages, Russian often uses this polite/plural imperative.
Compare:
- смени пароль = change the password (informal, singular)
- смените пароль = change the password (polite or plural)
Why are смените and отключите used, but later it says не сообщайте, not не сообщите?
This is a very common aspect pattern in Russian.
Смените and отключите are perfective imperatives.
They tell someone to perform a single complete action:- change the password
- disable online payments
Не сообщайте is an imperfective negative imperative.
With negative commands, Russian often prefers the imperfective to mean:- don’t do this
- never do this
- don’t be in the habit of doing this
So the sentence combines:
- Do these actions now/completely
- Do not ever do this
That is why the aspect changes.
What does никому mean here?
Никому means to no one or more naturally in English, to anyone in a negative sentence.
It comes from никто = no one.
Its form here is dative case, because the verb сообщать / сообщить usually takes:
- the person told in the dative
- the information told in the accusative
So:
- никому не сообщайте = don’t tell anyone
Why is there no preposition before никому?
Because сообщать does not need one for the person receiving the information.
Russian structure is:
- сообщать кому? что?
- tell someone something
So:
- кому? → никому
- что? → код и реквизиты карты
This is similar to English tell someone something, where someone also appears without a preposition.
What exactly does реквизиты карты mean?
Реквизиты means details / particulars / banking details.
In this context, реквизиты карты means something like:
- card details
- card information
- bank card details
It is a very common word in financial or official Russian. It does not mean requisites in the everyday English sense.
Examples of what реквизиты карты may include:
- card number
- expiry date
- cardholder name
- sometimes other identifying payment details
Why is реквизиты plural?
Because in Russian this word is very often used as a plural-only or mostly plural idea when talking about a set of details.
So реквизиты is natural because card details are understood as multiple pieces of information.
That is why Russian says:
- сообщать реквизиты карты
- указать банковские реквизиты
Even when English might say information as an uncountable noun, Russian often uses a plural noun here.
Why is карты in the genitive case?
Because it depends on реквизиты:
- реквизиты чего? = details of what?
- карты = of the card
So:
- реквизиты карты = the card’s details / details of the card
This is a very common Russian noun + genitive pattern.
Other similar examples:
- номер телефона = phone number
- адрес банка = the bank’s address
- владелец карты = cardholder / owner of the card
Does карты apply only to реквизиты, or also to код?
Grammatically, карты directly modifies реквизиты:
- код и реквизиты карты
Literally, that looks like:
- the code and the card details
In real context, though, the meaning is clearly:
- the code and the card details
- in other words, both are related to the card/payment security situation
Russian often leaves some relationships implicit when the meaning is obvious.
If someone wanted to make it fully explicit, they might say something like:
- код карты и реквизиты карты
But that would sound repetitive. The original sentence is more natural.
Why is онлайн-платежи plural?
Because Russian often uses the plural for a category of transactions or a feature that can be turned on/off.
So отключите онлайн-платежи means:
- disable online payments
- turn off online payment functionality
Even if English might sometimes say online payment as a general feature, Russian naturally uses the plural here.
Why is there a semicolon in the sentence?
The semicolon separates two closely connected parts:
- Смените пароль, отключите онлайн-платежи
- никому не сообщайте код и реквизиты карты
It is stronger than a comma, but not as final as a period. It helps show:
- first: urgent actions to take
- second: an important warning
Russian punctuation often uses semicolons this way in formal instructions, alerts, and notices.
Could the word order be different?
Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the original is natural and clear.
For example, you could also say:
- Код и реквизиты карты никому не сообщайте.
This puts more emphasis on what must not be shared.
The original:
- никому не сообщайте код и реквизиты карты
puts early emphasis on don’t tell anyone.
Both are grammatical, but the original sounds very normal for an official warning.
Is this sentence formal?
Yes, it sounds like a formal instruction or security warning.
Clues:
- imperative plural/polite forms: смените, отключите, не сообщайте
- official vocabulary: реквизиты
- concise, command-style phrasing
This is exactly the kind of Russian you might see in:
- a bank message
- a fraud alert
- a support chat warning
- a security notification
How would this look in informal singular Russian?
If you were speaking casually to one person, the forms would usually be:
- Смени пароль, отключи онлайн-платежи; никому не сообщай код и реквизиты карты.
So the changes are:
- смените → смени
- отключите → отключи
- не сообщайте → не сообщай
The meaning stays the same, but the tone becomes informal and singular.
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