The Hour(الساعة)
| Arabic | Transcription | Meaning | Literally | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| كم السّاعة؟ | kam assaa3a? | What time is it? | How much is the hour? | To ask the time |
| ...السّاعة | assaa3a... | The time is... | The hour (is)... | To give the time |
The hours are told using ordinal numbers. (Except for "one o'clock; the word for "First" is different than the word used in "one o'clock" below.)
| Arabic | Transcription | Meaning | Literally |
|---|---|---|---|
| السّاعة الواحدة | assaa3a alwaaHida | One 'Clock | the One hour |
| السّاعة الثّانية | assaa3a atthhaaniya | Two 'Clock | the second hour |
| السّاعة الثّالثة | assaa3a atthhaalitha | Three 'Clock | the third hour |
| السّاعة الرّابعة | assaa3a arraabi3a | Four 'Clock | the fourth hour |
| السّاعة الخامسة | assaa3a alkhaamisa | Five 'Clock | the fifth hour |
| السّاعة السّادسة | assaa3a assaadisa | Six 'Clock | the sixth hour |
| السّاعة السّابعة | assaa3a assaabi3a | Seven 'Clock | the seventh hour |
| السّاعة الثّامنة | assaa3a atthhaamina | Eight 'Clock | the eighth hour |
| السّاعة التّاسعة | assaa3a attaasi3a | Nine 'Clock | the ninth hour |
| السّاعة العاشرة | assaa3a al3aashara | Ten 'Clock | the tenth hour |
| السّاعة الحادية عشرة | assaa3a alHaadiya 3ashara | Eleven 'Clock | the eleventh hour |
| السّاعة الثّانية عشرة | assaa3a atthhaaniya 3ashara | Twelve 'Clock | the twelfth hour |
To talk about minutes or chunks of time within the hour, we have these phrases:
| Arabic | Transcription | Meaning | Literally |
|---|---|---|---|
| خَمْس دقَائِق | khams daqaa'iq | 5 minutes | five minutes |
| عَشَر دقَائِق | 3ashar daqaa'iq | 10 minutes | ten minutes |
| الرُّبَع | arruba3a | 15 minutes/ a quarter | a quarter |
| الثُلثْ | atthhulth | 20 min/ a third | a third |
| النِصْف | anniSf | 30 min/a half | a half |
From the half-hour and before, the phrase gets attached the hour previous using the word "and", و.
| السّاعة الخامِسة و .النِصْف | assaa3a alkhaamisa wa anniSf | 5:30 | It is half past five | the fifth hour and the half |
| السّاعة الثّامِنة و .الربع | assaa3a atthhaamina wa arrub3a | 8:15 | It is a quarter past eight | the eighth hour and the quarter |
After the half-hour, the phrase is "subtracted" from the approaching hour and so is attached by the word إلا meaning "except".
| السّاعة ا لحادية عشر ة إلا .الثُلث | assaa3a alHaadiya 3ashara ilaa atthhulth | 10:40 | It's twenty of eleven | the eleventh hour except a third |
| السّاعة السّابعة إلا خَمْس دَقائِق | assaa3a assaabi3a ilaa khams daqaa'iq | 6:55 | It's five of seven. | the seventh hour except 5 minutes |
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Related Links: Arabic Numbers 1-10(١- أقرام ١٠) Numbers 11-20(١١- ارقام ٢٠) |
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