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Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Lesson: Russian first names

Russian first names are masculine and feminine just like adjectives.

Russians have full first names and also what is known as a diminutive first name (which is a form of their full first name).

A Russian's name will change as they age.

On an official birth certificate would be a new baby's full first name.

Her mother would likely call her by an endearing form for her whole life (this is like a pet name).
When the child goes to school she is called by a diminutive name by her teacher and classmates.

To complicate things more, when her friends get to know her better they call her by a pejorative form (this is like a nick name but is just a different form of the diminutive).

In higher grades she will likely be called by her full name by teachers (or her last name only). Her friends still use the diminutive.

She will be called by her full name when she is an adult, and probably occasionally called by the endearing form, what her mother called her, by her husband.

The same goes for male children.

Some Russian first names and their diminutive forms:

Masculine names:

Александр/Саша
Андрей/ Андрюша
Борис/ Боря
Виктор/ Витя
Григорий/ Гера
Иван/ Ваня
Михаил/ Миша
Сергей/ Серёжа
Юрий/ Юра

These names do not have a special diminutive form; Игорь, Максим, Олег.

Feminine names:

Александра /Саша
Анна /Аня
Валентина / Валя
Екатерина /Катя
Елена /Лена
Ирина /Ира
Мария /Маша
Ольга /Оля
София /Сотя
Татьяна /Таня

These names do not have a special diminutive form; Вера, Мариня, Нина.

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