Asking and telling time in Russian

Numeral Number of hours      Number of minutes      

1 Один час Одна минута

2, 3, 4
(For nouns that follow,   Два, три, четыре часа Две, три, четыре минуты
genitive singular)

5-12
(For adjectives or nouns  
часов минут
that follow, genitive
plural)

13-20, 30, 40, 50 часов минут

Now that you know the numbers, you can begin asking and telling time in Russian. Listen to the following
phrases and try to learn some of them. The show you several different ways to ask what time it is.

Сколько времени?                    What time is it? (literally: How much

time?)

Который час? What time is it? (literally: Which hour?)

These are barebones phrases used when speaking to people you know well. If there are no friends around
and you want to ask someone you don’t know for the time remember to introduce some polite words:

Скажите, пожалуйста, сколько времени? Could you tell me the time, please?

Извините, Вы не подскажете который час?       Excuse me, could you tell me what time is it?

(Can be asked when you are not sure if the
stranger has a watch)

When hearing the answer or telling time keep in mind that cardinal numbers change as shown in the table.

Here are some possible answers to a question about time. For simplicity, these examples do
not mention the time of the day or night.
Сейчас два часа.                         It’s 2:00. (literally: Now two o’clock.) 

Сейчас четыре часа двадцать четыре It’s 4:24. 

минуты.

Сейчас пять часов тридцать минут. It’s 5:30.

Quiz:

Suppose you are standing by a mall and enjoying your new watch. Someone comes by and asks you in
Russian “Извините, Вы не подскажете, сколько времени?” Answer this question using the following
information. Don’t forget to change the endings of numbers and words in brackets when needed.

2 (час)
1 (час)
10 (час)
12 ( час) 15 (минута)
4 (час)
7 (час) 25 (минута)
11 (час) 10 (минута)
3 (час)
5 (час) 15 (минута)
3 (час)
5 (час)
6 (час) 15 (минута)
8 (час) 30 (минута)
8 (час) 5 (минута)
9 (час) 30 (минута)
(1 час)
в 2 (час)
3 (час)
4 (час) 5 (минута)
5 (час) 40 (минута)