How to Tell Time and Dates in Ukrainian for English Speakers

Understanding the Basics of Telling Time in Ukrainian

Telling time in Ukrainian involves understanding both the 12-hour and 24-hour clock systems. While the 24-hour clock is commonly used in formal contexts like schedules and transportation, the 12-hour clock is often used in everyday conversation, usually with the addition of words like "ранку" (morning), "дня" (afternoon), "вечора" (evening), or "ночі" (night) to clarify the time of day.

Numbers for Hours and Minutes

Before telling time, it's important to know the numbers from 1 to 59 in Ukrainian, as they are used for hours and minutes. For example, 1 is "одна" (odna) for feminine nouns like "година" (hour), and minutes are usually counted with masculine forms.

• 1 - одна (odna)
• 2 - дві (dvi)
• 3 - три (try)
• 4 - чотири (chotyry)
• 5 - п'ять (p'yatʹ)
• 10 - десять (desyatʹ)
• 15 - п'ятнадцять (p'yatnadtsyatʹ)
• 30 - тридцять (trydtsyatʹ)
• 45 - сорок п'ять (sorok p'yatʹ)

Expressing Hours

The word for hour in Ukrainian is "година" (hodyna), which is feminine. When telling time, the hour is usually in the nominative case. For example, "Одна година" means "one o'clock." However, in common speech, just the number is often used, e.g., "Одна" for "one o'clock."

Expressing Minutes

Minutes are expressed after the hour using the word "хвилина" (khvylyna), which is also feminine. Minutes are usually in the genitive plural form after the number. For example, "п'ять хвилин" means "five minutes." When telling time, minutes come after the hour: "Одна година п'ять хвилин" (1:05).

Common Phrases for Telling Time

• Одна година - One o'clock
• Дві години - Two o'clock
• Три години п'ятнадцять хвилин - Three fifteen
• Чотири години тридцять хвилин - Four thirty
• П'ять годин сорок п'ять хвилин - Five forty-five

Using 'Без' for Minutes Before the Hour

To say the time 'minutes to' the next hour, Ukrainian uses the word "без" (bez), meaning "without." For example, "без п'яти шоста" means "five minutes to six" (5:55). This structure is common in spoken Ukrainian.

Examples of 'Без' Usage

• Без десяти сім - Ten minutes to seven (6:50)
• Без п'яти вісім - Five minutes to eight (7:55)
• Без двадцяти дев'ять - Twenty minutes to nine (8:40)

Telling Dates in Ukrainian

Dates in Ukrainian are usually expressed in the order: day, month, and year. The day is a cardinal number, the month is a noun in the genitive case, and the year is a number often followed by the word "рік" (year).

Months in Ukrainian

• Січень - January
• Лютий - February
• Березень - March
• Квітень - April
• Травень - May
• Червень - June
• Липень - July
• Серпень - August
• Вересень - September
• Жовтень - October
• Листопад - November
• Грудень - December

How to Say the Date

To say a date, use the day number followed by the month in genitive case. For example, "п'яте травня" means "the fifth of May." The day is often in the neuter ordinal form when used with the month.

Examples of Dates

• 1 січня - the first of January
• 14 лютого - the fourteenth of February
• 23 березня - the twenty-third of March
• 31 грудня - the thirty-first of December

Expressing the Year

The year is usually said as a number followed by "рік" (year) or "року" (of the year). For example, "дві тисячі двадцять четвертий рік" means "the year 2024."

Putting It All Together

A full date might be expressed as: "П'яте травня дві тисячі двадцять четвертого року" - "The fifth of May, 2024." Note that the year is in the genitive case here.

Practice Examples

Here are some practice sentences to help you get comfortable telling time and dates in Ukrainian:

• Зараз три години п'ятнадцять хвилин. - It is now 3:15.
• Зустрінемось о без десяти шоста. - We will meet at ten minutes to six.
• Мій день народження - двадцять третього серпня. - My birthday is on August 23rd.
• Сьогодні перше січня дві тисячі двадцять четвертого року. - Today is January 1, 2024.