A1 · Beginner Chapter 14

Time Expressions

1 Total Rules
10 examples
1 min
Rules in This Chapter Quick Practice

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the art of telling time and navigating your day with ease in Russian.

  • Identify the unique Russian logic for telling time.
  • Practice asking and answering questions about the current hour.
  • Use essential time markers to coordinate your daily schedule.
Unlock your clock: Time telling made simple.

What You'll Learn

Telling time and talking about days of the week. Using temporal markers in sentences.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: Express the current time in Russian using the correct ordinal logic for hours.

Key Examples (2)

1

Сейчас пять минут десятого.

It is 9:05 now.

Telling Time in Russian: The 'Next Hour' Logic
2

Встретимся в половину восьмого?

Shall we meet at 7:30?

Telling Time in Russian: The 'Next Hour' Logic

Tips & Tricks (1)

🎯

The 'Next Hour' Rule

Always look at the hour that is *coming up* when you are between 1 and 30 minutes. 8:15 is 15 minutes of the *9th* hour.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Telling Time in Russian: The 'Next Hour' Logic

Key Vocabulary (5)

Который час? What time is it? час hour/one o'clock сейчас now второй second ровно exactly/sharp

Real-World Preview

coffee

Meeting a Friend

Review Summary

  • Сейчас + [number] + часа/часов

Common Mistakes

In Russian, we simply say 'час' for 1:00, not 'один час'.

Wrong: Сейчас один час.
Correct: Сейчас час.

Numbers 5 and above require the plural genitive 'часов'.

Wrong: Сейчас пять часа.
Correct: Сейчас пять часов.

The word 'время' is neuter, but 'который' must match the masculine noun 'час'.

Wrong: Который время?
Correct: Который час?

Next Steps

You have mastered the clock! Continue this momentum into the next chapter as we explore family life.

Set your phone to Russian and check the time throughout the day.

Continue to: Family and Relationships

Quick Practice (3)

Fix the mistake in this sentence for 4:55.

Find and fix the mistake:

Без пять пять.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Без пяти пять.
After 'без', the number of minutes must be in the Genitive case (пять -> пяти).

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Telling Time in Russian: The 'Next Hour' Logic

How do you say 2:30 in casual Russian?

Choose the correct phrase for 2:30:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Половина третьего
2:30 is 'half of the third hour' because you have completed 2 hours and are halfway through the 3rd.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Telling Time in Russian: The 'Next Hour' Logic

Fill in the correct form of the hour (1:10).

Сейчас десять минут ____ (второй).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: второго
Minutes 1-30 require the next hour in the Genitive Ordinal form.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Telling Time in Russian: The 'Next Hour' Logic

Score: /3

Common Questions (2)

The Genitive case shows that the minutes belong to the hour that is currently passing. For example, 'десять минут второго' literally means 'ten minutes of the second hour.'
Yes, you can! It is called the digital format. It's common in modern speech and texting, though the analog way is more 'native' sounding.
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