Игра «один – много» для практики русского

What does “часы” mean in Russian?

In Russian, часы means a clock or wristwatch — but the word is plural-only (pluralia tantum). A single wristwatch is still часы, never чаc in that sense. So when counting, you say одни часы (one watch) and много часов (many watches/clocks) — the numeral changes but the noun stays stubbornly plural. It sits alongside брюки (trousers) and ножницы (scissors) as everyday objects Russian simply refuses to put in the singular.

The teacher in this clip calls часы her favourite example from the “one–many” game precisely because of the double-take it causes: the form for “one” looks identical to the form for “many” — часы, часы — and the genitive plural часов (“of clocks/watches”) is the only place the difference shows up. Note that час (singular) does exist, but it means an hour, not a timepiece — a tidy disambiguation Russian enforces by keeping the meanings in separate words.