Thread Academy

Telling the Time

Say the time in Russian, from час (chas — one o'clock) to половина третьего (polovína trét'yevo — half past two).

  • Define and explain Telling the Time in your own words
  • Use key terms such as час (chas) — hour, o'clock accurately
  • Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
  • Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic

This lesson focuses on Telling the Time: say the time in Russian, from час (chas — one o'clock) to половина третьего (polovína trét'yevo — half past two).

Definition: Telling the Time

Say the time in Russian, from час (chas — one o'clock) to половина третьего (polovína trét'yevo — half past two).

Key ideas

Telling the time

For 1–4 o'clock use час with the nominative or genitive singular: час (chas — one o'clock), два часа (dva chasá — two o'clock), три часа (tri chasá), четыре часа (chetýre chasá). For 5–12 use the genitive plural часов: пять часов (pyat' chasóv), десять часов (désyat' chasóv). Half hours use половина plus the genitive: половина третьего (polovína trét'yevo — half past two, literally 'half of the third').

Dates: ordinals and months

Dates pair an ordinal number with the month in the genitive: первое сентября (pérvoye sentyabryá — the first of September), восьмое марта (vos'móye márta — the eighth of March). The twelve months run январь (yanvár' — January), февраль (fevrál' — February), март (mart — March), апрель (aprél' — April), май (mai — May), июнь (iyún' — June), июль (iyúl' — July), август (ávgust — August), сентябрь (sentyábr' — September), октябрь (oktyábr' — October), ноябрь (noyábr' — November), декабрь (dekábr' — December).

Key term — час (chas) — hour, o'clock: Used in telling the time: один час (odín chas — one o'clock), два часа (dva chasá — two o'clock), пять часов (pyat' chasóv — five o'clock). Note how the ending changes with the number.

Worked example: Telling the Time

How do you ask 'What time is it?' in Russian?

Который час? (kotóryy chas?).

Answer: Который час? (kotóryy chas?).

Common mistakes
  • Translating 'half past two' word for word English counts the hour it is; Russian counts the hour that is coming: половина третьего (polovína trét'yevo — half of the third), not половина второго.
  • Saying пять часа With 5 and above the genitive plural is needed: пять часов (pyat' chasóv — five o'clock), not пять часа.

Practice

Say 'three o'clock' in Russian.
3 is in the 2–4 group: genitive singular часа.

Три часа (tri chasá).

Say 'seven o'clock' in Russian.
7 needs the genitive plural часов.

Семь часов (sem' chasóv).

Translate 'the eighth of March' into Russian.
Ordinal + genitive of март.

Восьмое марта (vos'móye márta).

Ask 'How much is it?' in Russian.
Сколько…?

Сколько стоит? (skól'ko stóit?).

Quick check

Telling the Time — quick check

Which of these best defines "час (chas) — hour, o'clock"?

Used in telling the time: один час (odín chas — one o'clock), два часа (dva chasá — two o'clock), пять часов (pyat' chasóv — five o'clock). Note how the ending changes with the number.

Complete: три ___ (rouble).

Три рубля (tri rublyá — three roubles).
Key takeaways
  • Telling the Time: say the time in Russian, from час (chas — one o'clock) to половина третьего (polovína trét'yevo — half past two).
  • Telling the time: For 1–4 o'clock use час with the nominative or genitive singular: час (chas — one o'clock), два часа (dva chasá — two o'clock), три часа (tri chasá), четыре часа (chetýre chasá).
  • время (vrémya) — time: A neuter noun with an irregular declension.
  • Watch out for: translating 'half past two' word for word
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