B1 verb 13 Min. Lesezeit

вызывать

To cause something to happen

At the absolute beginner level, you only need to know one specific meaning of the verb вызывать. For A1 learners, this word means 'to call' a service. Imagine you are in Russia and you need a taxi to go to the airport. You cannot use the word for calling on a phone (звонить). You must use вызывать. You say 'вызывать такси'. This means you are asking the taxi to come to your location. Another very important use at this level is for emergencies. If someone is sick, you need to call a doctor. In Russian, you say 'вызывать врача'. This means to call a doctor to your house. If there is a big emergency, you say 'вызывать скорую', which means to call an ambulance. You do not need to worry about the complex grammar or the abstract meanings yet. Just memorize these three phrases: вызывать такси (to call a taxi), вызывать врача (to call a doctor), and вызывать полицию (to call the police). These are survival phrases. The verb is an action word. It ends in -ать, so it is a regular verb. I call a taxi is 'Я вызываю такси'. You call a taxi is 'Ты вызываешь такси'. He calls a taxi is 'Он вызывает такси'. We call a taxi is 'Мы вызываем такси'. They call a taxi is 'Они вызывают такси'. Practice these simple sentences. Remember, do not use this word to talk to your friend on the phone. Only use it when you want a car, a doctor, or the police to physically drive to where you are standing. This is the most important lesson for A1. Keep it simple and practical for your travels.
At the A2 level, you expand your understanding of вызывать beyond just taxis and doctors. You start using it in more everyday situations involving people. At this level, it still means 'to summon' or 'to call someone to a place'. For example, if you are studying at a Russian school or university, the teacher might call you to the front of the class to answer a question. The phrase is 'вызывать к доске' (to call to the blackboard). If you are a parent, the school principal might call you to the school to talk about your child. The phrase is 'вызывать родителей в школу'. You also need to start understanding the difference between the ongoing action and the completed action. Вызывать is the ongoing action. If you want to say 'I called a taxi and it is here', you use the completed form: вызвать. 'Я вызвал такси' (I called a taxi). At A2, you should also be comfortable conjugating the verb in the past tense. Он вызывал (he was calling), она вызывала (she was calling), они вызывали (they were calling). You might also hear this word at work. Your boss might call you to their office: 'Директор вызывает меня в кабинет'. Notice that the person or thing you are calling is always in the accusative case. Врач becomes врача. Такси stays такси because it is a foreign word. Полиция becomes полицию. This is a great opportunity to practice your accusative case endings. To summarize A2: use it to call people to a specific location like an office or a school, practice the past tense, and always use the accusative case for the object.
Welcome to the B1 level, where the verb вызывать truly unlocks its potential. Up until now, you have used it literally to physically summon things like taxis or people. Now, you must learn its abstract, figurative meaning: 'to cause', 'to provoke', or 'to arouse'. This is extremely common in Russian. Instead of causing a physical person to appear, you are causing an emotion or a reaction to appear. For example, a funny joke causes a smile. In Russian, you say 'Шутка вызывает улыбку'. A strange situation might cause suspicion: 'Это вызывает подозрение'. An interesting book causes interest: 'Книга вызывает интерес'. This is how Russians talk about their feelings and reactions to the world. You also need to learn how to express WHO is feeling the emotion. You use the preposition 'у' plus the genitive case. 'Это вызывает у меня интерес' (This causes interest in me / This makes me interested). 'Его слова вызывают у нас смех' (His words cause laughter in us / His words make us laugh). This structure is essential for B1 fluency. Furthermore, you will see this verb used in medical contexts to describe what causes an illness. 'Вирус вызывает болезнь' (The virus causes the disease). 'Аллергия вызывает кашель' (Allergies cause coughing). You should also be fully comfortable switching between the imperfective (вызывать) for general facts or repeated actions, and the perfective (вызвать) for single, completed results. Mastering the abstract usage of this verb will make your Russian sound significantly more native and allow you to express complex thoughts about cause and effect.
At the B2 level, your usage of вызывать should become highly nuanced and sophisticated. You are no longer just making simple statements about cause and effect; you are engaging in complex discussions, debates, and professional communication. In journalism, politics, and social discussions, this verb is everywhere. You will frequently encounter collocations like 'вызывать общественный резонанс' (to cause public outcry/resonance), 'вызывать бурные споры' (to provoke heated debates), and 'вызывать волну критики' (to trigger a wave of criticism). When discussing abstract concepts, you must ensure perfect case governance, especially when dealing with complex subjects and objects. You also need to confidently use passive constructions and participles derived from this verb. For example, the active participle 'вызывающий' (causing/provoking) is often used as an adjective meaning 'provocative' or 'defiant' (e.g., вызывающее поведение - provocative behavior). The passive participle 'вызванный' (caused by) is crucial for academic and formal writing: 'Кризис, вызванный пандемией' (The crisis caused by the pandemic). You must also understand idiomatic and professional expressions. In a corporate environment, 'вызывать на ковер' is a must-know idiom meaning to be called onto the carpet by a boss for a reprimand. Furthermore, you should be able to distinguish вызывать from its synonyms like провоцировать (to provoke, usually negative), порождать (to give rise to), and причинять (to cause harm/pain). Your ability to choose the exact right verb for the specific shade of meaning is what defines a B2 speaker. Practice using this verb in hypothetical situations and complex conditional sentences to solidify your advanced proficiency.
At the C1 level, your command of вызывать must be near-native, characterized by a deep understanding of its stylistic flexibility and its role in complex syntactic structures. You are expected to use it effortlessly in abstract, academic, and highly formal registers. In scientific and analytical writing, вызывать is the standard verb for establishing causality. You will write sentences like 'Данный фактор неизбежно вызывает деградацию экосистемы' (This factor inevitably causes the degradation of the ecosystem). You must be completely fluent in using the instrumental case to denote the instrument of causation in passive constructions: 'Реакция была вызвана резким перепадом температур' (The reaction was caused by a sharp drop in temperature). Beyond formal writing, you should appreciate the psychological depth the verb can convey in literature and deep conversation. It is used to describe the invocation of memories, existential states, and subtle psychological shifts. For instance, 'Этот запах вызывает в памяти картины далекого детства' (This smell calls to mind/evokes images of a distant childhood). You should also be adept at using its derived nouns, such as 'вызов' (a challenge/a call), and understanding how the verb's semantics tie into these concepts. At this level, errors in aspect (choosing the wrong form between вызывать and вызвать) or case governance are unacceptable. You must instinctively know that abstract emotional causation usually favors the imperfective (вызывать уважение - to command respect), while a sudden, specific emotional reaction might take the perfective (вызвать шок - to cause a shock). Your vocabulary should include a vast array of collocations, allowing you to speak precisely and eloquently on any topic.
At the C2 level, your understanding of вызывать transcends basic mechanics; it involves an intuitive grasp of its etymological roots, its resonance in Russian literature, and its subtle cultural connotations. You manipulate the verb not just for communication, but for rhetorical effect. You understand that the prefix вы- (outward) combined with звать (to call) creates a powerful image of drawing something out from the depths—whether summoning a spirit in a literal, archaic sense (вызывать духов), or drawing out a deeply buried emotion. In literary analysis, you will encounter the verb used to describe the evocative power of art: 'Поэзия Пушкина вызывает к жизни самые светлые порывы души' (Pushkin's poetry calls to life the brightest impulses of the soul). You are completely comfortable with archaic or highly stylized variations and idiomatic uses that play on the concept of 'calling out'. For example, understanding the nuance of 'вызывать огонь на себя' (to draw fire upon oneself), used both literally in military contexts and metaphorically to mean taking the blame or criticism to protect others. You seamlessly integrate participles and gerunds (деепричастия) like 'вызывая' into complex, multi-clause sentences without losing the grammatical thread. You can debate the subtle semantic differences between вызывать, обусловливать, and детерминировать in philosophical or academic contexts. At C2, the word is a flexible tool in your linguistic arsenal, allowing you to express the most complex webs of causality, emotional evocation, and social dynamics with the effortless precision of an educated native speaker.
The Russian verb вызывать is a highly versatile and essential vocabulary word that every learner aiming for fluency must thoroughly understand and master. At its absolute core, this verb translates to 'to call' or 'to summon' in a literal sense, and 'to cause', 'to provoke', or 'to arouse' in a figurative or abstract sense. When we break down the morphology of the word, we see the prefix вы- which generally denotes an outward movement or extraction, combined with the root звать, which translates directly to 'to call'. Therefore, the most literal translation of вызывать is 'to call out'. This literal meaning is incredibly common in everyday Russian life. For instance, when you need a medical professional to come to your home, you do not simply 'ring' them using the verb звонить; instead, you summon them using вызывать. You would say вызывать врача, which means to call a doctor to your location. Similarly, if you need a taxi, you use this verb to request the service to come to you: вызывать такси.

Я всегда предпочитаю вызывать такси через мобильное приложение, потому что это гораздо удобнее и быстрее.

Beyond these basic logistical uses, the verb takes on a profound psychological and emotional dimension. In these contexts, вызывать translates to 'to cause', 'to provoke', or 'to arouse'. Whenever a specific action, event, or statement triggers an emotional response or a physical reaction, this verb is employed. For example, a fascinating book might 'arouse interest' (вызывать интерес), a suspicious behavior might 'provoke doubt' (вызывать сомнения), or a funny joke might 'cause a smile' (вызывать улыбку).
Literal Usage
Used when physically summoning a person, service, or entity to a specific location, such as emergency services, taxis, or individuals to an office.
The dual nature of this word makes it a cornerstone of both practical daily communication and sophisticated intellectual discourse. When you watch Russian news, you will frequently hear reporters discussing events that 'cause resonance' (вызывают резонанс) or 'provoke protests' (вызывают протесты).

Его странное поведение начало вызывать серьезные подозрения у всех коллег в офисе.

Understanding when to use which meaning depends entirely on the object that follows the verb. If the object is a person or a physical service (like a doctor, a plumber, or the police), the meaning is 'to summon'. If the object is an abstract noun (like laughter, tears, respect, or allergy), the meaning is 'to cause or provoke'. Furthermore, this verb is heavily used in academic and medical contexts. A specific virus might 'cause a disease' (вызывать заболевание), or a certain chemical might 'cause a reaction' (вызывать реакцию).

Этот препарат может вызывать сильную аллергическую реакцию у некоторых пациентов.

In the context of education, a teacher might 'call' a student to the blackboard (вызывать к доске). This is a very specific cultural phrase in Russian schools. The teacher is summoning the student to demonstrate their knowledge in front of the class.
Abstract Usage
Employed to describe the generation of emotions, thoughts, physical symptoms, or societal reactions triggered by an external stimulus.
It is also worth noting that the verb is imperfective, meaning it describes an ongoing, repeated, or habitual action. Its perfective counterpart is вызвать, which is used for single, completed actions.

Каждый раз, когда он говорит, он начинает вызывать у меня чувство глубокого раздражения.

The beauty of this word lies in its semantic breadth. While English uses entirely different verbs like 'summon', 'call', 'provoke', 'trigger', 'cause', and 'arouse', Russian elegantly unifies all these concepts under the single umbrella of bringing something forth, whether that something is a taxi cab arriving at your doorstep or a feeling of joy blossoming in your heart.
Grammatical Profile
It is a transitive verb of the first conjugation, requiring its direct object to be in the accusative case, regardless of whether the object is animate or inanimate.

Громкая музыка по ночам продолжает вызывать недовольство у всех соседей в нашем многоквартирном доме.

Ultimately, mastering this word will significantly elevate your Russian proficiency, allowing you to express complex causal relationships and everyday logistical needs with native-like fluency and precision.
Constructing sentences with the verb вызывать requires a solid understanding of Russian case governance, specifically the accusative case, as well as a grasp of aspectual pairs. Because вызывать is a transitive verb, the entity that is being called, summoned, or caused must be placed in the accusative case. If you are causing an emotion in someone, the person experiencing the emotion is usually introduced with the preposition у followed by the genitive case. This structure is fundamental. For example, to say 'The movie causes my interest', you would say 'Фильм вызывает у меня интерес'. Here, 'интерес' is the direct object in the accusative case, and 'у меня' represents the person experiencing the interest.

Эта старая фотография всегда начинает вызывать у бабушки теплые воспоминания о молодости.

Let us explore the conjugation of this imperfective verb in the present tense. It follows the standard first conjugation pattern: я вызываю, ты вызываешь, он/она/оно вызывает, мы вызываем, вы вызываете, они вызывают.
Present Tense Conjugation
Regular -ать verb pattern. It maintains the stress on the suffix -а- throughout all forms: вызыва́ю, вызыва́ешь, вызыва́ет.
When discussing past ongoing or repeated actions, you use the past tense forms: вызывал, вызывала, вызывало, вызывали.

В детстве этот страшный рассказ постоянно продолжал вызывать у меня сильные кошмары по ночам.

It is crucial to distinguish between the imperfective вызывать and the perfective вызвать. You use the imperfective form when focusing on the process, repetition, or general fact of an action. For instance, 'Я не люблю вызывать такси в час пик' (I do not like calling a taxi during rush hour) uses the imperfective because it describes a general habit or repeated scenario. Conversely, if you want to say 'Call a taxi right now!', you would use the perfective imperative: 'Вызови такси!'. In complex sentences, this verb often acts as the main predicate connecting a subject (the cause) to an object (the effect).

Неправильное питание и отсутствие спорта могут вызывать серьезные проблемы со здоровьем в будущем.

Let us examine the syntax of calling someone to a specific location. You use the preposition к + dative case or в/на + accusative case depending on the destination. 'Вызывать к директору' means to summon to the director (literally, to the director's office). 'Вызывать в суд' means to summon to court. 'Вызывать на сцену' means to call onto the stage.
Directional Prepositions
Use 'к' + Dative for people (к врачу), 'в' + Accusative for enclosed spaces (в офис), and 'на' + Accusative for open spaces or events (на ковер).

Учительница решила вызывать родителей ученика в школу для серьезного разговора о его поведении.

Another common grammatical structure is the use of the passive voice, though it is more frequently formed with the perfective aspect or reflexive forms. However, you will encounter the active voice most often in everyday speech. When dealing with abstract concepts like emotions, the subject is usually an inanimate noun (e.g., a situation, a word, an image) and the object is the emotion itself. 'Его слова вызывают уважение' (His words command/cause respect).
Subject-Verb Agreement
Ensure the verb agrees in number and person with the cause (the subject), not the effect (the object).

Такие масштабные экономические реформы неизбежно будут вызывать множество споров в обществе.

By mastering these sentence patterns, you ensure that your Russian sounds natural, accurate, and highly expressive, bridging the gap between intermediate understanding and advanced fluency.
The verb вызывать is ubiquitous in the Russian language, permeating virtually every domain of daily life, professional environments, and media. You will encounter this word from your very first days in a Russian-speaking environment, primarily in logistical and service-oriented contexts. When you are standing on a street corner in Moscow or St. Petersburg and need a ride, you will hear people say they need to вызывать такси.

В такую ужасную дождливую погоду лучше всего вызывать такси прямо к подъезду дома.

In medical emergencies, the phrase вызывать скорую (to call an ambulance) is critical vocabulary that could potentially save a life. You will hear this in urgent situations, in medical dramas on television, and in public health announcements.
Medical Contexts
Used extensively by doctors to describe what triggers symptoms (e.g., allergens causing a rash) and by patients calling for medical help.
Moving into the professional sphere, this verb is a staple of office communication. Managers and executives frequently use it when summoning employees to meetings or to their offices. As mentioned earlier, the colloquial phrase вызывать на ковер is deeply ingrained in Russian corporate culture, signifying a stressful summons by a superior.

Директор имеет привычку вызывать менеджеров на совещание без предварительного предупреждения.

In the realm of journalism and news media, вызывать is an indispensable tool for reporters and analysts. Whenever a political decision, a new law, or a controversial event occurs, news anchors will describe how it 'causes a reaction' among the public. Phrases like вызывать общественный резонанс (to cause public resonance) or вызывать возмущение (to cause indignation) are standard journalistic collocations.
News Media
A highly frequent verb in political and social reporting to describe the consequences, backlash, or approval generated by specific events.

Новый закон о налогах продолжает вызывать горячие споры среди экономистов и бизнесменов.

In everyday casual conversation, people use this verb to describe their emotional reactions to art, movies, books, and other people's behavior. If a friend recommends a movie, they might ask, 'Какие эмоции он у тебя вызывает?' (What emotions does it cause in you?). It is a sophisticated yet entirely common way to discuss feelings without relying solely on basic adjectives.
Everyday Emotions
Routinely used to articulate how external stimuli—like weather, interactions, or media—affect a person's internal emotional state.

Его постоянные глупые шутки начинают вызывать раздражение у всех присутствующих в комнате.

Finally, in literature and academic writing, the verb is used to establish cause-and-effect relationships formally. A historian might write about factors that 'caused the revolution' (вызывали революцию), or a scientist might detail how a specific variable 'causes a change' (вызывает изменение) in an experiment.

Глобальное потепление может вызывать необратимые изменения в экосистемах нашей планеты.

By recognizing these diverse contexts, from the back of a taxi cab to the pages of a scientific journal, you will appreciate the indispensable nature of this word in the Russian language.
When learning the verb вызывать, English speakers frequently stumble over a few specific grammatical and semantic hurdles. The most prominent mistake is confusing вызывать with звонить (to call/ring). In English, the verb 'to call' covers both dialing a number on a phone and requesting a service to arrive. In Russian, these are strictly separated. If you want to talk to your mother on the phone, you use звонить маме (to ring mom, using the dative case). If you say вызывать маму, it means you are officially summoning her to a location, such as a school principal calling a parent in for a meeting.

Ошибочно говорить, что ты хочешь вызывать друга по телефону, чтобы просто поболтать о жизни.

This distinction is critical for sounding natural and avoiding confusing or unintentionally authoritative statements.
Звонить vs Вызывать
Звонить is strictly for the act of telephoning someone (requires Dative). Вызывать is for requesting someone or something to physically come to you (requires Accusative).
Another highly frequent error revolves around the aspectual pair: вызывать (imperfective) versus вызвать (perfective). Learners often use the imperfective when they should use the perfective. If an action is a single, completed event with a specific result, you must use вызвать. For example, if you successfully ordered a taxi and it is on its way, you say 'Я вызвал такси' (past perfective). If you say 'Я вызывал такси', it implies you were in the process of calling one, or you called one repeatedly, but the result is not the focus—perhaps it never arrived.

Если вам плохо, не нужно постоянно вызывать врача, достаточно вызвать его один раз и подождать.

A third common mistake involves the preposition used when expressing emotions. English speakers often try to translate 'It makes me happy' literally. In Russian, the structure is 'It causes in me happiness'. Learners frequently forget the preposition у and simply put the pronoun in the accusative or dative. The correct structure is: Subject + вызывает + у + Genitive Pronoun/Noun + Accusative Emotion. For instance, 'Это вызывает у меня радость' (This causes joy in me).
Emotional Syntax
Never say 'Это вызывает меня радость'. Always include the preposition 'у' to indicate who is experiencing the emotion: 'Это вызывает у меня радость'.

Этот странный фильм продолжает вызывать у зрителей очень смешанные и непонятные чувства.

Furthermore, learners sometimes struggle with the conjugation, mistakenly shifting the stress or altering the root. Remember that вызывать is a completely regular first-conjugation verb, unlike its root verb звать, which has irregularities (зову, зовешь). The prefix вы- effectively stabilizes the conjugation pattern.
Case Governance
The direct object (what is being called or caused) must always be in the Accusative case. Failing to decline the object is a dead giveaway of a non-native speaker.

Мы не планировали вызывать полицию, но ситуация внезапно вышла из-под нашего контроля.

By being mindful of the distinction with звонить, mastering the aspectual pairs, using the correct prepositional phrases for emotions, and maintaining accurate conjugation and case governance, you can easily avoid the most common pitfalls associated with this essential Russian verb.
While вызывать is incredibly versatile, the Russian language offers a rich tapestry of synonyms and alternative verbs that can provide more precise nuances depending on the exact context. Understanding these alternatives will not only expand your vocabulary but also allow you to express yourself with greater accuracy and stylistic flair. When dealing with the meaning of 'to cause' or 'to provoke', a very common synonym is провоцировать. This verb is a direct cognate of the English 'to provoke' and carries a similar slightly negative or instigating connotation. While you can use вызывать for positive emotions (вызывать улыбку - to cause a smile), you would generally use провоцировать for negative reactions or conflicts (провоцировать скандал - to provoke a scandal).

Его агрессивные слова могут легко вызывать ответную агрессию, поэтому лучше использовать глагол провоцировать.

Another crucial synonym in the context of causation is причинять. This verb specifically means 'to cause' in the context of harm, pain, or damage. You would say причинять боль (to cause pain) or причинять ущерб (to cause damage). You generally do not use вызывать in these specific collocations.
Причинять vs Вызывать
Use причинять exclusively for inflicting negative physical or abstract states like pain, harm, or inconvenience. Use вызывать for a broader range of emotional or physical reactions.
When the meaning leans towards 'to create' an abstract feeling or atmosphere, the verb создавать (to create) can sometimes serve as an alternative. For example, instead of saying a situation causes tension (вызывает напряжение), you might say it creates tension (создает напряжение). The meaning is virtually identical, but the stylistic choice varies.

Такая неопределенность на рынке продолжает вызывать панику среди мелких инвесторов.

In the literal sense of 'to call', the base root verb звать is the most obvious relative. However, звать is used for calling someone by their name or calling out to someone nearby ('Я зову тебя!' - I am calling you!). You do not use звать to summon a taxi or a doctor; that requires the prefix вы- to indicate the outward summoning.
Звать vs Вызывать
Звать is to call by name or shout to someone. Вызывать is to officially request someone's presence or a service's arrival at a specific location.
Another related verb is приглашать (to invite). While both involve asking someone to come to a location, приглашать implies a polite request for a social gathering, whereas вызывать implies a formal, sometimes mandatory, summons or a requested service. You invite a friend to a party (приглашать), but the principal summons a student to the office (вызывать).

Начальник решил вызывать всех сотрудников по одному, чтобы обсудить новые правила компании.

For medical symptoms, verbs like обусловливать (to condition/determine) or приводить к (to lead to) can act as formal alternatives in scientific literature. 'The virus leads to a fever' (Вирус приводит к температуре) is an alternative to 'The virus causes a fever' (Вирус вызывает температуру).
Formal Alternatives
In essays or reports, consider using 'являться причиной' (to be the cause of) or 'приводить к' (to lead to) to diversify your sentence structures.

Такие громкие заявления политиков всегда будут вызывать бурную реакцию в международной прессе.

Я стараюсь не вызывать у людей чувство вины, когда они совершают случайные ошибки.

By carefully selecting between вызывать, провоцировать, причинять, and звать, you demonstrate a high level of linguistic nuance and cultural understanding in your Russian communication.

Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Мне нужно вызывать такси.

I need to call a taxi.

Infinitive after 'нужно'.

2

Мы хотим вызывать врача.

We want to call a doctor.

Infinitive after 'хотим'. 'Врача' is accusative.

3

Ты умеешь вызывать такси?

Do you know how to call a taxi?

Question with infinitive.

4

Они вызывают полицию.

They are calling the police.

Present tense, 3rd person plural. 'Полицию' is accusative.

5

Я вызываю скорую помощь.

I am calling an ambulance.

Present tense, 1st person singular.

6

Он не любит вызывать такси.

He does not like calling a taxi.

Negative sentence with infinitive.

7

Зачем вызывают врача?

Why are they calling a doctor?

Question word 'зачем'.

8

Я всегда вызываю такси утром.

I always call a taxi in the morning.

Adverb 'всегда' shows repeated action.

1

Учитель вызывает меня к доске.

The teacher is calling me to the blackboard.

'К доске' uses the dative case for direction.

2

Директор вызывает родителей в школу.

The principal is calling the parents to school.

'В школу' uses the accusative case for destination.

3

Вчера я вызывал такси два раза.

Yesterday I called a taxi two times.

Past tense imperfective for repeated action.

4

Она вызывала врача для бабушки.

She was calling a doctor for her grandmother.

Past tense feminine.

5

Почему начальник вызывает тебя?

Why is the boss calling you?

Direct object pronoun 'тебя'.

6

Они часто вызывают мастера домой.

They often call a repairman to their home.

'Мастера' is animate accusative.

7

Мы не будем вызывать полицию.

We will not call the police.

Future tense imperfective (будем + infinitive).

8

Он вызывает такси на улицу Пушкина.

He is calling a taxi to Pushkin Street.

'На улицу' uses accusative for direction.

1

Этот фильм вызывает у меня грусть.

This movie causes sadness in me.

Abstract meaning. 'У меня' shows who feels it.

2

Его поведение вызывает много вопросов.

His behavior causes many questions.

'Много вопросов' is ge

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