Asking/Telling the Time and Date in Russian

Russian can state the time directly, as on a digital clock, or describe how far you are into the next hour. Dates also change form depending on whether you are naming today’s date or saying when an event happens. Work through the examples one pattern at a time.

How to ask the time

Который час? and Сколько времени? both mean “What time is it?” Add a polite introduction when asking a stranger:
Извините, не подскажете, который сейчас час? — Excuse me, could you tell me what time it is?
Скажите, пожалуйста, сколько времени? — Could you please tell me the time?

Direct or digital-style time

Say the hours, then the minutes: 18:35 — восемнадцать часов тридцать пять минут. You can also omit the unit words: восемнадцать тридцать пять. The 24-hour system is common in schedules and can also be used in conversation; it is not restricted to military speech.

The unit words change with the number. Use час / минута after numbers ending in 1, except 11; часа / минуты after endings 2–4, except 12–14; and часов / минут after the others. With minutes, use feminine одна and две: 21:01 — двадцать один час одна минута; 02:22 — два часа двадцать две минуты; 11:14 — одиннадцать часов четырнадцать минут. It is incorrect to use часов and минут after every number.

In 12-hour speech, add утра (in the morning), дня (in the daytime / afternoon), вечера (in the evening), or ночи (at night) when needed: 18:35 — шесть тридцать пять вечера. These day-part labels follow common usage and context rather than a universal fixed boundary. For one o’clock, час is usual: час дня or час ночи.

Conversational time: think about the next hour

Quarter past and quarter to

For quarter past, use пятнадцать минут or четверть plus the next hour as an ordinal in the genitive: четверть девятого is 8:15, a quarter of the way into the ninth hour. For quarter to, use без пятнадцати or без четверти plus the upcoming hour as a cardinal number: без четверти два is 1:45.

Half past

Use половина plus the next hour as a genitive ordinal. Половина девятого means 8:30, not 9:30. The combined form полдевятого means the same thing. These forms are usually written together, but пол-одиннадцатого (10:30) has a hyphen before the vowel. See Gramota’s spelling guide for пол-.

Other minutes past the hour

For 1–29 minutes past, use the minute number, the appropriate form of минута, and the next hour as a genitive ordinal. Within this range: 1 and 21 take минута; 2–4 and 22–24 take минуты; 5–20 and 25–29 take минут.

Minutes to the next hour

For 31–59 minutes past, a common conversational pattern is без + minutes remaining in the genitive + upcoming hour. At 8:40, twenty minutes remain before nine: без двадцати девять. The unit минут is often omitted. With one minute remaining, say без одной минуты. Before one o’clock, use час.

For an approximate answer, use почти: почти десять — almost ten, for example at 9:57; почти час — almost one, for example at 12:58. These are approximations, not exact replacements. To emphasize exactness: ровно десять — exactly ten.

Using time expressions in sentences

To state the current time, no preposition is needed: Сейчас восемь утра. — It is eight in the morning.

For when an event happens, use в: Занятия начинаются в полдевятого утра и заканчиваются в два часа дня. — Classes begin at half past eight in the morning and end at two in the afternoon. В этой истории метро закрывается в полночь. — In this story, the metro closes at midnight. Actual schedules must be checked separately.

После + genitive: Она сможет присоединиться к нам после семи. — She can join us after seven.
К + dative: Сегодня потеплеет к полудню. — It will get warmer by noon today.
Около + genitive: Он придёт около шести. — He will come at about six.

Asking and stating the date

Какое сегодня число? means “What is the date today?” To answer, use a neuter singular ordinal for the day and the month in the genitive: Сегодня четвёртое июня. — Today is June 4. Четыре (four) becomes четвёртый (fourth), then neuter четвёртое. Июнь becomes июня. Month names are written in lower case.

Какое число было вчера? — Вчера было третье июня.
What was the date yesterday? — It was June 3.
Какое завтра число? — Завтра будет пятое июня.
What will the date be tomorrow? — Tomorrow will be June 5.
Other useful words are позавчера (the day before yesterday) and послезавтра (the day after tomorrow).

Years and full dates

Какой сейчас год? — What year is it? In a compound year numeral, normally only the final component becomes ordinal: две тысячи двадцатый год (2020), тысяча девятьсот восемьдесят пятый год (1985), две тысячи двадцать шестой год (2026). A round year such as 2000 has its own form: двухтысячный год. Think of numeral components, not individual digits.

When naming a full current date, the day remains neuter nominative, while the month and year expression use the genitive: Сегодня четвёртое июня две тысячи двадцатого года. — Today is June 4, 2020. This is a model sentence, not today’s actual date.

Saying when an event happens

Ask Когда…? (“When…?”) or Какого числа…? (“On what date…?”). For a specific day, use the genitive ordinal and genitive month, without в:
Какого числа приезжает твой брат? — Десятого марта.
On what date is your brother arriving? — On March 10.
Когда у твоей жены день рождения? — Двадцать третьего ноября.
When is your wife’s birthday? — On November 23.

For a compound day number, only the final ordinal component changes: двадцать третье → двадцать третьего, тридцать первое → тридцать первого. The first two columns below answer “What date?”; the last answers “On what date?”

Months, years, and complete dates

В каком году родился твой брат? — В две тысячи двенадцатом году.
In what year was your brother born? — In 2012. В takes the prepositional form of the final ordinal component and году.
Когда у тебя отпуск? — В августе.
When is your vacation? — In August. The month is prepositional after в.

Когда ты начал работать в этой компании? — В феврале две тысячи семнадцатого года.
When did you start working at this company? — In February 2017. The month is prepositional after в; the year expression is genitive.
Когда твои родители поженились? — Двадцать пятого октября две тысячи шестого года.
When did your parents get married? — On October 25, 2006. For an event on a full date, the day, month, and final ordinal component of the year are genitive.

Practise the patterns

Say 8:15, 8:30, and 8:45 using both direct and conversational forms. Then write today’s date and the date of your birthday. If you need to review the numbers themselves, use our Russian numbers guide. Which pattern is hardest to remember?