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Counting to Ten

Learn the numbers from один (odín — one) to десять (désyat' — ten) with rhymes and games.

  • Define and explain Counting to Ten in your own words
  • Use key terms such as десять (désyat') — ten accurately
  • Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
  • Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic

Numbers and colours are the building blocks of describing the world. In this chapter you will count to twenty and learn the Russian rainbow — including the famous fact that Russian has two different words for blue. Get ready to point at things and name them in Russian!

This lesson focuses on Counting to Ten: learn the numbers from один (odín — one) to десять (désyat' — ten) with rhymes and games.

Definition: Counting to Ten

Learn the numbers from один (odín — one) to десять (désyat' — ten) with rhymes and games.

Key ideas

Numbers one to ten

один (odín — 1), два (dva — 2), три (tri — 3), четыре (chetýre — 4), пять (pyat' — 5), шесть (shest' — 6), семь (sem' — 7), восемь (vósem' — 8), девять (dévya' — 9), десять (désyat' — 10). Notice that два (dva) becomes две (dve) with feminine nouns: две книги (dve knígi — two books).

Counting to twenty

The teens are simple: add -надцать (meaning 'on ten') to the small numbers — одиннадцать (odínnadtsat' — 11), двенадцать (dvenádtsat' — 12), all the way to девятнадцать (devyatnádtsat' — 19), then двадцать (dvádtsat' — 20). Once you know one to ten, the teens almost build themselves.

Key term — десять (désyat') — ten: The number ten, and the building block for the teens: одиннадцать (odínnadtsat' — eleven) literally means 'one-on-ten'.

Worked example: Counting to Ten

What number is десять?

Ten (désyat').

Answer: Ten (désyat').

Common mistakes
  • Saying красный машина Машина (mashína — car) is feminine, so the colour must be красная (krásnaya), not красный (krásnyy).
  • Mixing up синий and голубой Russian has two blues: синий (síniy — dark blue) and голубой (golubóy — light blue). The sky is голубой (golubóy), not синий (síniy).

Practice

Count from one to five in Russian.
один, два, три…

один (odín), два (dva), три (tri), четыре (chetýre), пять (pyat').

How do you say 'eleven' in Russian?
It is один + надцать joined together.

Одиннадцать (odínnadtsat' — eleven).

Translate 'green frog' into Russian (frog = лягушка, feminine).
Зелёный needs a feminine ending.

Зелёная лягушка (zelyónaya lyagúshka — green frog).

Is the sky синий or голубой?
Think of a light, sunny blue.

Голубой (golubóy — light blue).

Quick check

Counting to Ten — quick check

Which of these best defines "десять (désyat') — ten"?

The number ten, and the building block for the teens: одиннадцать (odínnadtsat' — eleven) literally means 'one-on-ten'.

Say 'two books' in Russian (book = книга, feminine).

Две книги (dve knígi — two books).
Key takeaways
  • Counting to Ten: learn the numbers from один (odín — one) to десять (désyat' — ten) with rhymes and games.
  • Numbers one to ten: один (odín — 1), два (dva — 2), три (tri — 3), четыре (chetýre — 4), пять (pyat' — 5), шесть (shest' — 6), семь (sem' — 7), восемь (vósem' — 8), девять (dévya' — 9), десять (désyat' — 10).
  • один (odín) — one: The first number.
  • Watch out for: saying красный машина
Counting to Twenty →Back to Grade 8 chaptersRelated resources →