Thread: Я говорю по-английски...

I totally agree. I just thought that maybe that was the word he was looking for, but maybe you can

Я уже неплохо знаю русский язык.

to know how to = уметь. Итак--

Я умею говорить по-русски.

I was of the opinion that уметь has to do with having a particular skill or ability, but not languages, e.g. я умею плавать. A search for "я умею говорить по-английски" gave me only 14 results, some of which from non-native speakers and others in a different context(one of them was about some lady at the EU who spoke with an American accent and said "я умею говорить по-английски только так").

And I don't know many native English speakers who would say "I know how to speak X language."

Well being natively english, that is the most common way to say that you speak a language, but it isn't your native language (at least for me and people I know)

I speak English, but I also know how to speak Russian.

Hmm. Maybe I speak snob English, but these are some ways I say that:

I speak English, and I am also proficient in Russian and German.

I speak English, and I can also speak Russian and German

English is my native language, but I also know Russian and German.

etc...

Originally Posted by Pravit

Hmm. Maybe I speak snob English, but these are some ways I say that:

I speak English, and I am also proficient in Russian and German.

I speak English, and I can also speak Russian and German

English is my native language, but I also know Russian and German.

etc...

"I know how to speak Russian", isn't that common in English. I mean you will hear it, but it's not the preffered way. It sounds a bit clumsey and uneducated. "I (can) speak Russian" or "I know Russian". They are more common.

For once TATY and I can agree on something!