Would you like to correctly answer that question in Russian? Вы на ве́рном ме́сте.1You are at the right place If you need a quick refresher on поря́дковые числи́тельные2ordinal numbers see my blog here. Вы гото́вы? Пое́хали!3Are you ready? Let’s go!
| English | Masculine | Feminine | Neutral | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | пе́рвый | пе́рвая | пе́рвое | пе́рвые |
| Second | второ́й | втора́я | второ́е | вторы́е |
| Third | тре́тий | тре́тья | тре́тье | тре́тьи |
| Fourth | четвёртый | четвёртая | четвёртое | четвёртые |
| Fifth | пя́тый | пя́тая | пя́тое | пя́тые |
| Sixth | шесто́й | шеста́я | шесто́е | шесты́е |
| Seventh | седьмо́й | седьма́я | седьмо́е | седьмы́е |
| Eighth | восьмо́й | восьма́я | восьмо́е | восьмы́е |
| Ninth | девя́тый | девя́тая | девя́тое | девя́тые |
| Tenth | деся́тый | деся́тая | деся́тое | деся́тые |
Following this table in my old blog, you’ve learned how to name some of yours firsts in life, for example:
Пе́рвый поцелу́й4first kiss
Пе́рвая побе́да5first victory
Пе́рвое интервью́6first interview
Пе́рвые шаги́7first steps
However, you only need one column of this table to answer the questions like:
Како́й сего́дня день? or Како́е сего́дня число́?8What date is it today?
Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay
The rule is: To say the date in Russian you need порядковое числи́тельное сре́днего рода (ordinal number in neuter) + ме́сяц в Родительном Падеже́ (month in Genitive case)
January 1st – Пе́рвое января́
February 1st – Пе́рвое февраля́
March 1st – Пе́рвое ма́рта
April 1st – Пе́рвое апреля
May 1st – Пе́рвое ма́я
June 1st – Пе́рвое ию́ня
July 1st – Пе́рвое ию́ля
August 1st – Пе́рвое а́вгуста
September 1st – Пе́рвое сентября́
October 1st – Пе́рвое октября́
November 1st – Пе́рвое ноября́
December 1st – Пе́рвое декабря́
Notice that names of the months are NOT capitalized in Russian, and we use ordinals in Nominative case when we say what date it is e.g., today/ yesterday / tomorrow. For now, don’t think about ordinals in Genitive case, which we use when saying that something happens on a given date, e.g. Когда́ у тебя де́нь рожде́ния?9When is your birthday? Мо́й де́нь рожде́ния пятого октября.10My birthday is on 5th of October You can still talk about birthdays with ordinals in Nominative case, you just need to restructure your sentence. Пятое октября — (это) мой де́нь рожде́ния.11October 5th is my birthday. And most importantly, remember: ordinal numbers are conjugated like прилага́тельные.12adjectives
Here is a list of other ordinals from 2 to 31 so that you can start practicing telling dates in Russian and remember: only the last digit has the ordinal ending. So, you wouldn’t say 21st as двадцатое первое.
2nd – Второ́е
3rd – Тре́тье
4th – Четвёртое
5th – Пя́тое
6th – Шесто́е
7th – Седьмо́е
8th – Восьмо́е
9th – Девя́тое
10th – Деся́тое
11th – Оди́ннадцатое
12th – Двена́дцатое
13th – Трина́дцатое
14th – Четы́рнадцатое
15th – Пятна́дцатое
16th – Шестна́дцатое
17th – Семна́дцатое
18th – Восемна́дцатое
19th – Девятна́дцатое
20th – Двадца́тое
21st – Двадцать пе́рвое
22nd – Двадцать второ́е
23rd – Двадцать тре́тье
24th – Двадцать четвёртое
25th – Двадцать пя́тое
26th – Двадцать шесто́е
27th – Двадцать седьмо́е
28th – Двадцать восьмо́е
29th – Двадцать девятое
30th – Тридца́тое
31st – Три́дцать первое
Како́е сего́дня число? Сего́дня двадца́тое сентября́.13What date is it today? Today is September 20th.
Како́е число́ бы́ло вчера? Вчера́ бы́ло девятна́дцатое сентября́.14What date was it yesterday? Yesterday was September 19th.
Како́е число́ будет завтра? За́втра будет двадцать пе́рвое сентября́.15What date is tomorrow? Tomorrow is September 21st.
Lastly, what better way to practice ordinals for telling dates than to go over some Праздники в России (Russian holidays)
*Remember: the dash is used in place of the missing word это.
Три́дцать пе́рвое декабря́ — Нового́дняя ночь.16December 31st is New Year’s Eve.
Седьмо́е января́ — Правосла́вное Рождество́.17January 7th is Orthodox Christmas.
Четы́рнадцатое февраля́ — Де́нь Свято́го Валенти́на.18February 14th is Valentine’s Day.
Двадцать тре́тье февраля́ — Де́нь Защи́тника Оте́чества.19February 23rd is Defender of the Fatherland Day.
Восьмо́е ма́рта — Междунаро́дный Же́нский Де́нь.20March 8th is International Women’s Day.
Пе́рвое ма́я — Де́нь Труда.21May 1st is International Worker’s Day.
Девя́тое ма́я — Де́нь Побе́ды.22May 9th is Victory Day.
Двена́дцатое ию́ня — Де́нь Росси́и.23June 12th is Russia Day.
Седьмо́е ноября́ — Де́нь Наро́дного Еди́нства.24November 7th is Unity Day.
For more on these Russian holidays read Maria’s informative blog here.
Even though I have been out of school for a few years now, September still has a magical studious effect on me, so why not take advantage and cover a few more of your burning grammar questions. Let me know in the comments what other grammar topics you would like me to go over in the future blogs.
- 1You are at the right place2ordinal numbers3Are you ready? Let’s go!4first kiss5first victory6first interview7first steps8What date is it today?9When is your birthday?10My birthday is on 5th of October11October 5th is my birthday.12adjectives13What date is it today? Today is September 20th.14What date was it yesterday? Yesterday was September 19th.15What date is tomorrow? Tomorrow is September 21st.16December 31st is New Year’s Eve.17January 7th is Orthodox Christmas.18February 14th is Valentine’s Day.19February 23rd is Defender of the Fatherland Day.20March 8th is International Women’s Day.21May 1st is International Worker’s Day.22May 9th is Victory Day.23June 12th is Russia Day.24November 7th is Unity Day.