How to Tell Time in Russian: A Complete Beginner's Guide
Telling time in Russian is one of those small skills that unlocks a hundred situations: catching a train, scheduling a lesson, meeting a friend, asking how long something takes. The Russian time system is logical, but it has two surprises for English speakers — the use of the 24-hour clock in formal contexts, and a quirky "in the half of the next hour" way to say half past. This guide walks through every form, with the case rules you actually need.
- How to ask "what time is it?" in Russian
- The simple way to say full hours (1:00, 2:00...)
- Quarter past, half past, quarter to — the Russian way
- Minutes past and minutes to the hour
- 24-hour vs 12-hour clock and when to use each
- AM/PM equivalents: утра, дня, вечера, ночи
How to Ask the Time
The two most common ways to ask:
- Кото́рый час? (ka-TO-ryy chas) — What time is it? (slightly formal, textbook standard)
- Ско́лько вре́мени? (SKOL-ka VRYE-mee-nee) — What time is it? (informal, more common in spoken Russian)
Both work — Сколько времени? is what you'll hear most often on the street.
To ask "at what time?":
- Во ско́лько? (va-SKOL-ka) — At what time?
- Когда́? (kahg-DAH) — When?
— Во ско́лько начина́ется уро́к? — В семь часо́в. ("What time does the lesson start?" — "At seven o'clock.")
Full Hours: The Easy Part
To say a full hour, use a number + the word for "hour", applying the standard Russian number+noun case rules (we cover these in the Russian numbers guide):
- час — after 1 (and numbers ending in 1, except 11)
- часа́ — after 2, 3, 4 (and 22, 23, 24...)
- часо́в — after 5–20, 0, and most other numbers
So:
- 1:00 — (оди́н) час — usually just час on its own
- 2:00 — два часа́
- 3:00 — три часа́
- 4:00 — четы́ре часа́
- 5:00 — пять часо́в
- 10:00 — де́сять часо́в
- 12:00 — двена́дцать часо́в
Сейча́с три часа́. — It's three o'clock. Я просыпа́юсь в семь часо́в. — I wake up at seven o'clock.
Russians often skip the word for "hour" entirely in spoken language: Сейчас три — "It's three." It's understood from context. Like English "It's three" instead of "It's three o'clock."
Half Past, Quarter Past, Quarter To
Here's where Russian gets interesting. To say half past three, Russians don't say "half past three" — they say "half of the fourth (hour)":
- полови́на четвёртого — half past three (literally "half of the fourth")
- полови́на седьмо́го — half past six ("half of the seventh")
- полови́на пе́рвого — half past twelve ("half of the first")
The pattern: полови́на + ordinal number in genitive of the next hour.
"Half past three" in English = "half of four" in Russian. Beginners say половина третьего meaning "half past three," but this actually means half past two! When in doubt, just say три тридцать (three thirty) and you'll always be right.
Quarter past
Same logic: "quarter past three" = "quarter of the fourth":
- че́тверть четвёртого — quarter past three
- че́тверть пе́рвого — quarter past twelve
Quarter to
To say "quarter to," use без че́тверти + the upcoming hour (in nominative):
- без че́тверти час — quarter to one (12:45)
- без че́тверти три — quarter to three (2:45)
- без че́тверти семь — quarter to seven (6:45)
Уви́димся без че́тверти семь. — See you at 6:45.
Minutes Past and Minutes To
For specific minutes, you have two options.
Option 1: The simple, modern way (digital style)
Say the hour first, then the minutes — exactly like reading a digital clock:
- 3:25 — три два́дцать пять
- 8:10 — во́семь де́сять
- 14:45 — четы́рнадцать со́рок пять
This is very common in spoken Russian and what you'll hear when people read off their phone. It's also the easiest for foreigners — no case rules required.
Option 2: The classical "minutes of the next hour" way
In formal speech and writing, Russians use the same logic as half-past:
- 5 минут пятого — 4:05 ("five minutes of the fifth")
- 20 минут седьмо́го — 6:20
For minutes 31–59, use без + minutes (in genitive plural) + the upcoming hour:
- без двадцати́ пять — 4:40 ("twenty before five")
- без десяти́ во́семь — 7:50 ("ten before eight")
Native Russians mix both systems freely. The digital style (15:30, 8:25) is faster and increasingly dominant in modern speech, especially among younger speakers and in transport announcements. The classical style sounds more polished and is used in literature, formal writing, and by older speakers. As a learner, master the digital style first — it's always understood.
24-Hour vs. 12-Hour Clock
Russia officially uses the 24-hour clock in:
- Train and bus schedules
- TV listings
- Official business hours
- Most digital displays
So you'll commonly see 18:00 (6 PM), 21:30 (9:30 PM), 23:45 (11:45 PM). When reading these aloud, Russians use the digital style:
- 15:00 — пятна́дцать часо́в (3 PM)
- 18:30 — восемна́дцать три́дцать (6:30 PM)
- 23:00 — два́дцать три ноль-ноль — also written as 23:00 (11 PM)
In everyday conversation, however, Russians use the 12-hour clock with time-of-day markers (see below) — just like English.
The Russian "AM/PM": утра, дня, вечера, ночи
Russian doesn't have AM/PM. Instead, the day is split into four parts, and you add a genitive form to the hour:
- утра́ — of the morning (~4 AM to 11 AM)
- дня — of the day / afternoon (~12 PM to 5 PM)
- ве́чера — of the evening (~6 PM to 11 PM)
- но́чи — of the night (~12 AM to 3 AM)
Examples:
- 6:00 AM — шесть часо́в утра́
- 3:00 PM — три часа́ дня
- 8:00 PM — во́семь часо́в ве́чера
- 2:00 AM — два часа́ но́чи
Я ложу́сь спать в оди́ннадцать часо́в ве́чера. — I go to bed at 11 PM. По́езд прихо́дит в пять часо́в утра́. — The train arrives at 5 AM.
The line between вечера and ночи is blurry — anything from midnight to about 3 AM is ночи. From about 4 AM, it's утра. Дня starts around noon and shifts to вечера around 6 PM. These boundaries follow daily rhythm, not a strict clock.
"At" a Time — The Preposition в
To say at [time], use в + accusative. For full hours and digital-style times, the accusative looks the same as the nominative (no ending change for inanimate nouns):
- в три часа́ — at three o'clock
- в семь три́дцать — at 7:30
- в полови́не пе́рвого — at half past twelve (prepositional case after в when using "в половине")
- в че́тверть четвёртого — at quarter past three
- без че́тверти семь — at quarter to seven (no preposition needed before "без")
Дава́й встре́тимся в семь часо́в ве́чера. — Let's meet at 7 PM. Я начина́ю рабо́тать в де́вять. — I start work at nine.
Useful Time Phrases
- сейча́с (see-CHAS) — now
- по́здно (POZ-na) — late
- ра́но (RAH-na) — early
- во́время (VOH-vree-mya) — on time
- че́рез час — in an hour
- час наза́д — an hour ago
- полчаса́ — half an hour
- полтора́ часа́ — an hour and a half
- це́лый день — all day
- весь день — the whole day
Я бу́ду гото́в че́рез по́лчаса. — I'll be ready in half an hour. Извини́те, я опозда́л на де́сять мину́т. — Sorry, I'm ten minutes late.
Sample Dialogues
At a train station:
— Во ско́лько отправля́ется по́езд в Санкт-Петербу́рг? — В двена́дцать сорок пять. ("What time does the train to St. Petersburg leave?" — "At 12:45.")
Scheduling a lesson:
— Когда́ нам удо́бно встре́титься? — Дава́йте в шесть часо́в ве́чера в сре́ду. — Отли́чно, до встре́чи! ("When is it convenient for us to meet?" — "Let's say six in the evening on Wednesday." — "Great, see you then!")
Asking the time on the street:
— Извини́те, ско́лько вре́мени? — Без че́тверти три. ("Excuse me, what time is it?" — "Quarter to three.")
Frequently Asked Questions
Is "half past three" really "half of the fourth" in Russian?
Yes — полови́на четвёртого. The Russian system thinks about time forward to the next hour, not back to the previous one. It's the same logic as German halb vier (literally "half four") meaning 3:30. If this feels confusing, default to the digital style: три три́дцать always works and is increasingly common.
Should I learn the 24-hour clock as a beginner?
You should be able to read it from day one (transport schedules, TV listings, store hours all use it). For speaking, the 12-hour clock with утра/дня/вечера/ночи is what you'll use in everyday conversation.
Why does час change to часа́ and часо́в?
Because of Russian's number+noun case rules: after 1 → nominative singular, after 2/3/4 → genitive singular, after 5+ → genitive plural. The same pattern applies to all nouns counted with numbers — час, год, рубль, минута, ребёнок all follow it.
How do Russians say "noon" and "midnight"?
- полдень — noon (literally "half-day")
- по́лночь — midnight (literally "half-night")
Both are used like other time expressions: в по́лдень (at noon), в по́лночь (at midnight). Often shortened to just двена́дцать дня and двена́дцать но́чи in everyday speech.
What's the difference between час and часы́?
- час (singular) — an hour, or one o'clock
- часы́ (plural-only) — a clock, or a watch
Часы́ пока́зывают шесть часо́в. — The clock shows six o'clock.
It's one of those nouns that exists only in plural form in Russian, like брюки (trousers) or деньги (money).
The Bottom Line
Telling time in Russian is two skills: applying the right case after numbers (час/часа/часов), and choosing between the simple digital style and the classical "of the next hour" style. Master the digital style first — it's always correct and avoids the полови́на пе́рвого trap. Add the classical style when you've internalised the rhythm of Russian.
In our lessons, students practice booking, asking, and answering "what time?" in real situations from day one. Schedule a free trial — we'll find a time that works for your timezone.