Breakdown of Десять и семь — это семнадцать.
это
this / it is
и
and
семь
seven
десять
ten
семнадцать
seventeen
Questions & Answers about Десять и семь — это семнадцать.
How exactly do you build the word семнадцать (seventeen)?
Numbers from 11 to 19 in Russian are built by literally saying "X on ten". Семнадцать comes from семь (seven) + на (on) + дцать (an old, shortened form of десять, meaning ten). So, it translates directly to "seven on ten"!
The number семь has a soft sign (ь) at the end. Why does it disappear in семнадцать?
When forming the "teen" numbers, the soft sign (ь) from the end of the base number is always dropped. So семь becomes семнадцать, пять (five) becomes пятнадцать, and so on. You never keep the soft sign in the middle of these words.
Is using и and — это the standard way to talk about addition in Russian?
Yes! For simple, everyday arithmetic, saying "[Number] и [Number] — это [Total]" is very common and natural, just like saying "Ten and seven is seventeen" in English. In formal math contexts, you might hear плюс (plus) and равно (equals), but this phrasing is perfect for casual conversation.
Why is there a long dash (—) before это?
In the Russian present tense, the verb "to be" (is/are) is normally skipped. When you link two concepts together to say "X is Y" (like saying two numbers equal a total), Russian uses a dash in place of that missing verb. Adding это after the dash makes the equation clearer, essentially saying "Ten and seven — that is seventeen."
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