Ordinal Numbers in Russian Language

In the previous section, we talked about Genitive case of Russian numbers. The form of them are in ordinal numbers. What are ordinal numbers actually? In Russian language, they are numbers that identify the position of objects in the number of similar or identical items.

Based on the form and the role in sentences, ordinal numbers are similar to adjective. They are formed from the same basic of cardinal numbers and the suffix of adjective. The change of ordinal numbers are similar to adjective as well. Look at this form: 5-й – 30-й (fifth-thirtieth).

For example, 5-й in Russian language is ПЯТЫЙ ‘fifth’. It is the composition of cardinal number ПЯТЬ ‘five’ and suffix of adjective –ЫЙ. Then, the number will be changed following the gender of noun: пятый футболист ‘the fifth soccer player’, пятая лодка ‘the fifth ship’, anda пятое место ‘the fifth place’. Here they are some examples of ordinal numbers.

Numbers	Cardinal Numbers	Ordinal Numbers
1	Один	Первый
2	Два	Второй
3	Три	Третий
4	Четыре	Четвёртый
5	Пять	Пятый
6	Шесть	Шестой
7	Семь	Седьмой
8	Восемь	Восьмой
9	Девять	Девятый
10	Десять	Десятый
20	Двадцать	Двадцатый
40	Сорок	Сороковой
50	Пяитьдесят	Пятидесятый
90	Девяносто	Девяностый
100	Сто	Сотый
1.000	Тысяча	Тысячный
1000.000	Миллион	Миллионый

 

Example in sentence:

• Она сидит в первом ряду на третьем месте.
  ‘She sits in the first line and on the third place.’

Pay Attention!

• The stressed sign of ordinal numbers: второй ‘second’, шестой ‘sixth’, седьмой ‘seventh’, восьмой ‘eight’, and сороковой ‘fortieth’—is on the suffix. Meanwhile, the other ordinal numbers such as первый ‘first’, пятый ‘fifth’, etc—are stressed on the base of word.
• The complex ordinal numbers, like 50-й – 80-й ‘fiftieth-eightieth’ and 200-й – 900-й ‘two hundredth-nine hundredth’ are formed of Genitive case which is similar to cardinal numbers and having a suffix of adjective.

For example: ПЯТЬДЕСЯТ ‘fifty’ (Именительный Падеж ‘Nominative case’)

• ПЯТИДЕСЯТ (Родительный Падеж ‘Genitive case’)
• ПЯТИДЕСЯТЫЙ 

Ordinal Numbers in Plural Form

The ordinal numbers in plural form are used with nouns:

• In plural form, example: первые дни мая ‘the first day of May’.
• No singular form, example: вторые очки ‘the second glasses’.

For example:

• Я хочу купить вторые очки там.
  ‘I want to buy the second glasses over there.’

Those are the simple explanations about ordinal numbers in Russian language. For further lesson, you could search for it in many places. Ordinal numbers in Russian language are having a same form like adjective.

If you want to know about numbers in Russian language, you could read Numbers in Russian Language. For the beginners in Russian language and got confused with this theme, you could look at this article: How to Learn Russian for Beginners. Have fun with Russian language and keep learning!