How to Say "From" in Russian — Из, С, От

Short answer: English has one word — from — but Russian has three, depending on where the "from" comes from:

• из — from inside a space (a place you can be "in"): из Росси́и, из до́ма
• с — from a surface or an open place: со стола́, с рабо́ты
• от — from a person or a point you move away from: от ма́мы, от окна́

The rest of this article shows you the simple logic behind each one — and a little trick so you almost never have to guess.

Little trick

In Russian, movement is often expressed through natural prepositional pairs. If something moves toward a place, person, or surface, Russian usually uses a matching preposition for movement away from it.

Here are the three pairs at a glance:

So every "there" has its own "from there" — and once you see the pairs, the system feels much friendlier. This is also why Russian uses three different words where English is happy with just one: from. All three — из, с, and от — are followed by the Genitive case (кого? чего?), which we'll see in every example below.

If you'd like to see the other half of the story — how в and на work when you're in a place or heading to one — read this first: В vs На — In / On / At in Russian. It pairs perfectly with this lesson.

Из = "from" (out of, from inside)

Use из when something comes from inside a place. The preposition из is followed by the Genitive case (кого? чего?).

To learn how to form the Genitive case, read this article: Genitive Case: Basics – Nouns and Personal Pronouns.

If you say в, you use из for the opposite direction:

• в дом → из до́ма
• в шко́лу → из шко́лы

Examples:

• вы́йти из до́ма — to leave the house
• прийти́ из шко́лы — to come back from school
• прие́хать из Росси́и — to come from Russia
• верну́ться из магази́на — to come back from the store
• взять из коро́бки — to take from the box

Besides "from," it can mean "made of" — what something is made from: стол из де́рева — a wooden table (a table made of/from wood), сок из я́блок — juice made from apples. It's the same logic, really: the wood is where the table "comes out of."

С = "from" (from a surface or place)

Use с when something comes from a surface or from a place that isn't seen as an enclosed space. The preposition с is also followed by the Genitive case (кого? чего?).

If you say на, you use с for the opposite direction:

• на стол → со стола́
• на рабо́ту → с рабо́ты

Sometimes с becomes со — just like в sometimes becomes во. It happens before words that start with a tricky cluster of consonants, especially с or з followed by another consonant: со стола́, со стены́, со шка́фа (and со мной — with me). Russian does this simply to make the word easier to say. With time, your mouth will start to feel it before your brain does.

Examples:

• взять со стола́ — to take from the table
• убра́ть ча́шку со стола́ — to remove a cup from the table
• прийти́ с рабо́ты — to come from work
• верну́ться с конце́рта — to come back from a concert
• уе́хать с да́чи — to leave from the country house

And that "from" even works for time: с понеде́льника — from / since Monday.

Good to know: you might know that the preposition с does more than one job. With the Genitive it means "from," like we saw above (с рабо́ты), but with the Instrumental case it means "with": с дру́гом — with a friend.

От = "from" (from a person, source, distance)

Use от when talking about:

• a person
• receiving something
• moving away

Like the previous two prepositions, от is also followed by the Genitive case (кого? чего?).

If you say к, you use от for the opposite direction:

• к врачу́ → от врача́
• к дру́гу → от дру́га

Examples:

• получи́ть письмо́ от дру́га — to get a letter from a friend
• пода́рок от ма́мы — a gift from mom
• уйти́ от врача́ — to leave the doctor
• отойти́ от окна́ — to move away from the window

So, which "from"?

Russian has three words for "from," and each one belongs to a direction you already know. Once из, с, and от start to feel like part of that system, the right one usually chooses itself.

Try the fill-in-the-gaps in the Exercises tab at the top — the answers are included, so you can check yourself as you go. And if you'd like to practice these with me directly, you can book a lesson here.