How to Say "Years" in Russian

годы

gody

The English word "years" is translated into Russian as годы (gody).

The form годы is typically used to refer to broad periods of time or eras, such as 'the golden years' or 'the 90s'.

Which one should you use?

While годы is used for general periods or eras, the form лет is used when you are counting a specific quantity of years.

In certain prepositional constructions, such as when saying "in this year" (в этом году), the singular form changes to году.

gody

While лет is used for counting, it is actually the genitive plural of летo, the Russian word for 'summer'. In ancient times, the summer was used as a shorthand for the entire year.
In Russian, the word год does not only mean 'year' but can also mean 'suitable' or 'fit'. This is why a 'ready-made' or 'usable' item is described as being годный.
The Russian language handles the concept of 'age' differently than English. Instead of saying 'I am X years old', a Russian speaker essentially says 'To me there are X years' using the word лет.

На это ушли годы.
It took years.
This sentence demonstrates the use of годы to express the passage of time.
Tatoeba #13952491 by marafon, translation #13952486 by rul
На это уйдут годы.
That's going to take years.
This sentence shows how to use годы when discussing future time requirements.
Tatoeba #8675281 by marafon, translation #11149722 by ddnktr
Я знавал лучшие годы.
I've seen better years.
This sentence illustrates using годы to refer to significant or better periods in one's life.
Tatoeba #9490617 by marafon, translation #6576291 by Eccles17
90 more sentences on Tatoeba

Sergey and Maria are talking about their childhood friendship.

Сергей Sergey

Мы не виделись много лет, но годы летят быстро.
My ne videlis mnogo let, no gody letyat bystro.
We haven't seen each other for many years, but the years fly by quickly.
Мария Maria

Да, время летит. Ты совсем изменился.
Da, vremya letit. Ty sovsem izmenilsya.
Yes, time flies. You have changed completely.
Сергей Sergey

Это всё годы работы в городе.
Eto vsyo gody raboty v gorode.
It's all the years of working in the city.
Мария Maria

Главное, что мы снова встретились, Сергей.
Glavnoe, chto my snova vstretilis, Sergey.
The main thing is that we met again, Sergey.

Sources

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