Etymology

From сей ‎(sej) + час ‎(čas), "this hour", "this time" (note: "сей" is dated, bookish or stilted (unlike "э́тот"), "час" in the sense of "time" is dated or poetic").

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sʲɪˈt͡ɕas] (phonetic respelling: сеча́с) (й ‎(j) is mostly silent, even in a very formal pronunciation)
• IPA^(key): [ɕːas] (phonetic respelling: щас) (casual, very common)
• IPA^(key): [sʲɪjˈt͡ɕas] (slow and thorough, less common)