Asking time, specifying the time of events

Russian grammar: Date and time in Russian

Last time we have learned how to tell time in Russian.

In this lesson, we will learn to ask time in Russian, how to ask “What time is something?” and how to specify the time of events.

Asking time

To ask time, you can use one of the following questions:

– Кото́рый час?
– Lit: Which hour is it?

– Ско́лько вре́мени?
– Lit: How much time is it?

Of course, you should wrap these questions in some polite form:

– Вы не подска́жете, кото́рый час?
– Could you tell me what time it is?

– Извини́те, не подска́жете, ско́лько вре́мени?
– Excuse me, could you tell me what time it is?

You can also ask:

– Извини́те, вы вре́мя не подска́жете?
– Excuse me, could you tell me time?

If you are addressing a friend or a relative, you can use the informal form of questions, for example these ones:

– У тебя́ есть часы́?
– Do you have a watch?

– Ско́лько сейча́с вре́мени?
– What time is it now?

More examples:

– Вы не подска́жете, кото́рый сейча́с час?
– Четы́рнадцать три́дцать.
– Could you tell me please what time it is?
– Two thirty.

– У тебя́ есть часы́? Ско́лько вре́мени?
– Три мину́ты второ́го.
– Do you have a watch? What time is it?
– Three minutes past one.

Asking “What time is something?”

To ask “What time is something?”, you can use the following questions:

– Во ско́лько?
– At what time?

– В како́е вре́мя?
– At what time?

Examples:

– Во ско́лько мы за́втра встреча́емся?
– What time are we meeting tomorrow?

– Во ско́лько наш рейс?
– What time is our flight?

– В како́е вре́мя лу́чше прийти́?
– What time is it better to come?

Making appointments and specifying the time of events

To make an appointment at a specific time or to specify the time of some event, use the preposition в (at):

– Дава́й встре́тимся за́втра в полдевя́того.
– Let’s meet tomorrow at half past eight.

– Приходи́те за́втра в де́сять у́тра.
– Come tomorrow at ten in the morning.

– Мы приземля́емся в семна́дцать со́рок.
– We land at five forty.

– Кто тебе́ звони́т в три часа́ но́чи?
– Who is calling you at 3 AM?

And this is it for this lesson. Stay tuned and in the next lesson we will learn the declension of the Russian numerals so you can tell time with ease. 🙂

• 098. Time in Russian
• 100. Asking and telling date in Russian