На носу судна ветрено, в то время как на корме тихо.

Because нос has a special second locative form: на носу.

In Russian, some masculine nouns can have:

• a regular prepositional form after о / в / на for talking about something: о носе = about the nose
• a special locative form for location: на носу = on the nose / at the bow

So here:

• на носу судна = at the bow of the ship

This is similar to other nouns like:

• в лесу = in the forest
• на берегу = on the shore

So на носу is the natural form for physical location here.

Because it means of the ship.

The phrase is built like this:

• нос судна = the bow of the ship
• literally: the nose/bow of the vessel

Russian often uses the genitive to show possession or a part-whole relationship:

• крыша дома = the roof of the house
• дверь комнаты = the door of the room
• нос судна = the bow of the ship

So in на носу судна, the word судна tells you whose bow it is.

It does literally mean nose, but it is also the normal word for the bow of a ship.

So:

• нос человека = a person’s nose
• нос судна = the bow of a ship

Russian often uses body-part words metaphorically like this. In English we also do similar things, such as the foot of a mountain or the head of the table.

Корма means the stern or rear part of a ship.

So:

• на корме = at/on the stern

This contrasts with:

• на носу = at the bow
• на корме = at the stern

Because the two nouns decline differently.

• корма is a regular feminine noun, so after на in this location meaning it becomes на корме
• нос is a masculine noun with that special locative form на носу

So the difference is not because the meaning is different, but because the nouns belong to different declension patterns.

Because Russian normally omits to be in the present tense.

So:

• На носу судна ветрено literally looks like At the bow of the ship windy
• but it means It is windy at the bow of the ship

This is completely normal in Russian.

Compare:

• Он дома = He is at home
• Здесь тихо = It is quiet here
• На корме тихо = It is quiet at the stern

If the sentence were in the past or future, a form of быть would appear:

• На носу судна было ветрено = It was windy at the bow of the ship
• На корме будет тихо = It will be quiet at the stern

Here they are being used as predicative words in an impersonal sentence.

They express a general condition:

• ветрено = it is windy
• тихо = it is quiet / calm

For an English speaker, the important thing is that Russian often uses words like this without a subject such as it.

So instead of saying something like it is windy, Russian simply says:

• Ветрено

And with location:

• На носу судна ветрено
• На корме тихо

These are not describing a noun directly. They are describing the situation or environment.

Because ветреный is an adjective, and adjectives describe nouns.

For example:

• ветреный день = a windy day
• ветреная погода = windy weather

But in your sentence, there is no noun being described. The sentence means it is windy, so Russian uses ветрено, not ветреный.

Compare:

• Сегодня ветрено = Today it is windy
• Сегодня ветреный день = Today is a windy day

Same basic idea, different grammar.

It can suggest either, depending on context.

Literally, тихо means quiet. But in a sentence about different parts of a ship, it can also imply:

• less wind
• less noise
• calmer conditions

So the exact nuance depends on the situation. If the contrast is with ветрено, many learners will naturally understand тихо here as something like calm / not windy / peaceful.

Yes, here it means while, whereas, or whereas at the same time.

It connects two contrasting parts:

• На носу судна ветрено
• на корме тихо

So the full meaning is:

• It is windy at the bow of the ship, while at the stern it is calm/quiet

This expression is a bit more formal or written than just а.

Compare:

• На носу судна ветрено, а на корме тихо = simpler, more conversational
• На носу судна ветрено, в то время как на корме тихо = more explicitly contrastive, a bit more formal

Because Russian normally says на носу and на корме for location on those parts of a ship.

These areas are understood as places on the vessel, so на is the natural preposition:

• на носу = at/on the bow
• на корме = at/on the stern

This may not match English perfectly every time, but it is the normal Russian pattern.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible.

The sentence as written:

• На носу судна ветрено, в то время как на корме тихо

puts the locations first, which sounds natural and helps set up the contrast.

You could also hear:

• Ветрено на носу судна, в то время как тихо на корме

But that sounds less neutral. The original version is better and more natural.

In general, Russian often places the location first when describing conditions in a place:

• В комнате жарко
• На улице холодно
• На корме тихо

Not exactly.

• судно is a broader, more general word for a vessel
• корабль is often ship, especially in a more specific or traditional sense

So:

• нос судна = bow of the vessel
• нос корабля = bow of the ship

In many contexts they can both be translated as ship, but судно is more general and sometimes more technical.

Yes.

There is no grammatical subject like English it. Russian simply states the condition:

• ветрено
• тихо

So the sentence is impersonal:

• На носу судна ветрено = It is windy at the bow of the ship
• На корме тихо = It is quiet at the stern

This is a very common Russian pattern for weather, atmosphere, and general conditions.

Yes. Outside of this sentence, на носу can also be an idiomatic expression meaning just around the corner or coming very soon.

For example:

• Экзамен на носу = The exam is just around the corner

But in your sentence, because of судна, it clearly means the literal physical location:

• at the bow of the ship

So context makes the meaning clear.