Questions & Answers about Четыре и пять — девять.
Why does the sentence use и and a dash instead of words for "plus" and "equals"?
In everyday Russian, simple math can be spoken just like this! и (and) acts as "plus", and the dash (—) acts as "is" or "equals". You can also use the actual math words плюс (plus) and равно (equals), but this conversational way is very common.
Is the dash replacing a verb here?
Yes! In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (is/are) is almost always skipped. When writing, an em dash (—) is often used to stand in for that missing "is", especially when connecting numbers or nouns.
Why do пять and девять both end with a soft sign (ь)?
The soft sign (ь) doesn't have a sound of its own, but it tells you to pronounce the consonant before it softly. For the т at the end of these numbers, press your tongue flatter against the roof of your mouth, almost like you are about to say a "y" sound right after the "t". Many numbers from 5 to 10 follow this exact spelling pattern!
If I see "4 + 5 = 9" written out, can I read it out loud using this exact sentence?
Yes, absolutely! If you are speaking casually, четыре и пять — девять is perfectly natural. In a more formal math class setting, you would probably say четыре плюс пять равно девять.