ты

Informal Singular You

Level 1Sounds Like ty

Ты is the Russian word for 'you' when speaking to one person you know well. It is the equivalent of 'thou' in archaic English or 'tu' in Romance languages.

How It Works

The pronoun ты is more than just a word; it defines the relationship between speakers.

1. Social Usage:
Use ты with:

  • Close friends and family members.
  • Children (even if you don't know them).
  • Pets and animals.
  • God (in religious contexts).

2. Grammatical Agreement:
When ты is the subject, the verb must change to match it:

3. Declension:
Like all Russian pronouns, ты changes its form based on its role in the sentence (case):

  • Nominative (Subject): ты
  • Genitive/Accusative (Object): тебя
  • Dative: тебе
  • Instrumental: тобой
  • Prepositional: тебе

Examples (5)

  1. Ты уже дома?

    Are you home already?

    Word by Word: You already at-home?

    A simple question using the nominative case 'ты' as the subject.

  2. Что ты читаешь?

    What are you reading?

    Word by Word: What you reading?

    Shows the verb agreement '-ешь' that always follows 'ты' in the first conjugation.

  3. Я тебя очень люблю.

    I love you very much.

    Word by Word: I you very love.

    Here, 'тебя' is the accusative form of 'ты' because it is the object of the verb.

  4. Ты был в парке?

    Were you in the park?

    Word by Word: You were in park?

    In the past tense, the verb 'был' agrees with a male subject 'ты'.

  5. Ты была в парке?

    Were you in the park?

    Word by Word: You were in park?

    In the past tense, the verb 'была' agrees with a female subject 'ты'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'ты' with strangers or superiors.

    Извините, ты не знаешь, где метро?
    Извините, вы не знаете, где метро?

    Using 'ты' with an adult stranger is considered rude. Always use 'вы' until invited to switch to 'ты'.

  • Mixing formal greetings with 'ты'.

    Здравствуйте! Как ты?
    Привет! Как ты?

    Consistency is key. 'Здравствуйте' is formal, while 'ты' is informal. Use 'Привет' with 'ты'.

  • Confusing 'ты' (you) with 'твой' (your).

    Где ты собака?
    Где твоя собака?

    Learners often use the subject pronoun 'ты' when they need the possessive adjective 'твой'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

тыLevel 1Informal Singular You

Learn This First

To understand 'ты', a learner needs to know the concept of a grammatical subject and the social distinction between formal and informal address in Russian.

Words in This Pattern