Russian Ordinal Numbers

After covering the basic numbers or cardinal numbers, here’s the second part: ordinal numbers, like first and second. In English, they’re called ordinal numbers, and in Russian, they are порядковые числительные (stress on the second syllable both times). Ordinal numbers are usually easy to derive from the cardinal number – although words like “first” and “second” are exceptions right from the start.

Third is an exception too, and it just keeps going.

Applications

It’s worth mentioning, because otherwise you might think it’s unimportant or uninteresting. You definitely need ordinal numbers for dates. For instance, we say: today is the 27th. You can get a preview in Ordinal numbers and dates in Russian (Learn Russian with Alfia, 2020, 22 m). They also appear when you tell time, and the names of the days are derived from them.

You also come across them in expressions. Examples can be found in Russian phrases with numerals (Russian Language Blog, 2020). For instance, with первый (first): первый встречный, первый сорт, первый парень на деревне, первый блин комом, and на первый взгляд. And then there’s любовь с первого взгляда, love at first sight (ordinal number in the genitive case). Первый was also the first entry in the Music section.

First–Tenth

Ordinal numbers are adjectives made from numbers, and they change according to the noun they modify. Here are the words for first through tenth, in the masculine form. The feminine, neuter, and plural forms are in parentheses.

    первый (первая, первое, первые)
    второй (вторая, второе, вторые)
    третий (третья, третье, третьи)
    четвёртый (четвёртая, четвёртое, четвёртые)
    пятый (пятая, пятое, пятые)
    шестой (шестая, шестое, шестые)
    седьмой (седьмая, седьмое, седьмые)
    восьмой (восьмая, восьмое, восьмые)
    девятый (девятая, девятое, девятые)
    десятый (десятая, десятое, десятые)

Simple examples of this in Ordinal numbers + sentences with ordinal numbers (Travel and learn Russian, 2018, 11 m). With floors of an apartment building, the ordinal number in the prepositional case. On the second floor (второй этаж): на втором этаже.

Something similar in Ordinal Numbers (Shannon Spasova, 2019, 3 m), featuring passing buses.

Grammar and Exceptions

Usually (from five and above), it’s easy to form an ordinal number from a cardinal one. Just drop the soft sign and add an adjective ending. Here’s a good introduction, with more grammar, larger numbers, stress shifts, and a few surprises.

For instance, сороковой (fortieth) and сотый (hundredth), as well as the ь (from пять) becoming и in пятидесятый (fiftieth) and other tens.

Ordinals in Russian (first, second, third…)
(Russian grammar, 2014, 4 m)

This also applies to larger numbers. The rules behind words like двухсотый (two hundredth) and трёхсотый (three hundredth) are more complex and not covered here.

Ordinal numbers in Russian – Порядковые числительные
(Russian with Tamara, 2020, 3 m)

Fedor as последний (last) and as a recap.

Ordinal Numbers | Russian Language
(Be Fluent in Russian, 2018, 9 m)

More

• РКИ Порядковые числительные. Ordinal numbers in Russian. (Learn Russian, 2019, 16 m)
• Уроки русского Порядковые числительные (Русский Язык, 2017, 4 m)
• Порядковые и дробные числительные (РКИ). Russian ordinal and fractional numerals (Marina, 2017, 11 m)
• Russian ordinal numerals – first, second… первый, второй… (Antonia Romaker, 2014, 8 m), see part 2
• How to speak in Russian – Ordinal Numbers (Dialect101, 2014, 2 m)

See/read

• Ordinal Numbers in Russian (Russian Language Blog, 2020)
• Ordinal numbers / Поря́дковые числительные (The Russian Blog)
• Cardinal and Ordinal Numerals (Russian For Everyone)
• List of Russian Ordinal Numbers (Master Russian), also see Ordinal Numbers
• Russian ordinal numbers (Learn Russian Step by Step)
• Russian Ordinal Numbers (Learning Russian)

Also try this exercise with ordinal numbers and months.