In this article the author is going to discuss more on the application of using time in our daily lives in Arabic language. The reader will be able to see how telling the time is used in different situations in our daily lives. It is more exciting to see its application in real life, this is because it will make you be able to start using the language instantly after finalizing reading this article to the end.
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Asking for the Time
Lets say you are walking along the road and want to know the time and decided to ask someone, here are some of the ways to ask for the time in Arabic:
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الساعَة؟ كَم
kam al-sāʿah?
You’re literally asking "How much hour?” This is important, because in Arabic, the question word kam is used to ask for prices:
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الساعَة؟ كَم
kam al-sāʿah?
How much is the watch?
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Pretty similar, right?
Fortunately, this doesn’t cause a whole lot of confusion. Imagine you’re sitting with a friend and chatting, and it’s getting a little late. If you ask him for the time, he’s not going to think you’re asking about his accessories out of the blue!
To be a little more clear with your words, though, you could also ask:
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الآن؟ الساعَةُ كَم
kam al-sāʿaẗu al-ʾān?
What time is it now?
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Al-aan, meaning "now,” is just to eliminate any chance of confusion.
To be a little more polite when asking a stranger, try out this phrase as well:
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الساعَةُ كَم مَعَك؟
al-sāʿaẗu kam maʿak?
The word for "when” in Arabic is mata, but it works just like in English.
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مَتى سَتَتَخَرَّجُ في الجامِعَة؟
matā satataḫarraǧu fī al-ǧāmiʿah?
When will you graduate from university?
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You can also ask specifically for "what time” certain things are going to happen. This sentence pattern follows the same logic as the others, so we don’t need to see a ton of examples.
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مَتى يُغلِق هَذا المَتجَر؟
matā yuġliq haḏā al-matǧar?
What time does the store close?
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Talking about Hours
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A: كَم الساعَة؟
A: kam al-sāʿah?
A: What time is it?
B: إنَّها الثانِيَةَ عَشَرَة.
B: ʾinnahā al-ṯāniyaẗa ʿašarah.
B: It’s twelve o’clock.
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A: عُذراً, هَل مَعَكَ ساعَة؟
A: ʿuḏran, hal maʿaka sāʿah?
A: Excuse me, do you have a watch?
B: أَجَل، إنَّها الساعَة الثالِثَةَ مَسائاً
B: aǧal, ʾinnahā al-sāʿah al-ṯaliṯaẗa masāʾan.
B: Yes, it’s three o’clock p.m.
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A: هَل الساعَة الخامِسَة؟
A: hal al-sāʿah al-ḫāmisah?
A: Is it five o’clock yet?
B: لا، إنَّها لازالَت الساعَة الرابِعَة.
B: lā, ʾinnahā lāzal-at al-sāʿah al-rābiʿah.
B: No, it’s only four o’clock.
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Talking about Minutes and Seconds
When discussing minutes after the hour, we use the ordinal time as well. More occasions to practice your Arabic numbers!
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إنَّها الثالِثَة و خَمس وعِشرونَ دَقيقَة.
ʾinnahā al-ṯaliṯah wa ḫams wa ʿišrūna daqīqah.
It’s three twenty-five.
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However, there are some intricacies—and yes, shortcuts too—that make telling time in Arabic an exciting intellectual challenge.
For the first minute after the hour, English speakers just read out the digits: 5:01 becomes "five oh one.” In Arabic, though, the equivalent is "hour fifth minute.” "Minute” in Arabic is daqiiqah.
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إنَّها الخامِسَة و دَقيقَة.
ʾinnahā al-ḫāmisah wa daqīqah.
It’s 5:01.
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Arabic has a handy grammatical feature called the "dual,” which counts exactly two of something. So when we say "five oh two,” we don’t need to specify the number either. Using the dual form of "minute” is a way to say that explicitly.
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إنَّها الخامِسَة و دَقيقَتان.
innahā al-ḫāmisah wa daqīqatān.
It’s 5:02.
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After that, it follows the natural pattern that you might expect.
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الآن الساعَة السادِسَة و تِسع و ثَلاثونَ دَقيقَة.
al-ʾān al-sāʿah al-sādisah wa tisʿ wa ṯalāṯūna daqīqah.
Right now it’s 6:39.
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Of course, not everybody is as exact when telling the time in Arabic as to say the precise minute. Many people may respond more vaguely, so these are also some phrases you should know.
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الساعَة حَوَالَيْ الثانِيَة و ثَلاثونَ دَقيقَة.
al-sāʿah ḥawalay al-ṯāniyah wa ṯalāṯūna daqīqah.
It’s about two-thirty.
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In many languages, you can express the time as an hour plus or even minus a certain fraction. Arabic is no exception. The most commonly used fractions are "quarter,” "half,” and "third.”
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سِأِراكِ غِداً عِندَ السادِسَة و النِصف.
siʾirāki ġidan ʿinda al-sādisah wa al-niṣf.
I’ll see you tomorrow at half past six.
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أُريدُ أَن أَحجُز طاوِلَة لِلساعَة الوَاحِدَة و الرُبع.
urīdu ʾan ʾaḥǧuz ṭāwilah lilsāʿah al-waḥidah wa al-rubʿ.
I want to reserve a table for a quarter past one.
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When we want to express the time until the next hour ("ten minutes to two”) we use the word illa.
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إنَّها الخامِسَة إلّا عِشرونَ دَقيقَة.
innahā al-ḫāmisah ʾillā ʿišrūna daqīqah.
It’s twenty minutes to five. (Literally: Five short twenty minutes.)
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Colloquial dialects use cardinal numbers for the hours and minutes, so they’ll be a little different from the numbers listed above, but not too different.
So if you’re pressed for time and going to speak a particular Arabic dialect, simply learn the numbers and the words for half and quarter, and you’re pretty much all set!
For more about Time in Arabic and other interesting lessons visit our website Saya Arab and you will benefit more and learn more. We are here to support you and facilitate your journey of learning Arabic language to make your dream come true.
