Breakdown of Он не хочет говорить о своей приватности.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
говорить
to speak, to talk
хотеть
to want
о
about (о, об, обо)
свой
one's own
приватность
privacy
Questions & Answers about Он не хочет говорить о своей приватности.
Why do we use своей here instead of его if the subject is 'He'?
In Russian, when a possessive pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence, we use the reflexive pronoun свой (meaning 'one's own'). If we used его here (Он не хочет говорить о его приватности), it would mean he does not want to talk about some other guy's privacy.
Why is свой in the form своей?
Свой must agree with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case. The noun приватность is feminine and singular. Because it follows the preposition о ('about'), the phrase must be in the Prepositional case. The feminine singular Prepositional form of свой is своей.
Why does приватности end in -и instead of the usual Prepositional -е?
Приватность is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign (-ь). These belong to the 3rd declension (like дверь or вещь). In the Prepositional case, 3rd declension nouns always take an -и ending instead of an -е, making it о приватности.
Is приватность the standard word for 'privacy' in Russian?
It is a relatively modern borrowing used specifically for personal boundaries or data privacy (like a 'privacy policy'). For the broader idea of keeping things private or being alone, Russians frequently use phrases like личная жизнь (personal life) or уединение (solitude/seclusion).
Learn Он не хочет говорить о своей приватности and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free