кто
kto[kto]
The English phrase "who" is translated into Russian as кто (kto).
кто is an interrogative pronoun used to ask about people.
Meaning: who? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
Which one should you use?
In Russian, use кто to refer to people, whereas что is used for inanimate objects or animals when the gender is irrelevant or unknown.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word кто does not change its form based on gender. However, it does change based on its grammatical case in a sentence. It changes to кого when the person is the direct object (e.g., "Whom do you see?"), to кому for the indirect object (e.g., "To whom are you speaking?"), to кем to express being accompanied by someone or using a tool (e.g., "by whom / with whom"), and to о ком when used with the preposition о to mean "about whom".
How do you pronounce it?
kto
Did you know?
- While кто is for people, Russians often use it for pets when treating them as family members rather than animals.
- The word кто shares a distant linguistic ancestor with the English word 'who' and the Latin 'quis', all tracing back to the same Proto-Indo-European root.
- The word кто belongs to a group of pronouns that can act as 'indefinite' pronouns when combined with suffixes, such as кто-то for 'someone'.
Examples in context
- Где я? Кто я?Where am I? Who am I?This sentence shows how to ask "Who am I?" using кто.Tatoeba #8538764 by sharptoothed, translation #9234965 by kedymera
- Я знаю, кто я.I know who I am.This sentence uses кто to state "I know who I am".Tatoeba #3530817 by marafon, translation #1828615 by Amastan
- Кто дал ей её?Who gave it to her?This sentence uses кто to ask "Who gave it to her?"Tatoeba #7358143 by marafon, translation #3907296 by CH
- Кто это?Who is this?
- Кто пришел на встречу?Who came to the meeting?
- Кто был у праздничного стола?Who was at the festive table?
- Кто-нибудь хочет поесть пиццу?Does anyone want to eat pizza?
- Кто-нибудь видел мою книгу?Has anyone seen my book?
- кого он/она любит?Whom does he/she love?
- 6481 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Olga and Andrei are talking in the hallway of their apartment building.
- Ольга OlgaКто там стучит?Kto tam stuchit?Who is knocking there?
- Андрей AndreyЯ не знаю.Ya ne znayu.I don't know.
- Ольга OlgaМожет быть, это сосед?Mozhet byt', eto sosed?Maybe it is the neighbor?
- Андрей AndreyДавай посмотрим.Davay posmotrim.Let's see.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “who” translations and entries кто, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries кто, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
