Learning Numbers in Russian: A Simple Guide

Understanding numbers in Russian is super important for everyday conversations. Let’s dive into the Russian words for numbers 1 to 20 and see how we can use them in sentences.

Numbers 1-20 in Russian

Here’s an easy list of numbers from 1 to 20 in Russian:

1. один (odin) - one
2. два (dva) - two
3. три (tri) - three
4. четыре (chetyre) - four
5. пять (pyat’) - five
6. шесть (shest’) - six
7. семь (syem’) - seven
8. восемь (vosem’) - eight
9. девять (devyat’) - nine
10. десять (desyat’) - ten
11. одиннадцать (odinnadtsat’) - eleven
12. двенадцать (dvenadtsat’) - twelve
13. тринадцать (trinadtsat’) - thirteen
14. четырнадцать (chetyrnadtsat’) - fourteen
15. пятнадцать (pyatnadtsat’) - fifteen
16. шестнадцать (shestnadtsat’) - sixteen
17. семнадцать (semnadtsat’) - seventeen
18. восемнадцать (vosemnadtsat’) - eighteen
19. девятнадцать (devyatnadtsat’) - nineteen
20. двадцать (dvadtsat’) - twenty

How to Use Numbers in Sentences

Now, let’s see some easy ways to use these numbers in your Russian conversations!

1. Basic Counting

• To say: "У меня (number) [noun]."
  Example: У меня два яблока.
  (I have two apples.)

2. Telling Time

• To say: "Сейчас (number) часов."
  Example: Сейчас три часа.
  (It is three o'clock.)

3. Ordering Food or Drinks

• To say: "Я хочу (number) [noun]."
  Example: Я хочу пять пирожков.
  (I want five pastries.)

4. Talking About Age

• To say: "Мне (number) лет."
  Example: Мне восемнадцать лет.
  (I am eighteen years old.)

Important Things to Remember

1. Gender is Important: In Russian, nouns can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. This can change how you use numbers with nouns.
   Examples:

   • один стол (one table - masculine)
   • одна книга (one book - feminine)

2. Numbers can Change: The form of a noun after a number can be different, depending on the sentence. Sometimes you use a special way called the genitive.

3. Compound Numbers: For numbers over 20, you combine the tens and ones. For example, 21 is "двадцать один" (twenty-one).

Practice Exercises

1. Translate these sentences into Russian:

   • I have seven bananas.
   • It is ten o'clock.
   • I want twelve glasses of water.

2. Make sentences for these numbers:

   • Four
   • Sixteen
   • Nineteen

By practicing these numbers and how to use them, you'll have a great start in speaking Russian! Using numbers in real situations will help you learn even better!