You are currently viewing How to Tell Time and Give Dates in Russian

How to Tell Time and Give Dates in Russian

Который час? What Time is It? How to Tell Time and Give Dates in Russian

In this post we’ll learn how to tell time in Russian, how to give dates in Russian, and how to talk about days and months in Russian. First we’ll start with Russian vocabulary related to the time of day. Then you’ll learn how to tell time in Russian. Next you’ll learn the days of the week in Russian as well as the months of the year. Finally, you’ll learn how to give dates in Russian.

День и ночь: Day and Night

Let’s start with some basic vocabulary related to time of day: день (m) day; ночь (f) night; утро (n) morning; вторая половина дня (f) afternoon; вечер (m) evening.

  • Рано/поздно.
    It’s early/late.
  • Я сплю ночью.
    I sleep at night.
  • Я работаю днём. 
    I work during the day.
  • Мы читаем вечером.
    We read in the evening.

GRAMMAR TIP! The nouns день day; ночь night; утро morning; and вечер evening are in the nominative. But time expressions for when something happens are in the instrumental case: утром (in the morning); днём (days, during the day); вечером (in the evening); ночью (at night).

Learn Russian. Russian Teacher. Russian Tutor. Russian Lessons. Online Russian..

How to tell time in Russian: Который час? What time is it?

To ask what time it is, use Сколько сейчас времени? or Который час? The answer will be a simple Час  if it’s one o’clock. With higher hours, the answer follow the format (Сейчас) ___  часа for two, three, four, and five o’clock, and (Сейчас) ___  часов for six through twelve. If you want to specify part of the day, use: утра (in the morning) дня (in the day/afternoon), вечера (in the evening) or ночи (at night.)

Половина means half and it’s used to mean half past, in this format: Половина + following ordinal number [first, second, third] in the genitive. In other words, half past twelve is literally “half of the first [hour],” half past five is literally “half of the sixth [hour],” and so on. Половина первого. (It’s half past twelve.) Половина второго. (It’s half past one.) Половина третьего. (It’s half past two.) Половина четвёртого. (It’s half past three.) Половина пятого. (It’s half past four.) Половина шестого. (It’s half past five.) Половина седьмого. (It’s half past six.) Половина восьмого. (It’s half past seven.) Половина девятого. (It’s half past eight.) Половина десятого. (It’s half past nine.) Половина одиннадцатого. (It’s half past ten.) Половина двенадцатого. (It’s half past eleven.)

The Days of the Week in Russian

The days of the week in Russian are: понедельник (m) Monday; вторник (m) Tuesday; среда (f) Wednesday; четверг (m) Thursday; пятница (f) Friday; суббота (f) Saturday; воскресенье (n) Sunday. Some other key vocabulary is: сегодня today, завтра tomorrow, вчерa yesterday, сегодня вечером/ ночью tonight, неделя the week, выходные the weekend.

GRAMMAR TIP: If something happens on a particular day, use the preposition в and the day in the accusative case.

More Russian Time Expressions

Some other important Russian vocabulary to know when you’re talking about dates and times are: неделя (f) week; месяц (m) month, год (m) year.

Months in Russian and How to Give Dates in Russian

The months of the year are: январь (m) January, февраль (m) February, март (m) March, апрель (m) April, май (m) May, июнь (m) June, июль (m) July, август (m) August, сентябрь (m) September, октябрь (m) October, ноябрь (m) November, декабрь (m) December.

GRAMMAR TIP! When you answer the question Какое сегодня число? What’s the date today? you follow this format: Сегодня (Today is) + ordinal number [first, second, third…]in the nominative neuter + month in the genitive:

To say in a particular month, use the preposition в and the prepositional case of the month:

To answer a question with a specific date – month and day – both the number of the date and the month should be in the ordinal genitive.

Learn Russian for Free.

Learn Russian with the Language Garage!

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to tell time in Russian, how to give dates in Russian, and how to talk about days and months in Russian. If you want to learn more, check out our other posts on Russian language, culture, and more. And if you’re looking for convenient and affordable live Russian lessons with a real teacher, check out The Language Garage Russian. Our lessons are given online in a virtual classroom, so it doesn’t matter where you live or work. We can come to you. And we have flexible options, with a free trial so that you can decide if there’s a fit. Check us out!

Image by falco from Pixabay

Tags: , , , ,

Share this content

×
×

Cart

Verified by MonsterInsights