Telling time is essential in everyday life. And in a foreign language too!
In Russian this can be both simple and complex, depending on the route you take. There are many constructions one can use, which you will find to be not only enriching, but also confusing.
The key is to be able to understand all possible constructions. Then, when you’re ready, pick the construction you find easiest and stick with it! Or, if you’re a daredevil, vary it up.
Let’s start with the easy stuff! In Russia, both the 12- and 24-hour clocks are used. The 24-hour is used in formal contexts, while the 12-hour is used in everyday contexts.
How do we express in Russian what time is it? There are two ways:
| Сколько времени? What time is it? |
And, although less common but still useful to know:
| Который час? What time is it? |
Occasionally, you might hear сейчас added to these phrases.
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And to respond, you start with сейчас [now], but in this context, it carries the meaning of it is, and then give the following options:
| сейчас it’s |
| (один)* час | one o’clock |
| два часа | two o’clock |
| три часа | three o’clock |
| четыре часа | four o’clock |
| пять часов | five o’clock |
| шесть часов | six o’clock |
| семь часов | seven o’clock |
| восемь часов | eight o’clock |
| девять часов | nine o’clock |
| десять часов | ten o’clock |
| одиннадцать часов | eleven o’clock |
| двенадцать часов | twelve o’clock |
If you use the 24-hour clock, we can continue:
| тринадцать часов | thirteen o’clock |
| четырнадцать часов | fourteen o’clock |
| пятнадцать часов | fifteen o’clock |
| шестнадцать часов | sixteen o’clock |
| семнадцать часов | seventeen o’clock |
| восемнадцать часов | eighteen o’clock |
| девятнадцать часов | nineteen o’clock |
| двадцать часов | twenty o’clock |
| двадцать один час | twenty-one o’clock |
| двадцать два часа | twenty-two o’clock |
| двадцать три часа | twenty-three o’clock |
| двадцать четыре часа | twenty-four o’clock |
| *The word один is not necessary when telling the time in this manner. |
Easy, huh? Let’s observe some example sentences:
| Сейчас три часа. Я иду домой. It’s three o’clock. I’m going home. |
| Уже восемь часов. Очень поздно! It’s already eight o’clock. It’s very late! |
| Сейчас час, что есть на обед? It’s one o’clock, what’s there for lunch? |
| Notice in the table and examples how the word час [hour] declines [changes] according to the number it follows. We can focus on that in another lesson. For simplicity, let’s just memorize these forms for now. |
| For a deeper understanding, click here. We explored this topic in lesson 12. |
More examples:
| Извините, уже десять часов. Мне пора идти! Sorry, it’s already ten o’clock. I have to go! |
| Было четыре часа, когда я проснулся. It was four o’clock when I woke up. |
| Будет десять часов, когда мы приедем. It will be ten o’clock when we arrive. |
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Since we’re focusing on the 12-hour clock, we should know how to clarify better. AM? PM? Sadly, there is no exact equivalent to these in Russian. Instead, the following time expressions are used for further clarity.
| all morning hours after 5 until noon | from noon until 5 PM | from 5 PM until midnight | from midnight to around 5 AM |
| утро | день | вечер | ночь |
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| I’m a night owl. In Russian сова means owl [literally] and night owl [figurately]. The opposite of that is жаворонок. It means lark [literally] and early bird or early riser [figuratively]. Anyway, when I chatted with Russian speakers late at night, they asked what time it was, and I responded like this: Сейчас три часа утра. Because we say three o’clock in the morning. Using утро between midnight and 5 AM is not typical in Russian. It should be: Сейчас три часа ночи. |
More examples:
| У меня сейчас три часа дня. It’s three o’clock in the afternoon where I live. |
| В России сейчас восемь часов вечера. It’s eight o’clock in the evening in Russia. |
| Было два часа ночи, когда вернулась Катя. It was two o’clock in the morning when Katya returned. |
These words will come in handy:
| полдень midday, noon | полночь midnight |
And that concludes all the basics to telling the time in Russian.
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What about asking at what time something begins?
To ask at what time, the following expressions should come in handy:
| Во сколько? At what time? |
You can also say:
| В котором часу? At what time? |
This phrase is a little old-fashioned.
And say at what time something is, just add in the preposition в.
| в (один)* час | at one o’clock |
| в два часа | at two o’clock |
| в три часа | at three o’clock |
| в четыре часа | at four o’clock |
| в пять часов | at five o’clock |
| в шесть часов | at six o’clock |
| в семь часов | at seven o’clock |
| в восемь часов | at eight o’clock |
| в девять часов | at nine o’clock |
| в десять часов | at ten o’clock |
| в одиннадцать часов | at eleven o’clock |
| в двенадцать часов | at twelve o’clock |
Nothing complicated! 🙂
Let’s look at some examples:
| Фильм начинается в час. The movie starts at one o’clock. |
| Я пришёл на работу в восемь часов. I arrived to work at eight o’clock. |
| Она пойдёт спать в полночь. She will go to sleep at midnight. |
That is all for today’s lesson.
Part 2 will be coming, because there is so much more to mention on the topic of telling time.
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