Telling time and giving dates in Russian is, more than anything, a case drill in disguise. A single hour appears in three different cases depending on what surrounds it — час (nominative), два часа́ (genitive singular), в два часа́ (accusative) — and dates swing between nominative ("it's the 1st") and genitive ("on the 1st"). On top of that, Russian counts the half-hour by the coming hour, so "half past two" is "half of the third." This page walks through the clock, the half-hour logic, "at" expressions, and the days/months/years/dates system, flagging the case at every step.
Asking what time it is
Two interchangeable questions: Кото́рый час? ("which hour?") and the more colloquial Ско́лько вре́мени? ("how much time?"). To answer, lead with Сейча́с ("[it is] now").
Кото́рый час? — Сейча́с час.
What time is it? — It's one o'clock. (час = nominative; '1' takes the bare noun)
Ско́лько вре́мени? — Без десяти́ три.
What's the time? — Ten to three. (the colloquial question)
The hours — a built-in numeral workout
How you name the hour depends entirely on the number, because of numeral government: "1" takes the nominative; "2, 3, 4" take the genitive singular (часа́); "5" and up take the genitive plural (часо́в).
| Number | Form of "hour" | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (and …21, …31) | час (nom. sg) | Сейча́с час. |
| 2, 3, 4 (…22…) | часа́ (gen. sg) | Сейча́с два часа́. |
| 5–20, …25… | часо́в (gen. pl) | Сейча́с семь часо́в. |
Сейча́с два часа́ дня.
It's two in the afternoon. (два → genitive singular часа́)
Уже́ де́сять часо́в ве́чера.
It's already ten in the evening. (де́сять → genitive plural часо́в)
Магази́н открыва́ется в де́вять часо́в утра́.
The shop opens at nine in the morning. (часо́в after 9; утра́/дня/ве́чера mark a.m./afternoon/p.m.)
Russians often add дня / утра́ / ве́чера / но́чи (genitive) to a 12-hour clock to say a.m./afternoon/p.m. — два часа́ дня (2 p.m.), два часа́ но́чи (2 a.m.).
Half past and quarter to — the coming-hour rule
This is the part that trips everyone. For the half hour, Russian says полови́на + the ordinal of the hour you're climbing toward. So "half past two" is полови́на тре́тьего — literally "half of the third," because 2:30 is halfway through the third hour. You count the hour you're in the middle of, not the one just passed.
Сейча́с полови́на тре́тьего.
It's half past two. (= 'half of the third' — 2:30, the coming hour is the 3rd)
Встре́тимся в полови́не седьмо́го.
Let's meet at half past six. ('half of the seventh' = 6:30; в + prepositional полови́не)
In everyday speech полови́на is usually clipped to пол-, written as one word: полтре́тьего, полседьмо́го. For the quarter to, use без + genitive: без че́тверти ("a quarter short of") + the nominative hour.
Без че́тверти пять.
A quarter to five. (без + genitive че́тверти; пять stays nominative)
Без десяти́ во́семь.
Ten to eight. (без + genitive десяти́ — 'eight minus ten')
Saying "at" a time
To pin an event to a clock time, the rule depends on the format:
- On the hour: в + accusative — в два часа́ (the accusative of часа́ looks like the genitive, but в triggers accusative here; see accusative time expressions).
- On the half hour: в + prepositional — в полови́не тре́тьего.
- Quarter-to (без): no preposition — без че́тверти пять.
Уро́к начина́ется в три часа́.
The lesson starts at three. (в + accusative — 'at' a clock hour)
Я позвоню́ в полови́не оди́ннадцатого.
I'll call at half past ten. (в + prepositional полови́не)
Days of the week
Two patterns. One specific day: в + accusative — в понеде́льник ("on Monday"). Habitually, "every…": по + dative plural — по понеде́льникам ("on Mondays / every Monday").
Дава́й встре́тимся в сре́ду.
Let's meet on Wednesday. (в + accusative сре́ду — one specific day)
По выходны́м я сплю до полу́дня.
On weekends I sleep till noon. (по + dative plural выходны́м — a regular habit)
У нас йо́га по понеде́льникам и четверга́м.
We have yoga on Mondays and Thursdays. (по + dative plural — recurring)
The по + dative-plural "every…" pattern is one of the cleanest uses of по: по утра́м ("in the mornings"), по вечера́м ("in the evenings"), по суббо́там ("on Saturdays").
Months and years
Months: в + prepositional — в январе́, в ма́е, в декабре́. Years: в + prepositional with the ordinal year + году́ — в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртом году́ ("in 2024"). Only the last element of the year is the ordinal and only it (plus году́) shows the prepositional ending.
Я роди́лся в январе́.
I was born in January. (в + prepositional январе́)
Мы перее́хали в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртом году́.
We moved in 2024. (only the final ordinal четвёртом + году́ inflect; the rest stays as the cardinal)
В сле́дующем году́ я зако́нчу университе́т.
Next year I'll finish university. (году́ = prepositional of год)
Dates: пе́рвое vs пе́рвого
The single most frequent date error. The day-of-month is an ordinal, and its case flips with meaning:
- "It is the Nth" (nominative) — Сего́дня пе́рвое ма́я ("Today is May 1st"). The neuter ordinal agrees with an implied число́ ("[the] first [date]"), and the month is genitive (ма́я "of May").
- "On the Nth" (genitive) — Я прие́ду пе́рвого ма́я ("I'll arrive on May 1st"). To say an event happens on a date, the whole date goes genitive — no preposition needed.
Како́е сего́дня число́? — Сего́дня пятна́дцатое ма́рта.
What's the date today? — It's March 15th. (nominative пятна́дцатое — stating the date)
Мой день рожде́ния пе́рвого ма́я.
My birthday is on May 1st. (genitive пе́рвого ма́я — an event ON a date, no preposition)
Экза́мен бу́дет два́дцать тре́тьего декабря́.
The exam is on December 23rd. (genitive два́дцать тре́тьего декабря́)
How this differs from English
English keeps the words fixed: "two o'clock," "at two," "on Monday," "in January," "the first of May" — two, Monday, first never change shape, and "on/at/in" do all the work. Russian instead inflects the time word and lets the case carry much of the meaning: два часа́ (gen.) vs в два часа́ (acc.); пе́рвое (nom., "it's the 1st") vs пе́рвого (gen., "on the 1st," no preposition at all). Two ideas have no English parallel and cause the most trouble: the coming-hour half-past (полови́на тре́тьего = 2:30, not 3:30) and the prepositionless genitive for "on a date." Treat each time phrase as a mini case-selection puzzle rather than a fixed phrase, and the system becomes predictable.
Common Mistakes
❌ Сейча́с два час.
Numeral-government error — '2' takes the genitive singular: два часа́.
✅ Сейча́с два часа́.
It's two o'clock.
❌ Полови́на второ́го. (meaning 2:30)
Coming-hour error — 2:30 is 'half of the third': полови́на тре́тьего. Полови́на второ́го is 1:30.
✅ Полови́на тре́тьего.
Half past two (2:30).
❌ Я прие́ду в пе́рвое ма́я.
Date error — 'on a date' is the bare genitive with NO preposition: пе́рвого ма́я.
✅ Я прие́ду пе́рвого ма́я.
I'll arrive on May 1st.
❌ Я хожу́ в бассе́йн в понеде́льникам.
Habit error — 'every Monday' is по + dative plural: по понеде́льникам. в понеде́льник is one specific Monday.
✅ Я хожу́ в бассе́йн по понеде́льникам.
I go to the pool on Mondays.
❌ Мы перее́хали в 2024 год.
Year error — 'in [a year]' is в + prepositional году́ with the ordinal: в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртом году́.
✅ Мы перее́хали в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртом году́.
We moved in 2024.
Key Takeaways
- Hours follow numeral government: час (nom.), два/три/четы́ре часа́ (gen. sg), пять+ часо́в (gen. pl). Add утра́/дня/ве́чера/но́чи for a.m./p.m.
- Half past = the coming hour: полови́на тре́тьего = 2:30 ("half of the third"); quarter to = без че́тверти пять (без + genitive).
- "At": on the hour в + accusative (в два часа́); on the half hour в + prepositional (в полови́не тре́тьего); без-times take no preposition.
- Days: one day в + accusative (в сре́ду); "every…" по + dative plural (по сре́дам). Months/years: в + prepositional (в январе́, в 2024 году́).
- Dates: "it's the Nth" = nominative (пе́рвое ма́я); "on the Nth" = genitive, no preposition (пе́рвого ма́я). Month is genitive in both.
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- Genitive in Dates and TimeB1 — Saying something happens 'on the Nth' puts BOTH the ordinal and the month in the genitive: пе́рвого ма́я, два́дцать пя́того декабря́. Contrast naming a date (Сего́дня пе́рвое ма́я — nominative) with an event on it (Я прие́хал пе́рвого ма́я — genitive). The genitive also follows time prepositions с / от / до / по́сле / о́коло / во вре́мя (с утра́ до ве́чера, по́сле обе́да, о́коло ча́са) and marks the year in a full date (…две ты́сячи двадца́того го́да).
- The Numeral Government Rule in DepthA2 — The single most important rule in Russian numbers, stated definitively for the nominative/accusative: a number ending in 1 (except 11) puts the noun in the NOMINATIVE SINGULAR (два́дцать оди́н дом); ending in 2, 3, 4 (except 12–14) → GENITIVE SINGULAR (два до́ма, три рубля́); ending in 0, 5–9, or being 11–14 → GENITIVE PLURAL (пять домо́в, двена́дцать книг). Plus where the rule comes from (the genitive singular is a fossilized dual), how adjectives agree inside a numeral phrase (два больши́х до́ма), and how compounds key on the final word (сто оди́н дом).
- Telling Time: The BasicsA2 — How to say the whole hour in Russian — час (1:00), два часа́ (2:00), пять часо́в (5:00) — and why the word for 'o'clock' changes shape with the number. Plus 'at' a time with в + accusative (в два часа́, в пять часо́в) and the genitive day-part labels that replace AM/PM: утра́ (in the morning), дня (in the afternoon), ве́чера (in the evening), но́чи (at night).
- Ordinal NumbersA2 — Ordinals — пе́рвый, второ́й, тре́тий, четвёртый, пя́тый… — answer 'which one in order?'. Grammatically they are ordinary ADJECTIVES: they decline and agree fully in gender, number, and case (пе́рвый день, пе́рвая кни́га, на пе́рвом этаже́). Most are regular hard adjectives, but тре́тий is irregular and soft (тре́тья, тре́тье, тре́тьего). The big rule for compound ordinals is the mirror image of the cardinal rule: only the LAST word becomes ordinal and declines, everything before it stays cardinal (два́дцать пе́рвый; ты́сяча девятьсо́т во́семьдесят четвёртый год). They run dates, floors, and clock-hours.
- Accusative in Time and DurationA2 — Beyond the direct object, the accusative runs Russian's time system. The bare accusative gives duration (Я ждал час 'I waited an hour'); в + accusative gives days and clock times (в понеде́льник, в три часа́); за + accusative means 'within / in' a span (сде́лал за час 'did it in an hour'); на + accusative means 'for' a planned span (на неде́лю 'for a week'). The classic hurdle is keeping час (spent it), за час (in an hour), and на час (for an hour ahead) apart.
- The Many Uses of ПоB1 — По is one of the most polysemous prepositions in Russian, and it almost always takes the dative: motion along a surface (по у́лице), by means of (по телефо́ну), according to (по пла́ну), the subject of a study or exam (экза́мен по фи́зике), regular days and times (по понеде́льникам, по утра́м), distribution (по одному́), and 'by mistake' (по оши́бке). A rarer по + accusative means 'up to and including'.