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 России, из дома
• с — from a surface or an open place: со стола, с работы
• от — from a person or a point you move away from: от мамы, от окна

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

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 дома
• в школу → из школы

Examples:

• выйти из дома — to leave the house
• прийти из школы — to come back from school
• приехать из России — to come from Russia
• вернуться из магазина — to come back from the store
• взять из коробки — to take from the box

Besides "from," it can mean "made of" — what something is made from: стол из дерева — a wooden table (a table made of wood), сок из яблок — 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 is not 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 стола
• на работу → с работы

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 стола, со стены, со шкафа. 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 стола — to take from the table
• убрать чашку со стола — to remove a cup from the table
• прийти с работы — to come from work
• вернуться с концерта — to come back from a concert
• уехать с дачи — to leave from the country house

And that "from" even works for time: с понедельника — 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 работы), but with the Instrumental case it means "with": с другом — 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 врачу → от врача
• к другу → от друга

Examples:

• получить письмо от друга — get a letter from a friend
• подарок от мамы — a gift from mom
• уйти от врача — leave the doctor
• отойти от окна — 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 Exercise 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.