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| Time and Counting in Russian |
When learning a new language, one of the first things you'll want to master is how to tell the time and count. In Russian, there are some unique aspects to how time is expressed and how numbers are used that can be helpful to know as a beginner. So, let's dive into the world of time and counting in Russian!
Telling the Time in
Russian
In Russian, the
24-hour clock is commonly used, especially in written form and in formal
contexts. So, you'll need to get comfortable with both the 12-hour and 24-hour
formats.
12-Hour Clock
For the 12-hour clock,
you'll use the following phrases:
"Часов"
(chasov) for "o'clock": три часа (three o'clock)
"Минут"
(minut) for "minutes": пять минут (five minutes)
"Пять часов пять
минут" (pyat' chasov pyat' minut) for "five-oh-five"
To ask for the time,
you can say: "Который час?" (Kotoryy chas?). The response might be
something like: "Три часа пятнадцать минут" (Three hours, fifteen
minutes).
24-Hour Clock
For the 24-hour clock,
simply add "часов" (chasov) after the hour. For example:
15:15 – пятнадцать
часов пятнадцать минут (fifteen hours, fifteen minutes)
06:30 – шесть часов
тридцать минут (six hours, thirty minutes)
Counting in Russian
Russian uses a decimal
counting system, which means that each place value is a multiple of ten. Let's
take a look at the numbers from 0 to 20:
0 – ноль (nol')
1 – один (odin)
2 – два (dva)
3 – три (tri)
4 – четыре (chetyre)
5 – пять (pyat')
6 – шесть (shest')
7 – семь (sem')
8 – восемь (vosem')
9 – девять (devyat')
10 – десять (desyat')
11 – одиннадцать
(odinnadtsat')
12 – двенадцать
(dvenadtsat')
13 – тринадцать
(trinadtsat')
14 – четырнадцать
(chetyrnadtsat')
15 – пятнадцать
(pyatnadtsat')
16 – шестнадцать
(shestnadtsat')
17 – семнадцать
(semnadtsat')
18 – восемнадцать
(vosemnadtsat')
19 – девятнадцать
(devyatnadtsat')
20 – двадцать
(dvadtsat')
As you can see, the
teens (13-19) are formed by combining the units digit with "надцать"
(nadtsat').
For numbers 21-29, you
simply add the units digit after "двадцать" (dvadtsat'). For example,
25 is "двадцать пять" (dvadtsat' pyat').
Dates in Russian
When expressing dates
in Russian, the format is "day-month-year". So, December 31, 2023
would be "31 декабря 2023 года" (31st of December, 2023).
Telling the Time in
Russian: A Guide to the Clock
In Russian, telling
the time is a bit different from English, and it's an important skill to master
if you're planning to visit a Russian-speaking country or communicate with
Russian speakers. So, let's explore how to read the clock and express time in Russian.
The 24-Hour Clock
One of the first
things to note is that Russians commonly use the 24-hour clock, especially in
written form and in formal contexts. This means that the day is divided into 24
hours, starting at midnight (00:00) and ending at 23:59. So, 1:00 PM is expressed
as 13:00, and 7:30 PM is 19:30.
Here's how you would
read some common times:
08:00 – восемь часов
(vosem' chasov) – eight o'clock
14:15 – четырнадцать
часов пятнадцать минут (chetyrnadtsat' chasov pyatnadtsat' minut) – quarter
past two in the afternoon
17:45 – семнадцать
часов сорок пять минут (semnadtsat' chasov sorok pyat' minut) – quarter to six
in the evening
21:00 – двадцать один
час (dvadtsat' odin chas) – nine o'clock in the evening
As you can see, the
hours are expressed using ordinal numbers, and the minutes are added after the
word "часов" (chasov), which means "hours."
Asking for the Time
If you want to ask
someone for the time, you can say:
Сколько времени?
(Skol'ko vremeni?) – What time is it?
Который час? (Kotoryy
chas?) – What is the hour?
The response will
usually include the hours and minutes, as in the examples above.
12-Hour Clock
While the 24-hour
clock is more common, Russians also use the 12-hour clock in casual
conversation. In this case, you'll use the following phrases:
Часов (chasov) for
o'clock: три часа (tri chasa) – three o'clock
Минут (minut) for
minutes: пять минут (pyat' minut) – five minutes
"Четыре часа пять
минут" (chetyre chasa pyat' minut) for "five-past four"
So, if someone says
it's "пять минут шестого" (pyat' minut shestogo), they mean it's five
minutes to six o'clock.
Expressing
"AM" and "PM"
In Russian, there are
no specific words for "AM" and "PM." Instead, context and
the time of day will indicate whether it's morning, afternoon, or evening.
However, you can use the following phrases to clarify:
Утром (utrom) – in the
morning
Днем (dnem) – during
the day, in the afternoon
Вечером (vecherom) –
in the evening
For example, "в
семь часов вечера" (v sem' chasov vechera) means "at seven o'clock in
the evening."
Days of the Week and
Months
To fully understand
time in Russian, it's helpful to know the days of the week and the months of
the year:
Days of the Week:
Понедельник (ponedel'nik)
– Monday
Вторник (vtornik) –
Tuesday
Среда (sreda) –
Wednesday
Четверг (chetverg) –
Thursday
Пятница (pyatnitsa) –
Friday
Суббота (subbota) –
Saturday
Воскресенье
(voskres'ye) – Sunday
Months of the Year:
Январь (yanvar') –
January
Февраль (fevral') –
February
Март (mart) – March
Апрель (aprel') –
April
Май (may) – May
Июнь (iyun') – June
Июль (iyul') – July
Август (avgust) –
August
Сентябрь (sentyabr') –
September
Октябрь (oktyabr') –
October
Ноябрь (noyabr') –
November
Декабрь (dekabr') –
December
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