The Difference between В and НА

Have you noticed that when we’re talking about places and time in Russian, we sometimes use the preposition в and sometimes the preposition на?

The Russian prepositions в and на have very similar meanings. However, they are often used with different words.

If you struggle to understand the difference between these two prepositions, this lesson will be useful for you.

In this lesson, you will find information on when and how to use в and на in Russian as well as various examples.

Here is a summary of the lesson:

Meanings of ‘в’ and ‘на’
‘В’ and ‘на’ to talk about location
‘В’ and ‘на’ to talk about direction
‘В’ and ‘на’ with geographical places
‘В’ and ‘на’ with transportation
‘В’ and ‘на’ to talk about time

Meanings of В and НА

The Russian prepositions в and на have many different meanings and uses, but they’re most commonly used to talk about location, direction, position and time.

Position

When we talk about the position of things, it’s quite easy to see the difference between в and на.

The preposition в means in and we usually use it when something or someone is inside a particular place or thing:

Мы в комнате.
(We’re in the room)
Телефон в сумке.
(The phone is in the bag)
Молоко в холодильнике.
(The milk is in the fridge)

The preposition на, on the other hand, means on and we use it to say that something or someone is on the surface of a particular place or thing:

Телефон на столе.
(The phone is on the table)
Мы сидим на диване.
(We’re sitting on the sofa)
Собака лежит на кровати.
(The dog is lying on the bed)

Location

When we talk about location, the difference between в and на is not that obvious. Sometimes we use в, and sometimes we use на:

Я в школе.
(I’m at school)
Я на работе.
(I’m at work)
Мы гуляем в парке.
(We walk in the park)
Мы живём на севере.
(We live in the north)

Although it’s difficult to distinguish between в and на when it comes to location, there are certain tricks that can help you choose the right preposition. We’re going to look at those tricks in a moment.

Time

When в and на are used to talk about time, the difference between them is not that clear either. With some time words and expressions, we use в, but with others, we use на:

Мы не работаем в пятницу.
(We don’t work on Friday)
Это было на прошлой неделе.
(It was last week)
Это было в прошлом году.
(It was last year)

So, how do we know if we need to use в or на in situations like this? Well, sometimes, it’s easier to just memorize the words and phrases in which these prepositions appear.

But sometimes, it’s possible to see some logic behind the use of these words. And we’re going to talk about that now.

В and НА to talk about location

When talking about location, we commonly use в with enclosed, physical spaces:

Мы были в гараже.
(We were in the garage)
Они в магазине.
(They are in the store)
Они были в кафе.
(They were at a cafe)
В спальне есть кровать.
(There is a bed in the bedroom)

Here is a list of the most common places used with the preposition в:

в школе (in/at school)
в университете (at university)
в колледже (in/at college)
в офисе (in/at an office)
в компании (at a company)
в городе (in a city)
в деревне (in a village)
в центре (in the centre)
в магазине (in/at a store/shop)
в супермаркете (in/at a supermarket)
в банке (in/at a bank)
в больнице (in/at a hospital)
в музее (in/at a museum)
в кино (in/at the cinema/movies)
в театре (at/in the theatre)
в отпуске (on vacation)
в аэропорту (at the airport)
в лесу (in the forest/woods)
в саду (in a garden)
в комнате (in a room)
в здании (in a building)
в ресторане (in/at a restaurant)
в кафе (in/at a cafe)
в мире (in the world)

When we talk about open spaces, activities and events, we usually use на:

Они говорили на уроке.
(They were talking in class)
Мы познакомились на свадьбе.
(We met at the wedding)
Он стоит на остановке.
(He is standing at the bus stop)

Here is a list of the most common places used with the preposition на:

на работе (at work / in a job)
на улице (on/in the street / outside)
на вокзале (at the station)
на пляже (at the beach)
на почте (at the post office)
на море (at the seaside / by the sea)
на севере (in the north)
на юге (in the south)
на востоке (in the east)
на западе (in the west)
на остановке (at a bus stop)
на уроке (in class)
на совещании (in/at a meeting)
на собрании (in/at a meeting)
на концерте (at a concert)
на дне рождения (at a birthday party)
на свадьбе (at a wedding)
на заводе (in/at a factory)
на лестнице (on the stairs)
на рынке (at the market)
на площади (in/at a square)
на крыльце (on the doorstep)
на веранде (on the veranda/porch)
на перекрёстке (at the crossroads)

It’s important to note that when we talk about location, the noun that follows в or на is used in the Prepositional Case. The most common ending in this case is -e:

в школе
на уроке
в магазине

If you don’t know when and how to use the Prepositional Case in Russian, check out our complete lesson about this topic.

В and НА to talk about direction

We can also use в and на to talk about direction. Here, we use the same rules as for location. For example:

Я иду в школу.
(I’m going to school)
Мы пришли в офис.
(We came to the office)
Мы ходили на свадьбу.
(We went to the wedding)
Она пришла на работу.
(She came to work)

The only difference is that when we’re talking about direction, the noun following в or на is used in the Accusative Case.

If you don’t know how to use the Accusative Case, check out our complete lesson about this topic.

To better understand how we use в and на for location and direction, let’s compare a few sentences.

First, let’s take a look at two sentences with в:

Он в школе.
(He’s at school)
Он идёт в школу.
(He’s going to school)

In the first sentence, we’re describing where the person is (location), so we use в + a place in the Prepositional Case (школе).

In the second sentence, we’re saying where the person is going (direction), so we use в + a place in the Accusative Case (школу).

Now, let’s compare two sentences with на:

Он на работе.
(He’s at work)
Он идёт на работу.
(He’s going to work)

In the first sentence, we’re describing where the person is (location), so we use на + a place in the Prepositional Case (работе).

In the second sentence, we’re saying where the person is going (direction), so we use на + a place in the Accusative Case (работу).

В and НА with geographical places

Now, let’s take a look at how we use в and на with countries and other geographical places.

For most countries and cities, we use the preposition в:

Я живу в России.
(I live in Russia)
Он живёт в Италии.
(He lives in Italy)
Они живут в Москве.
(They live in Moscow)

If we’re talking about islands, lakes, seas and rivers, we usually use на:

Мы ездили на Кубу.
(We went to Cuba)
Они ездили на море.
(They went to the sea)
Мы идём на озеро.
(We’re going to the lake)

В and НА with transportation

We also use в and на to talk about transportation.

We use на to say how we travel:

Я езжу на работу на машине.
(I go to work by car)
Она ездит в школу на автобусе.
(She goes to school by bus)
Мы ездили в Москву на поезде.
(We went to Moscow by train)

Note that when we ask someone how they travel, we use the question на чём. For example:

На чём ты ездишь на работу?
(How do you go to work?)

Here is a possible answer to this question:

Я езжу на работу на машине.
(I go to work by car)

When we’re talking about transportation as a place where something is or happens, we usually use в:

Мы сидим в машине.
(We’re sitting in the car)
Я читаю в автобусе.
(I read on the bus)
Мне нравится есть в поезде.
(I like eating on the train)

В and НА to talk about time

Now that we’ve learned how to use в and на with different places, let’s take a look at how we can use them to talk about time.

When we’re talking about ‘clock’ times, we use the preposition в:

Я встаю в 8 часов.
(I get up at 8 o’clock)
Он пришёл домой в 6 часов.
(He came home at 6 o’clock)
Она ложится спать в 10 часов.
(She goes to bed at 10 o’clock)

We also use в with days of the week, months and years:

Мы не работаем в пятницу.
(We’re not working on Friday)
Давай встретимся в субботу.
(Let’s meet on Saturday)
Я родился в декабре.
(I was born in December)
Мы познакомились в марте.
(We met in March)
Он родился в 1985 году.
(He was born in 1985)

Here are some other time expressions with в:

в выходные (at/on the weekend)
в прошлые выходные (last weekend)
в следующие выходные (next weekend)
в обед (at lunchtime)
в прошлом (in the past)
в будущем (in the future)
в данный момент (at the moment)
в прошлый раз (last time)
в первый раз (for the first time)
в этот день (on this day)
в тот день (on that day)

The preposition на is not very common when talking about time. However, we always use it with the word неделя, which means ‘week’:

На этой неделе у меня много дел.
(This week, I have many things to do)
Где ты был на прошлой неделе?
(Where were you last week?)
На следующей неделе я поеду в отпуск.
(Next week, I’m going on vacation)

Here are some other time expressions with the preposition на:

на следующий день (the next day)
на следующее утро (the next morning)
на рассвете (at dawn)
на закате (at sunset)

Conclusion

In this lesson, we’ve looked at the main differences between the Russian prepositions в and на.

But keep in mind that these prepositions can be used in many other situations, which are usually very specific and should be learned little by little.

If you’d like to see other examples of using в and на in Russian, you can look them up in our dictionary:

в
на

Now that you know the most important information about the prepositions в and на, you can practice what you’ve learned with our interactive exercises.

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