Thread: Decimals - Interest Rate - Rent - Current Account

As a general comment I would like to mention that numbers and participles are my worst topics in Russian.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

As a general comment I would like to mention that numbers and participles are my worst topics in Russian.

Being able to count and do arithmetic is one of the hardest things to do in a foreign language. But it's a bit easier in Russian because you have to use arithmetic to tell the time без двенадцати час, пять минут восьмого and so on.

Originally Posted by John_Douglas

But it's a bit easier in Russian because you have to use arithmetic to tell the time без двенадцати час

FYI без двенадцати час doesn't sound natural to me
you can say без десяти/пятнадцати/двадцати час but I would try to avoid saying без двенадцати час. If you need to be that specific you can say двенадцать часов, сорок восемь минут or just двенадцать сорок восемь

Also IDK if everybody knows, Russians live on 24 hour time unlike Americans living on 12 hour time and AM, PM, so it would be common for a Russian to say семнадцать часов for 5PM. However when you use без десяти час construction you need to use 12 hour time only, and say, for example без пятнадцати пять which could mean both 4:45AM and 4:45PM, depending on the context/time of usage

It depends. For me "без двенадцати час" is quite OK. I can say it like this by myself.

I do not like neglecting precision when it comes to time If someone stops me in the street to ask about the time, and I see 12:48 on my watch, I will definitely say "без двенадцати час" (as I use a mechanic watch). If I used an electronic watch, then I would say "двенадцать - сорок восемь".

Originally Posted by Боб Уайтман

If someone stops me in the street to ask about the time, and I see 12:48 on my watch, I will definitely say "без двенадцати час"

If I would have a mechanical watch I would just say без десяти час, I doubt that I would be able to fight my laziness and reckon exact number of minutes at the moment

Originally Posted by Lampada

Я бы всегда вставляла "и" между целым и дробным.

I think the “rules” (if you can call oddities of colloquial speech “rules”) are a bit more complicated here.

If the integer part is 0, «и» is almost never used. E.g. «0,2 В» is pronounced as «ноль два вольта», not as «ноль и два вольта».
If the integer part is grater than zero and the fractional part consists of a single digit, then it's almost always pronounced with «и». «1,2 В» is «один и два вольта», not «один два вольта».
Finally, if the int part is > 0 and the frac part consists of several digits, then both variants are acceptable. «1,75 В» is pronounced as «один семьдесят пять вольта» or as «один и семьдесят пять вольта».

Originally Posted by Doomer

If I would have a mechanical watch I would just say без десяти час, I doubt that I would be able to fight my laziness and reckon exact number of minutes at the moment

There is an old joke:

Professor of physics asks a student: "How much is two multiplied by two?"
Student responded: "Four."
Professor: "Yeah, it is really something close to five or six."

Улица 30-я с половиной

When I started to believe that I was becoming expert in Decimals the number 0.021 occured and I said: сегодняшний валютный курс двадцать один тысячных.
But I have a suspision that the client said двадцать одна тысячная

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

When I started to believe that I was becoming expert in Decimals the number 0.021 occured and I said: сегодняшний валютный курс двадцать один тысячных.
But I have a suspision that the client said двадцать одна тысячная

Yep, it's двадцать одна тысячная

Other examples:

2.3 - две целых три десятых
100.07 - сто целых семь сотых

And like that

How it will be 0.023 and 0.025?
The 0.025 should be двадцать пять тысячных. Correct?

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

How it will be 0.023 and 0.025?
The 0.025 should be двадцать пять тысячных. Correct?

0,25 - двадцать пять сотых
0,025 - двадцать пять тысячных

0,23 - двадцать три сотых
0,023 - двадцать три тысячных

Another question is which gender to use when you have to deal with 1 or 2, e.g. talking about 0.025 versus 0.025%.

Originally Posted by Lampada

Улица 30-я с половиной

2-я седьмая.jpg

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

When I started to believe that I was becoming expert in Decimals the number 0.021 occured and I said: сегодняшний валютный курс двадцать один тысячных.
But I have a suspision that the client said двадцать одна тысячная

In decimal or common fractions, the numerals are always feminine, because of the omitted word «часть» which is feminine.
1/3 — «третья часть» — «одна третья»
2/3 — «две третьих части» — «две третьих»
0.001 — «тысячная часть» — «одна тысячная»
0.021 — «двадцать одна тысячная часть» — «двадцать одна тысячная»

Originally Posted by Cumulus

0,023 - двадцать три тысячных

But it is for literary style. In speach most probably it will be ноль-ноль-двадцать три.

One additional question regarding this issue:
1. A house costs 1.5 millions (3.5 millions / 16.5 millions).
- What I will say: Это дом стоит один миллион с половиной (три с половиной миллиона / шестнадцать с половиной миллионов )?
- The use of половина is the approriate in this case?

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

один миллион с половиной

OK, but полтора миллиона is better.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

три с половиной миллиона

Yes.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

шестнадцать с половиной миллионов

Yes.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

The use of половина is the approriate in this case?

Absolutely.