"Ваня — мой младший брат."

Translation: Vanya is my younger brother.

[usmcfunkymunky]

Oh. I was under the impression that Vanya was a female name. I guess just because it ended in "a".

[yarjka]

A lot of Russian nicknames end in -а or -я, and often these short forms work for both male and female versions (Саша = Александр OR Александра).

Even though Ваня is a male name, it will decline like a female name due to the -я ending.

[davenport420]

Sasha sounds female too if you're not familiar with the language

[LauraBlume]

I know a Russian woman named Sasha.

[feeble_weakling]

Well, Sasha is a short form of both Alexander and Alexandra

[Hamza325]

I can't see any phonetical relationship between Sasha and Alexander! They look too different! How those russians make a short form that has no relationship with the original name?

[Connor367035]

Sounds like Dick and Richard

[DesaultThi]

But nothing sound like alexander.alex yes,xander yes bet sacha!before i thought different person when a friend said sacha for alexander so i said:i do not know him

[LuizPaulo9691]

In Brazil Vanya is a female name.

[LauraBlume]

In Greece, too.

[melinski_s]

In Germany as well

[deactivated user]

In Portugal too...by the way: male Ваня is short for what? Regards from Madeira Island

[Jenny843282]

Pretty sure it's Ivan

[yXiP10]

Ivan

[ApocAlypsE007]

Apparently, the umbrella academy agrees with you. But as a native Russian speaker, there are more Vanya males than females.

[DesaultThi]

The same for me

[bananaheadjjo]

Should "Vanya is my little brother" be accepted?

[kacxjo]

Yes, it should. In fact, I received an email yesterday that it was now, however, it still isn't.

[kaylameow]

Still isn't accepted :(

[Alex393781]

Still isn't accepted :(
Hello from 2017 :)

[LauraBlume]

It is now!

[75savard]

Wait vanya is a dude?lol

[KarinaYeva]

It is both female and male name in Russia, as in few other Slavic languages.

[DaniL.]

Vanya - my younger brother. Isn't it a right translation???

[BlackRue]

For those surprised by the gender...
Ваня ("Vanya") is often used as a nickname for Ivan in Russia.

[YOGRAJKAPO]

This can also mean: Vanya, my younger brother? Or Vanya, my younger brother! Can someone comment.

[Bhav-Anu]

The hyphen is the notion of being descriptive. So, he 'is'.

[MattSpen314]

Is there a way to know when to use the spelling " ... ий" just from hearing a word?

[chleb3212]

The audio often sounds very unnatural to the point of incorrect language, because nobody would intonate it like this, thus teaching in effect wrong language.

[MaxFromUkraine]

Agreed. It's especially about wrong stresses in words.

[Tuukka12797]

Vanya, my younger brother not accepted?

[IanMcLean4]

Vanya is a guy? Ive been living a lie!

[EmreBos]

Not accapted " Vania-my younger brother". I also wrote as like given form

[DVooqY]

I was also surprised... then I remembered Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya"!

[smartawad]

Apart from the gender confusion
Doesn't ( - ) replace (is) in everyday speech?

[VictorG.R.Smith]

Vanya é muito feminino

[eharwagon]

Rsrs I agree

[RosalineLa2]

I thought she was saying 'мом' младший брат ... Grrrr!

[salmakerrai]

Vanya is a bro tim is a dog tom is a cat .... what else? Ivan is a turtle ?!

[QurtQurt]

Ivan is a type of grass as well. - Иван-чай.

[Severalwings955]

I thought vanya was a girl name lol

[KaiserAlex1]

Vanya is a boy's name?

[marcialori]

Vanya can be sister not brother.

[_Polimata_]

Vania es nombre de machito. Algo raro pasa acá. Ahhha

[VictorG.R.Smith]

Jajaja