Asking "What/Who Is This?" in Russian

The Core Concept: Animate vs. Inanimate

In English, we typically use "who" for people and "what" for everything else. Russian expands this idea. The question word you choose depends on whether the noun is considered "animate" (living) or "inanimate" (not living).

• Кто? (kto) is used for animate nouns: people and animals.
• Что? (chto) is used for inanimate nouns: objects, plants, and abstract concepts.

This is a fundamental grammatical category in Russian that you'll see appear again and again, especially when we get to noun cases. Getting it right from the start will make your life much easier later on.

To see this concept in action with lots of clear examples, let's watch a video.

Breaking Down the Phrases

Now let's look at the components of these simple but powerful questions.

The structure is simple: [Question Word] + это?

1. The Question Words:

   • Кто? [kto] — Who? (for people and animals)
   • Что? [chto] — What? (for objects and things)

2. The "Pointer" Word: Это
   The word это [éta] is incredibly useful. In this context, it functions as a demonstrative pronoun that means "this is" or "these are."

   Notice how this mirrors the verb-less sentences from our last lesson:

   • Я психолог. (I am a psychologist.)
   • Это книга. (This is a book.)

   The structure for an answer is simply Это + [Noun].

   A key feature you'll appreciate from your linguistics background is that in this construction, это is indeclinable. It does not change for gender or number.

   • Это стол. (This is a table.) — стол is masculine
   • Это книга. (This is a book.) — книга is feminine
   • Это окно. (This is a window.) — окно is neuter
   • Это книги. (These are books.) — книги is plural

   This simple, unchanging это is what you will use to form your answers.

Putting It All Together: Questions and Answers

Now you have all the pieces. Let's practice forming questions and answers.

• You see a dog. A dog is animate.

  • Question: Кто это? (Who is this?)
  • Answer: Это собака. (This is a dog.)

• You see a house. A house is inanimate.

  • Question: Что это? (What is this?)
  • Answer: Это дом. (This is a house.)

Let's Practice!

Here is a worksheet with various images. Look at each picture, decide if it's animate or inanimate, and practice forming the correct question and answer in your head. The word bank at the bottom provides the vocabulary you need.

Try it for a few images:

• The second image in the top row (a tree).
• The first image in the second row (a boy).
• The last image in the third row (a book).

Think about the question and answer for each before moving on.

• Tree: Что это? — Это дерево.
• Boy: Кто это? — Это мальчик.
• Book: Что это? — Это книга.

Conclusion

Excellent work! You have now mastered two of the most fundamental questions for interacting with the Russian-speaking world. This skill allows you to learn new vocabulary simply by pointing at something and asking what it is.

Key Takeaways:

• Russian grammar distinguishes between animate (living) and inanimate (non-living) nouns.
• Use Кто? (Who?) for people and animals.
• Use Что? (What?) for objects, plants, and concepts.
• The questions are formed as Кто это? and Что это?.
• The answer structure is Это + [Noun] (e.g., Это дом.).
• In this context, это means "this is" or "these are" and does not change for gender or number.

Next time...

You can now point to an object and identify it, for example, "Это книга." (This is a book). In our next lesson, we will learn how to make this sentence negative by adding the particle не, so you can say "Это не журнал." (This is not a magazine). This will add another crucial layer to your descriptive abilities.