7

What is the common translation for 'afternoon' in Russian language?

I've checked the dictionary and I found many options which some of them seems to be incorrect at all. Look at the attached picture. enter image description here

Influx
  • 2,035
  • 12
  • 22
  • Это смысловое слово. Скорее всего Вам подойдет - "день" или "обед". – Natty_Ras Jul 23 '17 at 07:49
  • So, which expression would a teacher use to tell the class "This afternoon we're going to watch a movie in Englisch class."? – Thomas Stahel Mar 31 '22 at 16:16
  • 1
    @Thomas, there need not be a definite exact translation. Russian day is divided differently to the English one, and people think differently about it. If it's before about 4-5 pm (but not in the morning, i.e. after 10-11 am), it would be "днём" [мы пойдём...]; if later (but before dark) - "вечером". The noon (полдень) is just less significant as a reference. It is possible to translate exactly (as the accepted answer suggests), but people don's say that as commonly (as "afternoon" is used in English). – Zeus Mar 31 '22 at 23:49

1 Answers1

10

Вторая половина дня is OK. In the afternoon - "во второй половине дня" (this part of day usually excludes evening) or - in less formal context - "днём" (this just excludes morning and evening). Пополудни is mainly used to specify time (functions as 'PM/p.m.'), e. g. в два часа пополудни (at 2:00 PM).

Alex_ander
  • 11,922
  • 1
  • 14
  • 25
  • 4
    And "после обеда" ("after lunch") is a colloquial counterpart of "во второй половине дня". – AlexVB May 20 '17 at 09:06
  • После обеда is typical for workplace context (common lunch time), it can mean either the second part of a working day or just the time immediately after lunch. – Alex_ander May 20 '17 at 09:18
  • I agree that outside of contexts where lunch is firmly scheduled the expression is somewhat inaccurate, but I use it anyway. – AlexVB May 20 '17 at 09:26