вам также
vam takzhe
In Russian, the phrase "you too" is expressed as вам также (vam takzhe).
This phrase is used as a response to return a greeting or a good wish to the person who spoke first.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase вам также is composed of вам, meaning "to you" (plural or formal) and также, meaning "also" or "too".
Which one should you use?
The shorter phrase и вам is a very common and natural way to say "and to you" when responding to wishes. For informal situations, you can use тебе тоже or the even shorter и тебе.
How does it change in a sentence?
The informal version тебе тоже uses the dative case тебе and the particle тоже to convey the meaning of "you too".
How do you pronounce it?
vam takzhe
Did you know?
- If you are responding to 'Have a nice day!', you can simply say взаимно, which means 'mutually'. It is a very elegant, single-word way to avoid the wordy 'you too'.
- The word вам is the dative form of вы. This same form is used when you are giving something to someone, as the phrase treats a good wish like a physical gift.
- Using тебе тоже can be a way to signal a shift in a relationship. Switching from the formal вам to the informal тебе often marks the moment two people agree to become friends.
Examples in context
- Удачи!Good luck!
Example conversation
Sergey and Ekaterina are finishing a business meeting.
- Сергей SergeyХорошего вечера, Екатерина!Khoroshego vechera, Ekaterina!Have a nice evening, Ekaterina!
- Екатерина EkaterinaСпасибо, Сергей, вам также!Spasibo, Sergey, vam takzhe!Thank you, Sergey, you too!
- Сергей SergeyДо свидания!Do svidaniya!Goodbye!
