Breakdown of Сегодня мне некогда долго готовить, поэтому я просто съел банан и выпил кефир.
Questions & Answers about Сегодня мне некогда долго готовить, поэтому я просто съел банан и выпил кефир.
Мне некогда is a very common Russian expression meaning I have no time or I’m too busy.
Literally, it is closer to To me, there is no time. Russian often uses this kind of impersonal structure instead of saying something like I do not have time.
So:
- мне = to me
- некогда = there is no time / no time available
This is why there is no ordinary verb like have in the sentence. Russian often expresses possession or availability without using a direct equivalent of English to have.