Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "when" in Russian

This Russian word is one of the top 1000 words in Russian. The complete list of most common Russian words is available here.

когда

Meaning: when, while, as

Pronunciation: [kahg-DAH]

Part of speech: adverb, conjunction

Rank: #43 (see frequency list)

Example sentences:

Когда́ э́то бы́ло?
When was it?
Она пришла́ в тот день, когда́ её никто́ не жда́л.
She came on the day when nobody was expecting her.
Я чита́ю когда́ оди́н, когда́ два́ часа́ в день.
I read sometimes one hour, sometimes two hours a day.
Он встре́тил её, когда́ шёл на рабо́ту.
He met her when he was going to work.
Он засну́л, когда́ смотре́л телеви́зор.
He fell asleep while he was watching TV.
Когда́ так, я согла́сен.
If that is the case, I agree.
Когда ты придёшь?
When will you come?

Idioms and set expressions:

когда ..., когда ... = sometimes ..., sometimes ...
когда бы = if
когда ... ни; (когда ни) = whenever
Когда как. = It depends.
Есть когда нам заниматься этим! = We have no time for it!

Proverbs and sayings:

Когда жареный петух клюнет.
At a pinch. (In Queer street.)
Когда корова сдохнет, всегда её хвалят.
Pity is for the living, envy is for the dead.
Когда рак на горе свистнет.
When pigs begin to fly.
Человека узнаешь, когда с ним пуд соли съешь.
Before you make a friend eat a bushel of salt with him.

Phrase recordings: Copyright(c) 2011 MasterRussian.com. All rights reserved.
Word recordings: Copyright(c) 2006 Streit Goulnara, Streit Eric, Vion Nicolas. Copyright(c) 2007 S. Sakhno, N. Vion. Distributed under CC-BY.

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