Learn Hardcore Russian: Я случайно ударился локтем о дверцу шкафа, когда спешил на кухню. - I accidentally hit my elbow on the cupboard door when I was hurrying to the kitchen.

In this sentence, it implies you accidentally injured yourself by colliding with the cupboard door. That’s why Russian prefers удариться rather than just ударить here.

What is the difference between я ударился локтем о дверцу and something like я ударил локтем о дверцу?

Both are grammatically possible but slightly different in focus:

я ударился локтем о дверцу
– reflexive
– focus is on you getting hurt / you bumping yourself
– common for accidents: “I banged my elbow on the cupboard door.”
я ударил локтем о дверцу
– non‑reflexive
– focus is more on the action of striking the door with your elbow
– can sound more deliberate or neutral: “I hit the cupboard door with my elbow.”

In everyday speech for an accidental bump where you got hurt, удариться is more natural.

Why is локтем in that form and not локоть?

Локоть is the dictionary (nominative) form: “elbow.”

In the sentence we have:

я случайно ударился локтем о дверцу шкафа

Here локтем is in the instrumental case (singular). The instrumental often answers the question “by/with what?” and is used after удариться in the structure:

удариться чем? – to hit oneself with what?

So:

чем? – локтём (instrumental)
= “I banged myself with my elbow against the cupboard door.”

Why is it о дверцу and not о дверце? I thought о takes the prepositional case.

The preposition о can govern two different cases with different meanings:

о + prepositional case – “about, concerning”
- говорить о дверце – to talk about the door
о + accusative case – physical contact, collision “against / onto”
- удариться о дверцу – to hit / bump against the door

In the sentence, we’re talking about physically bumping into the cupboard door, so о takes the accusative:

дверца → accusative дверцу
о дверцу шкафа = “against the cupboard door.”

Why is it дверцу шкафа and not just шкаф? What’s the difference between дверца and дверь?

Russian distinguishes between the whole piece of furniture and its door:

шкаф – the cupboard / wardrobe as a whole
дверца шкафа – the door of the cupboard (often a relatively small door)
дверь – a door in general (like a room door, front door)

Дверца is a diminutive/“smaller object” word often used for doors of cupboards, cars, ovens, etc. So:

ударился о шкаф – you hit the cupboard itself.
ударился о дверцу шкафа – you hit the cupboard door.

The latter is more precise and natural in this context.

Why is шкафа in the genitive case?

Шкафа is the genitive singular of шкаф.

In дверца шкафа, the genitive case shows a possessive / belonging relationship:

что? – дверца (what? door)
чего? – шкафа (of what? of the cupboard)

So literally: “the door of the cupboard.”

This genitive “of X” pattern is very common in Russian to show that one object is a part or property of another.

Why is ударился (perfective) used, but спешил (imperfective) in когда спешил на кухню?

This is a classic aspect contrast:

ударился – perfective, a single completed event (the bump)
спешил – imperfective, describes an ongoing background action (was hurrying)

The structure is:

A background ongoing situation: когда (я) спешил на кухню – “when I was hurrying to the kitchen”
A single event that happened during it: я случайно ударился… – “I (suddenly) banged my elbow…”

Using imperfective спешил paints the motion as a process; using perfective ударился marks the bump as a one‑time completed action that occurred in that background.

Can случайно appear somewhere else in the sentence, like я ударился случайно локтем…? Does the position change the meaning?

Случайно (“accidentally”) is quite flexible in position:

Я случайно ударился локтем о дверцу шкафа…
Случайно я ударился локтем о дверцу шкафа…
Я ударился локтем о дверцу шкафа случайно…

All are grammatically possible. The default, most natural placement is as in the original: Я случайно ударился…

Changing the position can add slight emphasis:

Starting the sentence with случайно can emphasize that it was by chance.
Putting it at the very end can sound more colloquial or afterthought-like.

But the core meaning (“it happened by accident”) stays the same.

Why is я omitted in когда спешил на кухню? Would когда я спешил на кухню be more correct?

Both forms are correct:

когда я спешил на кухню – full, explicit subject
когда спешил на кухню – subject omitted

In Russian, the subject pronoun я is often left out in subordinate clauses when it’s obvious that it’s the same “I” as in the main clause. It sounds natural and not incomplete.

Adding я is also fine and maybe a bit more formal or explicit. Omitting it is very typical in spoken and narrative style.

Why is it на кухню and not в кухню? What is the case of кухню?

Кухню is the accusative singular of кухня (“kitchen”). With motion verbs, accusative normally indicates direction (“to/into somewhere”).

Both в and на can express movement to a place, but their usage is idiomatic:

в + accusative – into an enclosed space (в дом, в комнату, в офис)
на + accusative – onto a surface / to an open area / to many set locations

For кухня, Russian prefers на кухню (to the kitchen), not в кухню, by idiom:

идти на кухню, спешить на кухню, зайти на кухню

So на кухню here means “to the kitchen,” and кухню is accusative because of the direction of movement.

Could the sentence be reordered, for example: Когда спешил на кухню, я случайно ударился локтем о дверцу шкафа? Is that equally natural?

Yes, that word order is completely natural:

Когда спешил на кухню, я случайно ударился локтем о дверцу шкафа.

Russian allows both orders:

Main clause first, then the когда‑clause (as in the original)
Когда‑clause first, then the main clause.

Both are common. Starting with когда спешил на кухню puts a bit more emphasis on the circumstances, but the meaning is the same.