🕐 Russian Time Expressions: Your Time Travel Guide

Imagine time is like a calendar on your wall and a clock on your desk. Today, we’ll learn how Russians talk about that calendar and clock!

🗓️ Days of the Week (Дни недели)

Think of the week like a train with 7 cars. Each car has a special Russian name!

🎯 Quick Tips

• Monday (понедельник) = “after not-doing” — the day after rest!
• Friday (пятница) comes from “пять” (five) — the 5th day
• Saturday (суббота) comes from Hebrew “Sabbath”

💬 Example Sentences

В понедельник я иду в школу. On Monday I go to school.

Суббота — мой любимый день! Saturday is my favorite day!

🌸 Months and Seasons (Месяцы и времена года)

Seasons are like the four acts of a play. Each has 3 months!

❄️ Winter (Зима) — zee-MAH

🌷 Spring (Весна) — vees-NAH

☀️ Summer (Лето) — LYEH-toh

🍂 Autumn (Осень) — OH-seen

💬 Example

Зимой холодно, а летом жарко. In winter it’s cold, and in summer it’s hot.

⏰ Telling Clock Time (Который час?)

Imagine the clock face is a pizza. Russians describe where the slice is!

The Magic Question

Который час? = What time is it?

Simple Hours

🎯 The Number Rule

• 1 → час (hour)
• 2, 3, 4 → часа (hours)
• 5-20 → часов (hours)

Adding Minutes

💬 Example

Сейчас три часа. It’s three o’clock now.

Урок начинается в девять тридцать. The lesson starts at nine thirty.

🌅 Parts of the Day (Части дня)

The day is like a story with 4 chapters!

graph TD
    A[🌅 Утро<br>Morning<br>6:00-12:00] --> B[☀️ День<br>Afternoon<br>12:00-18:00]
    B --> C[🌆 Вечер<br>Evening<br>18:00-23:00]
    C --> D[🌙 Ночь<br>Night<br>23:00-6:00]
    D --> A

💬 Greetings by Time

Доброе утро! = Good morning! Добрый день! = Good afternoon! Добрый вечер! = Good evening! Спокойной ночи! = Good night!

⏳ Duration Expressions (Как долго?)

Duration tells us HOW LONG something takes. Think of it like measuring a piece of string!

Key Patterns

💬 Examples

Я работаю восемь часов. I work for eight hours.

Каникулы длятся три месяца. Vacation lasts three months.

🔄 Frequency Expressions (Как часто?)

How often do things happen? Like counting how many times you brush your teeth!

Per-Time Patterns

💬 Examples

Я всегда пью кофе утром. I always drink coffee in the morning.

Он редко смотрит телевизор. He rarely watches TV.

📅 Expressing Dates (Даты)

Dates in Russian use ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd…) and months change their endings!

Date Format

Russian dates go: DAY + MONTH

Month Endings for Dates

All months change to -я ending:

• январь → января
• март → марта
• май → мая
• декабрь → декабря

💬 Examples

Мой день рождения — пятое июля. My birthday is July 5th.

Новый год — первого января. New Year is on January 1st.

📆 Year Expressions (Годы)

Years are like big milestones on a road!

Saying Years

Key Vocabulary

💬 Examples

Я родился в тысяча девятьсот девяностом году. I was born in 1990.

В следующем году будет лучше! Next year will be better!

🎯 Quick Summary

graph TD
    T[🕐 TIME IN RUSSIAN] --> D[Days<br>понедельник-воскресенье]
    T --> M[Months<br>январь-декабрь]
    T --> C[Clock<br>Который час?]
    T --> P[Parts of Day<br>утро, день, вечер, ночь]
    T --> DU[Duration<br>час, день, неделя]
    T --> F[Frequency<br>всегда, часто, редко]
    T --> DA[Dates<br>первое января]
    T --> Y[Years<br>в 2024 году]

🚀 You Did It!

Now you can:

• ✅ Name all 7 days of the week
• ✅ Say all 12 months and 4 seasons
• ✅ Tell the time like a Russian
• ✅ Describe parts of the day
• ✅ Express how long things last
• ✅ Say how often things happen
• ✅ Write and say dates correctly
• ✅ Talk about years past and future

Молодец! (Well done!) You’ve mastered Russian time expressions! 🎉