Twelve hour clock: on the hour

What time is it?

Both "Сколько времени?" and "Который час?" can mean "What time is it?" They are both often answered by the phrases in the following examples and table.

Examples:

Сколько сейчас времени? Сейчас два часа. What time is it? It's two o'clock.
Сколько сейчас времени? Сейчас два часа дня. What time is it? It's two o'clock in the afternoon.
Который час? Сейчас восемь часов. What time is it? It's eight o'clock.
Который час? Сейчас восемь часов вечера. What time is it? It's eight o'clock in the evening.

Here we have a table with all the possible “o'clocks.” Notice when the different forms of час часа́ часо́в are used:

Сейчас час.It is now one o'clock.
Сейчас два часа.It is now two o'clock.
Сейчас три часа.It is now three o'clock.
Сейчас четыре часа.It is now four o'clock.
Сейчас пять часов.It is now five o'clock.
Сейчас шесть часов.It is now six o'clock.
Сейчас семь часов.It is now seven o'clock.
Сейчас восемь часов.It is now eight o'clock.
Сейчас девять часов.It is now nine o'clock.
Сейчас десять часов.It is now ten o'clock.
Сейчас одиннадцать часов.It is now eleven o'clock.
Сейчас двенадцать часов.It is now twelve o'clock.

Of course, the “o'clocks” don't specify whether they are in the first half or the second half of the day. Russians don't have phrases like a.m. and p.m., so instead they name the phase of the day with words in the genitive case: ночи of the night, утра of the morning, дня of the afternoon, and вечера of the evening. They do not correspond exactly to the common equivalents in American English.

Сейчас час ночи. It is now one o'clock in morning.
Сейчас два часа ночи.It is now two o'clock in morning.
Сейчас три часа ночи.It is now three o'clock in morning.
Сейчас четыре часа утра.It is now four o'clock in morning.
Сейчас пять часов утра. It is now five o'clock in morning.
Сейчас шесть часов утра.It is now six o'clock in morning.
Сейчас семь часов утра.It is now seven o'clock in morning.
Сейчас восемь часов утра. It is now eight o'clock in morning.
Сейчас девять часов утра. It is now nine o'clock in morning.
Сейчас десять часов утра.It is now ten o'clock in morning.
Сейчас одиннадцать часов утра.It is now eleven o'clock in morning.
Сейчас двенадцать часов дня.It is now twelve o'clock noon.
Сейчас час дня.It is now one o'clock in afternoon.
Сейчас два часа дня.It is now two o'clock in afternoon.
Сейчас три часа дня.It is now three o'clock in afternoon.
Сейчас четыре часа дня.It is now four o'clock in afternoon.
Сейчас пять часов дня.It is now five o'clock in afternoon.
Сейчас шесть часов вечера.It is now six o'clock in evening.
Сейчас семь часов вечера.It is now seven o'clock in evening.
Сейчас восемь часов вечера.It is now eight o'clock in evening.
Сейчас девять часов вечера.It is now nine o'clock at night.
Сейчас десять часов вечера.It is now ten o'clock at night.
Сейчас одиннадцать часов вечера.It is now eleven o'clock at night.
Сейчас двенадцать часов ночи.It is now twelve o'clock midnight.

The words полдень noon and полночь midnight are used in time telling:

"Сколько сейчас времени?" "Сейчас полночь."
"Сколько сейчас времени?" "Сейчас полдень."

Stylistics

It used to be that the only proper way to say "What time is it?" was "Который час?" and to this day it is often considered the more educated way to ask the question. The most common way in big cities these days is to ask "Сколько времени?", although some people still consider it incorrect. The phrase "Сколько время?" is considered illiterate Russian.

What the Russians don't say

In English one may say things like:

For the most part Russians avoid such constructions and instead rephrase them as:

"When did the guests arrive?""Когда пришли гости?"
"When will the guests arrive?""Когда придут гости?"

Rev. 9:45 PM 5/12/2010