Мы встретимся примерно в десять часов.

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Breakdown of Мы встретимся примерно в десять часов.

• встретиться: to meet
• в: at
• час: the hour

Questions & Answers about Мы встретимся примерно в десять часов.

What exactly does встретимся mean here, and what tense/aspect is it?

Встретимся is the first person plural, future tense, perfective, reflexive form of the verb встретиться (“to meet (each other)”, “to get together”).

• Мы встретимся = “We will (successfully) meet / We will get together (once).”
• Because it’s perfective, it focuses on the result (the meeting will take place), not on the process or repetition.
• The form breaks down as:
  • встрет- – verb stem
  • -и- – verb suffix
  • -м- – “we”
  • -ся – reflexive ending

Why is встретимся reflexive? Why not just встретим?

In Russian, many actions that are reciprocal (“each other”) are expressed with reflexive verbs:

• Мы встретимся – “We will meet (each other).”
• Мы встретим – “We will meet (someone/something).” This must have a direct object:
  • Мы встретим гостей. – “We will meet the guests.”
  • Я встречу тебя. – “I will meet you.”

So, to talk about two or more people meeting each other, Russian usually uses встретиться / встречаться with -ся:
Мы встретимся, они встретятся, etc.