Я записал показания счётчика.

Записал is the perfective past form of записать, so it presents the action as completed: the speaker wrote the reading down and finished doing it.

By contrast, записывал is imperfective and would usually suggest:

• a repeated action,
• an ongoing process,
• or focus on the fact of doing it rather than finishing it.

So:

• Я записал показания счётчика. = I wrote down the meter reading(s).
• Я записывал показания счётчика. = I was writing down / used to write down the meter reading(s).

In this sentence, Russian wants the completed, one-time action.

In the past tense, Russian verbs are formed from the past stem plus endings that agree with gender and number.

For записать, the past forms are:

• записал — masculine singular
• записала — feminine singular
• записало — neuter singular
• записали — plural

So Я записал means the speaker is male.
If the speaker were female, it would be:

• Я записала показания счётчика.

This is one of the big differences from English: in Russian, past tense often shows the speaker’s gender.

In this context, показания means readings or the value shown by a meter/instrument, and Russian very often uses the plural here.

So even when English may say the meter reading, Russian commonly says:

• показания счётчика
• literally: the readings of the meter

The singular показание does exist, but with meters and instruments, the plural is the normal expression.

Also note that показание has other meanings too, such as testimony or statement in legal contexts, and there as well the plural показания is very common.

Показания is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of записал.

The speaker recorded what?
→ показания

A helpful detail: for many inanimate plural nouns, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural.

So here:

• nominative plural: показания
• accusative plural: показания

That is why the form does not change.

Счётчика is genitive singular because it depends on показания in a possessive-type relationship:

• показания счётчика = the readings of the meter

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• номер телефона = the phone number
• крыша дома = the roof of the house
• цена билета = the price of the ticket

So the second noun often goes into the genitive where English might use of or a noun-noun construction.

Base form:

• счётчик = meter / counter

Genitive singular:

• счётчика

Счётчик literally comes from the idea of counting, but in everyday usage it often means a meter that measures consumption, such as:

• an electricity meter
• a gas meter
• a water meter

So показания счётчика is a standard phrase for the readings you report from such a device.

Depending on context, счётчик can also mean:

• a counter,
• a tally device,
• a meter in a technical sense.

Yes. Russian word order is fairly flexible because case endings show grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Я записал показания счётчика.

But you could also hear:

• Показания счётчика я записал.
• Я показания счётчика записал.

These variants change the focus or emphasis, not the core meaning.

For example:

• Показания счётчика я записал puts more emphasis on the meter readings.
• Я записал показания счётчика is the most straightforward, neutral version.

Russian has no articles.

So nouns like показания and счётчика do not need separate words for the or a/an. Whether the meaning is definite or indefinite is understood from context.

That means:

• Я записал показания счётчика.

can naturally mean something like:

• I wrote down the meter readings.
• I wrote down meter readings.

In real use, context usually makes the intended meaning clear.

The word is pronounced with stress on счёт-:

• счётчика

The letter ё always indicates a yo sound and is always stressed when written.

So:

• счётчик
• счётчика

In many printed texts, Russians often replace ё with е, so you may see:

• счетчика

But the correct pronunciation is still счётчика, not счетчика with a plain e sound.

Yes, often you can.

Russian frequently drops personal pronouns when the meaning is clear from the verb form or context.

So:

• Записал показания счётчика.

can work in conversation, especially if it is already obvious who is speaking.

However, because записал is masculine singular past, the sentence still tells you that the speaker is male.

Including Я makes it more explicit or can add emphasis, but it is not always necessary.