задним числом
“задним числом” (zadnim chislom) — retroactively, backdated in Russian. Phrase, level B1, topic — time, days and hours. Spravku oformili zadnim chislom — "the certificate was issued retroactively" — with a date from the past; a word of the paper world of certificates and orders. In a live sentence: “Справку оформили задним числом” — The certificate was issued retroactively. Written with the characters з, а, д, н, и, м, ч, и, с, л, о, м.
In short
| Written in Russian | задним числом |
| Read in Latin letters | zadnim chislom |
| Translation | retroactively, backdated |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Spravku oformili zadnim chislom — "the certificate was issued retroactively" — with a date from the past; a word of the paper world of certificates and orders.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Справку оформили задним числомSpravku oformili zadnim chislomThe certificate was issued retroactively
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- часchashourBoth the unit of time and the time of day: Kotory chas? After dva it becomes chasa, after pyat — chasov: the form follows the number.
- сегодняsegodnyatodayInside the word a fossil hides: sevo dnya, "of this day", with an ancient pronoun. It never splits or bends, however much you want it to.
- завтраzavtratomorrowFrom utra, "of the morning": tomorrow is what comes after the night — morning and tomorrow stay two words here, as in English.
- деньdendayA runaway vowel inside: den — dnya. Words like it are many, and the course table keeps their forms. On parting people wish you khoroshego dnya.
- утроutromorningNeuter: dobroye utro. Utrom — the one word that replaces the whole English phrase "in the morning".
- вечерvechereveningVecherom packs the entire "in the evening" into one ending: vecherom ya chitayu doma.
- ночьnochnightFeminine, with a vowel that runs away: noch — nochi. Nochyu tiho — the same time-ending as utrom.
- вчераvcherayesterdayLooks like a cousin of vecher, "evening", but the kinship is only in the sound. Pozavchera — "the day before yesterday" — is the same word with a prefix.
- завтракzavtrakbreakfastZavtrak — kofe i khleb: "breakfast is coffee and bread". The verb of eating it is zavtrakat.
- обедobedlunchThe main meal of the day, taken in the early afternoon — bigger than a sandwich at a desk. Obed byl vkusnyy.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “retroactively, backdated” in Russian?
Spravku oformili zadnim chislom — "the certificate was issued retroactively" — with a date from the past; a word of the paper world of certificates and orders.
- How do you say “night” in Russian?
Feminine, with a vowel that runs away: noch — nochi. Nochyu tiho — the same time-ending as utrom.
- How do you say “tomorrow” in Russian?
From utra, "of the morning": tomorrow is what comes after the night — morning and tomorrow stay two words here, as in English.
- How do you say “lunch” in Russian?
The main meal of the day, taken in the early afternoon — bigger than a sandwich at a desk. Obed byl vkusnyy.
- How do you say “evening” in Russian?
Vecherom packs the entire "in the evening" into one ending: vecherom ya chitayu doma.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “retroactively, backdated” in Russian?
«задним числом», read “zadnim chislom”. In a live sentence: “Справку оформили задним числом” — The certificate was issued retroactively. Phrase, level B1, from the set “time, days and hours”; written with the characters з, а, д, н, и, м, ч, и, с, л, о, м.
How is “задним числом” written in Latin letters?
zadnim chislom. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Spravku oformili zadnim chislom — "the certificate was issued retroactively" — with a date from the past; a word of the paper world of certificates and orders. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.