это

Russian

Etymology

See э́тот (étot).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛtə]

• Audio

  (file)

Pronoun

э́то • (éto) (demonstrative)

1. nominative neuter singular of э́тот (étot): this, it, that

   Мне э́то нра́вится! ― Mne éto nrávitsja! ― I like it! or I like that!

   Э́то яйцо́ — све́жее, а вот э́то — ту́хлое. ― Éto jajcó — svéžeje, a vot éto — túxloje. ― This egg is fresh, and this one is rotten.

   Э́то — учи́тель ― Éto — učítelʹ ― This is the teacher.

   Э́то — брат и сестра́ ― Éto — brat i sestrá ― They are brother and sister.

   Э́то не молоко́, а кефи́р ― Éto ne molokó, a kefír ― This is not milk, but kefir.

2. accusative neuter singular of э́тот (étot): this, it, that

Usage notes

• One of the uses of this form is to connect subject and predicate as kind of topic or subject marker. (However, as opposed to actual topic markers such as は (wa) in Japanese, ‘это’ may be omitted without changing the meaning or breaking the sentence structure.) Such usage does not get translated into English.

• Со́евое молоко́ — (э́то) напи́ток, полу́ченный из зёрен со́и

  Sójevoje molokó — (éto) napítok, polúčennyj iz zjóren sói

  Soy milk is a beverage produced from soybeans.

• Note that all of the above examples are ellipses in which the actual verb (есть (jestʹ) — is, суть (sutʹ) — are) has been omitted, which is typical for Russian. Oftentimes, the omitted verb is replaced by an em dash.

Interjection

э́то • (éto)

1. uh, er, erm, umm; used in hesitant speech

   Я, э́то, не купи́л ничего́ ― Ja, éto, ne kupíl ničevó ― I, er, I haven't bought anything.

Idioms

• вот э́то (vot éto, “this here, this over here/there”, pronoun/particle)
• вот э́то да́ (vot éto dá, “wow”, interjection)
• при э́том (pri étom, “in the process, in doing so; on top of that, withal, for good measure”, adverb)
• по́сле это́го (pósle etóvo, “afterwards, thereafter”, adverb)
• в э́то вре́мя (v éto vrémja, “at the time, at that time; meanwhile, in the mean time”, adverb)