What’s the time? | Который час?
It’s very important to know what’s the time, ‘cause everything has own schedule in our days. Trains, planes, universities, doctors, barbers… Don’t know time — can’t use your life, eh?
The same in Russia. So, you should know the questions about time, the answers for talking with folk. In this lesson we’ll learn or revise this theme.
1. What’s the time?
You have 2 ways asking “What’s the time?” in Russian.
-Который час?
-Сколько времени?
They’re identical. You can use both, it’ll be okay.
!Be careful, some Russian people say «Сколько время?» IT’S INCORRECT! The right form is «времени».
2. 15:15
If you use digital watches or smartphone, it’s okay to say 15:15 or 23:05. It’s 15:15 — «пятнадцать-пятнадцать» or 23:05 — «двадцать три-ноль пять» in Russian. People will understand you, they use this way by themselves. But natives often say «половина», «без пятнадцати» and other. Let’s see it.
3. Before half of hour
Russians rarely use word “quarter” — «четверть». You should say «пятнадцать (15) минут». For example, 14:15 — «пятнадцать минут третьего». The other minutes are the same. 14:03 — «три минуты третьего», 14:20 — «20 минут третьего», 14:28 — «двадцать восемь минут третьего».
NB! 1, 21 — одна, двадцать одна минута;
2, 3, 4, 22, 23, 24 — две, три, четыре, двадцать две, двадцать три, двадцать четыре минуты;
the other numbers — минут.
4. Half of hour
“Half” is «половина» in Russian. It’s easy: 15:30 — «половина третьего», 23:30 — «половина двенадцатого». Nothing difficult.
5. Half after hour
This part of hour can be complex for you, but don’t be afraid. I’ll help you to understand it.
At first, remember English. 14:40 — “twenty minutes to three”. In Russian we don’t count how much we should add to time. We subtract. So, 14:40 is «без двадцати минут три» or just «без двадцати три».
Be careful! We use this form for “full time” with 5 or 0 in the close: 14:35 — «без двадцати пяти три».
14:40 — «без двадцати три»;
14:45 — «без пятнадцати три»;
14:50 — «без десяти три»;
14:55 — «без пяти три».
And also you can see it in:
14:56 — «без четырех минут три»;
14:57 — «без трех минут три»;
14:58 — «без двух минут три»;
14:59 — «без одной минуты три».
6. A.M. or P.M.
We don’t have this designations in Russian. Just remember: you should use time “01-12” when talk with people. You can use words «утра» — a.m. or «вечера» — p.m., when have some arrangements. But if you’re “digital guy” just use your digital time. It’s okay.
Good luck, and be punctual.
Btw, in case you want to improve your time knowledge I suggest you to do a little task. Write in Russian in comments. I'll check it:
00:43
12:20
17:15
17:45
23:30
11:01
20:56
September 24, 2018
