Grammar · Building Sentences · 8 min
Telling Time
Hours, quarters, days, and the school timetable, from הַשָּׁעָה שָׁלוֹשׁ to السَّاعَة الثَّالِثَة
In Counting Things you met street time: is-sāʿa khamse w-nuṣṣ, "five thirty," built exactly like חמש וחצי. That is how people talk. Formal Arabic, which is what you hear on the news, read on a school timetable, and write in an exam, does one surprising thing: it names the hour with an ordinal. Three o'clock is السَّاعَة الثَّالِثَة, "the third hour," where Hebrew says simply השעה שלוש.
| Time | MSA | Translit | Hebrew | Levantine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | الْوَاحِدَة | al-wāḥida | אַחַת | waḥde |
| 2:00 | الثَّانِيَة | ath-thāniya | שְׁתַּיִם | tintēn |
| 3:00 | الثَّالِثَة | ath-thālitha | שָׁלוֹשׁ | tlāte |
| 4:00 | الرَّابِعَة | ar-rābiʿa | אַרְבַּע | arbaʿa |
| 5:00 | الْخَامِسَة | al-khāmisa | חָמֵשׁ | khamse |
| 6:00 | السَّادِسَة | as-sādisa | שֵׁשׁ | sitte |
| 7:00 | السَّابِعَة | as-sābiʿa | שֶׁבַע | sabʿa |
| 8:00 | الثَّامِنَة | ath-thāmina | שְׁמוֹנֶה | tamānye |
| 9:00 | التَّاسِعَة | at-tāsiʿa | תֵּשַׁע | tisʿa |
| 10:00 | الْعَاشِرَة | al-ʿāshira | עֶשֶׂר | ʿashara |
| 11:00 | الْحَادِيَةَ عَشْرَةَ | al-ḥādiya ʿashra | אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה | ḥdaʿsh |
| 12:00 | الثَّانِيَةَ عَشْرَةَ | ath-thāniya ʿashra | שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה | tnaʿsh |
Why do they all end in ة? Because سَاعَة is feminine, so its ordinal must be feminine too. Hebrew obeys the same logic in its own way: שָׁעָה is feminine, which is why you say השעה שלוש and never השעה שלושה. One o'clock is the single exception. It is الْوَاحِدَة "the one," not الْأُولَى "the first."
Quarters, halves, and thirds
Past the hour, Arabic adds fractions with وَ "and," just like Hebrew: وَالنِّصْف wa-n-niṣf "and the half" = וחצי, and وَالرُّبْع wa-r-rubʿ "and the quarter" = ורבע. Before the hour, Hebrew says "a quarter to four" (רבע לארבע), while Arabic says "four minus a quarter": الرَّابِعَة إِلَّا رُبْعًا. In MSA the fraction after إِلَّا takes the ‑an ending you met with kāna. Arabic also has one fraction Hebrew doesn't use for time: the third, ثُلْث thulth, which is twenty minutes. رُبْع ↔ רֶבַע and ثُلْث ↔ שְׁלִישׁ are cognates, both built from the numbers four and three. نِصْف, on the other hand, has nothing to do with חֵצִי, so learn it fresh.
| Clock | MSA | Translit | Hebrew | Levantine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:10 | الثَّالِثَة وَعَشْر دَقَائِق | ath-thālitha wa-ʿashr daqāʾiq | שלוש ועשרה | tlāte w-ʿashara |
| 3:15 | الثَّالِثَة وَالرُّبْع | ath-thālitha wa-r-rubʿ | שלוש ורבע | tlāte w-rubʿ |
| 3:20 | الثَّالِثَة وَالثُّلْث | ath-thālitha wa-th-thulth | שלוש ועשרים | tlāte w-tult |
| 3:25 | الثَّالِثَة وَالنِّصْف إِلَّا خَمْس دَقَائِق | ath-thālitha wa-n-niṣf illā khams daqāʾiq | שלוש עשרים וחמש | tlāte w-nuṣṣ illa khamse |
| 3:30 | الثَّالِثَة وَالنِّصْف | ath-thālitha wa-n-niṣf | שלוש וחצי | tlāte w-nuṣṣ |
| 3:40 | الرَّابِعَة إِلَّا ثُلْثًا | ar-rābiʿa illā thulthan | עשרים לארבע | arbaʿa illa tult |
| 3:45 | الرَّابِعَة إِلَّا رُبْعًا | ar-rābiʿa illā rubʿan | רבע לארבע | arbaʿa illa rubʿ |
| 3:55 | الرَّابِعَة إِلَّا خَمْس دَقَائِق | ar-rābiʿa illā khams daqāʾiq | חמש לארבע | arbaʿa illa khamse |
Asking and answering
- كَمِ السَّاعَة؟כם א-סאעה?kam as-sāʿa?
What time is it?
מה השעה? مَا هَاشَاءَا؟ma hasha'a?
Literally "how much is the hour?", the same phrasing as casual Israeli כמה השעה?
- السَّاعَة الْآن الثَّالِثَة وَالرُّبْعא-סאעה אל-אן א-ת'אלת'ה וא-רבעas-sāʿa al-ān ath-thālitha wa-r-rubʿ
It's now a quarter past three.
השעה עכשיו שלוש ורבע هَاشَاءَا أَخْشَاڤ شَالُوش ڤَارِڤَاhasha'a akhshav shalosh vareva
Both السَّاعَة and the ordinal carry ال, so the sentence reads "the hour (is) the third."
- فِي أَيِّ سَاعَة؟פי אי סאעה?fī ayy sāʿa?
At what time?
באיזו שעה? بِئِيزُو شَاءَا؟be'eizo sha'a?
You can also simply ask مَتَى؟, Hebrew מָתַי.
- يَبْدَأ الدَّرْس فِي السَّاعَة الثَّامِنَةיבדא א-דרס פי א-סאעה א-ת'אמנהyabdaʾ ad-dars fī as-sāʿa ath-thāmina
The lesson starts at eight.
השיעור מתחיל בשעה שמונה هَاشِيئُور مَاتْخِيل بِشَاءَا شْمُونِيhashi'ur matkhil besha'a shmone
"At" a time is "in" in both languages: فِي السَّاعَة = בשעה. And ثَامِنَة ↔ שמונה.
Days, dates, and the timetable
| Hebrew | Arabic | Translit | Built from |
|---|---|---|---|
| יום ראשון | الْأَحَد | al-aḥad | "one": אֶחָד |
| יום שני | الِاثْنَيْن | al-ithnayn | "two": שְׁנַיִם |
| יום שלישי | الثُّلَاثَاء | ath-thulāthāʾ | "three": שָׁלוֹשׁ |
| יום רביעי | الْأَرْبِعَاء | al-arbiʿāʾ | "four": אַרְבַּע |
| יום חמישי | الْخَمِيس | al-khamīs | "five": חָמֵשׁ |
| יום שישי | الْجُمْعَة | al-jumʿa | "the gathering," for the Friday prayer |
| שבת | السَّبْت | as-sabt | the Sabbath: שַׁבָּת |
Dates use the masculine ordinal, because the hidden noun is يَوْم "day": الْعَاشِر مِن أَيْلُول is "the tenth of September." Formal Hebrew does the same with העשירי בספטמבר. And look at that month name. In the Levant, Arabic uses the old month names that came down through Aramaic, and many of them are Hebrew months you already know.
| Month | Arabic (Levant) | Translit | Hebrew cousin |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | كَانُون الثَّانِي | kānūn ath-thānī | — |
| February | شُبَاط | shubāṭ | שְׁבָט |
| March | آذَار | ādhār | אֲדָר |
| April | نَيْسَان | naysān | נִיסָן |
| May | أَيَّار | ayyār | אִיָּר |
| June | حَزِيرَان | ḥazīrān | — |
| July | تَمُّوز | tammūz | תַּמּוּז |
| August | آب | āb | אָב |
| September | أَيْلُول | aylūl | אֱלוּל |
| October | تِشْرِين الْأَوَّل | tishrīn al-awwal | תִּשְׁרֵי |
| November | تِشْرِين الثَّانِي | tishrīn ath-thānī | — |
| December | كَانُون الْأَوَّل | kānūn al-awwal | — |
The school timetable
- الْحِصَّة الْأُولَى فِي السَّاعَة الثَّامِنَةאל-חצה אל-אולא פי א-סאעה א-ת'אמנהal-ḥiṣṣa al-ūlā fī as-sāʿa ath-thāmina
First period is at eight.
השיעור הראשון בשעה שמונה هَاشِيئُور هَارِيشُون بِشَاءَا شْمُونِيhashi'ur harishon besha'a shmone
حِصَّة "period, class" is the word you will see on a timetable.
- عِنْدَنَا رِيَاضِيَّات يَوْم الِاثْنَيْنענדנא ריאצ'יאת יום אל-את'ניןʿindanā riyāḍiyyāt yawm al-ithnayn
We have math on Monday.
יש לנו מתמטיקה ביום שני يِش لَانُو مَاتِمَاتِيكَا بِيُوم شِنِيyesh lanu matematika beyom sheni
ʿindanā is from Was, Will Be, and Having. Day names take يَوْم in front, like Hebrew יום, and need no preposition.
- الِاسْتِرَاحَة مِن الْعَاشِرَة إِلَى الْعَاشِرَة وَالرُّبْعאל-אסתראחה מן אל-עאשרה אלא אל-עאשרה וא-רבעal-istirāḥa min al-ʿāshira ilā al-ʿāshira wa-r-rubʿ
Break is from ten to a quarter past ten.
ההפסקה מעשר עד עשר ורבע هَاهَافْسَاكَا مِئِسِر أَد إِسِر ڤَارِڤَاhahafsaka me'eser ad eser vareva
مِن… إِلَى… is the Biblical מִן… אֶל… pair again. In many Levantine schools the break is called il-furṣa.
- يَنْتَهِي الدَّوَام فِي الْوَاحِدَة وَالنِّصْفינתהי א-דואם פי אל-ואחדה וא-נצףyantahī ad-dawām fī al-wāḥida wa-n-niṣf
The school day ends at half past one.
הלימודים נגמרים באחת וחצי هَالِيمُودِيم نِگْمَارِيم بِئَاخَات ڤَاخِتْسِيhalimudim nigmarim be'akhat vakhetsi
دَوَام means "working hours"; at school, it is the school day.
- الْيَوْم الْخَمِيس، الْعَاشِر مِن أَيْلُولאל-יום אל-ח'מיס, אל-עאשר מן אילולal-yawm al-khamīs, al-ʿāshir min aylūl
Today is Thursday, the tenth of September.
היום יום חמישי, העשירי בספטמבר هَايُوم يُوم خَامِيشِي، هَاءَاسِيرِي بِسِپْتِمْبِرhayom yom khamishi, ha'asiri beseptember
The masculine ordinal al-ʿāshir (no ة) agrees with the unspoken يَوْم, just as Hebrew says העשירי.
Clock talk on the street
- قَدَّيْش السَّاعَة؟אדיש א-סאעה?addēsh is-sāʿa?
What time is it? (Levantine)
כמה השעה? كَامَا هَاشَاءَا؟kama hasha'a?
You will also hear kam is-sāʿa?. The answer uses plain numbers: is-sāʿa tlāte.
- السَّاعَة تْلَاتِة وْرُبْعא-סאעה תלאתה ורבעis-sāʿa tlāte w-rubʿ
It's a quarter past three. (Levantine)
השעה שלוש ורבע هَاشَاءَا شَالُوش ڤَارِڤَاhasha'a shalosh vareva
No ordinal and no ال on the number. This is the Hebrew recipe exactly.
- السَّاعَة كَام؟א-סאעה כאם?is-sāʿa kām?
What time is it? (Egyptian)
Cairo puts the question word last: "the hour, how much?"
- أَرْبَعَة إِلَّا رُبْعארבעה אלא רבעarbaʿa illa rubʿ
It's a quarter to four. (Egyptian and Levantine)
רבע לארבע رِڤَا لِئَارْبَاreva le'arba
The street keeps إِلَّا but drops the ‑an: illa rubʿ.
- شْحَال فْالسَّاعَة؟שחאל פס-סאעה?shḥāl fe-s-sāʿa?
What time is it? (Moroccan)
Literally "how much in the hour?" shḥāl is Darija's "how much."
- الرّْبعَة غِير رْبعא-רבעה ע'יר רבעr-rbeʿa ghīr rbeʿ
It's a quarter to four. (Moroccan)
Darija uses ghīr "only, except" where the others use illa, and it puts the article on the hour: r-rbeʿa.