Dates & Celebrations in Russian
Birthdays, holidays, deadlines — the calendar runs on ordinal numbers and one elegant genitive. And at the end waits the most useful congratulation formula in the language.
Ordinals
They agree like adjectives: первый день, первая книга, первое мая. In compounds, only the last word turns ordinal: двадцать пятый — twenty-fifth.
What's the Date?
Какое сегодня число? — Сегодня пятое мая.
What's the date today? — Today is the fifth of May.
Note: The day is a neuter ordinal (пятое число), the month goes genitive (мая — 'of May').
The Months
All masculine, all lowercase — and in dates, always genitive.
Congratulations!
The formula is с + instrumental — literally "(I congratulate you) with the day":
Common Mistakes
- Пять мая. The date is ordinal and neuter: пятое мая.
- Capitalizing months. январь, май, декабрь — lowercase, always.
- Congratulating in the wrong case. С день рождения → С днём рождения. The с wants the instrumental.
What You Can Do Now
You can say any date, discuss birthdays and holidays, and congratulate anyone on anything — even with the universal «С праздником!» when you're not sure what's being celebrated.