Question 1

Why does the Russian sentence use как (how) instead of "what"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we ask "What is your name?", but Russian approaches this differently. The literal translation of this phrase is "How do they call you?". That is why we use как (how) instead of a word for "what".

Question 2

I learned that "your" is ваш. Why does this sentence use вас?

Accepted Answer

Because of how the Russian phrase is built ("How do they call you?"), you are the object receiving the action. вас is the object form of вы (formal or plural "you"). If you used ваш, it would mean "your", which doesn't fit this specific verb.

Question 3

Doesn't зовут mean "they call"? Who is "they" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, зовут is the "they" form of the verb звать (to call). In Russian, to say what someone is called, you use a generic "they". It doesn't refer to specific people; it just means "How do people generally call you?"

Question 4

Is this a formal or informal way to ask for someone's name?

Accepted Answer

This sentence is formal. You can tell because извините is the polite way to say "excuse me", and вас is the polite form of "you". If you were asking a child or someone your own age in a casual setting, you would say извини, как тебя зовут?.

Извините, как вас зовут?

Breakdown of Извините, как вас зовут?

Questions & Answers about Извините, как вас зовут?

Learn Извините, как вас зовут and more in Russian