Time, Days and Dates
Ask the time, set a meeting, name the day and say a date: everything you need to plan a week in Hebrew, built on the numbers you already know.
One rule runs through the whole lesson: a number agrees with its noun, even one you don't say. שָׁעָה makes the hours feminine; יוֹם makes the dates masculine.
What time is it? The full hoursfeminine numbers
The hour is feminine
To ask the time, say מָה הַשָּׁעָה? – literally “what is the hour?”. The answer starts the same way: הַשָּׁעָה plus the number. There is no word for “o'clock” and no verb: הַשָּׁעָה שָׁלוֹשׁ is a complete sentence.
שָׁעָה is a feminine noun, so the hours use the feminine numbers from the numbers lesson, the short ones: אַחַת, שְׁתַּיִם, שָׁלוֹשׁ. It is הַשָּׁעָה שָׁלוֹשׁ, never שְׁלוֹשָׁה.
In everyday speech you will also hear כַּמָּה הַשָּׁעָה?, and the answer is often just the number: “שָׁלוֹשׁ”.
The hours, one to twelve
| Clock | In Hebrew | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | אַחַת | akhat |
| 2:00 | שְׁתַּיִם | shtayim |
| 3:00 | שָׁלוֹשׁ | shalosh |
| 4:00 | אַרְבַּע | arba |
| 5:00 | חָמֵשׁ | khamesh |
| 6:00 | שֵׁשׁ | shesh |
| 7:00 | שֶׁבַע | sheva |
| 8:00 | שְׁמוֹנֶה | shmone |
| 9:00 | תֵּשַׁע | tesha |
| 10:00 | עֶשֶׂר | eser |
| 11:00 | אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה | akhat esre |
| 12:00 | שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה | shteim esre |
Two o'clock is שְׁתַּיִם. The short שְׁתֵּי is only for a noun that follows it, and here no noun follows.
Asking and answering
סְלִיחָה, מָה הַשָּׁעָה?
slikha, ma ha-sha’a
Excuse me, what time is it?
הַשָּׁעָה שָׁלוֹשׁ בְּדִיּוּק.
ha-sha’a shalosh bediyuk
It's exactly three o'clock.
עַכְשָׁיו כִּמְעַט עֶשֶׂר.
akhshav kim’at eser
It's almost ten now.
Half past, quarter to: the minutespast · to
Past with וְ, to with לְ
Minutes after the hour are joined with “and”: שֶׁבַע וָחֵצִי is “seven and a half”, half past seven, and שֶׁבַע וָרֶבַע is a quarter past seven. Before חֵצִי and רֶבַע the “and” is pronounced va-.
Minutes before the hour use לְ, “to”: רֶבַע לִשְׁמוֹנֶה is a quarter to eight, עֶשְׂרִים לִשְׁמוֹנֶה is twenty to eight. Before a shva the לְ becomes לִ, as in לִשְׁתַּיִם and לִשְׁמוֹנֶה.
Minutes are where the masculine slips in: when you say just the number, Israelis say וַחֲמִשָּׁה, וַעֲשָׂרָה and עֲשָׂרָה לְ־. Add the word דַּקּוֹת and the number goes back to feminine, as the numbers lesson predicts: עֶשֶׂר דַּקּוֹת.
From 7:00 to 8:00
| Clock | In Hebrew | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 7:05 | שֶׁבַע וַחֲמִשָּׁה | sheva va-khamisha |
| 7:10 | שֶׁבַע וַעֲשָׂרָה | sheva va-asara |
| 7:15 | שֶׁבַע וָרֶבַע | sheva va-reva |
| 7:20 | שֶׁבַע וְעֶשְׂרִים | sheva ve-esrim |
| 7:30 | שֶׁבַע וָחֵצִי | sheva va-khetsi |
| 7:40 | עֶשְׂרִים לִשְׁמוֹנֶה | esrim li-shmone |
| 7:45 | רֶבַע לִשְׁמוֹנֶה | reva li-shmone |
| 7:50 | עֲשָׂרָה לִשְׁמוֹנֶה | asara li-shmone |
| 7:55 | חֲמִשָּׁה לִשְׁמוֹנֶה | khamisha li-shmone |
Any other minute? Read the digits as they appear on a screen: שֶׁבַע שְׁלוֹשִׁים וְחָמֵשׁ is 7:35.
A time on the clock, or an amount of time?
הַשָּׁעָה שָׁלוֹשׁ is a point on the clock; שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁעוֹת is an amount of time, three hours. For two hours Hebrew uses a single word, שְׁעָתַיִם, and half an hour is חֲצִי שָׁעָה.
Quick check
It's two o'clock.
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Frequently asked questions
- How do you say “What time is it?” in Hebrew?
- מָה הַשָּׁעָה? (ma ha-sha’a). Answer with הַשָּׁעָה and a feminine number: הַשָּׁעָה שָׁלוֹשׁ, it's three o'clock. Add וָחֵצִי for half past, וָרֶבַע for a quarter past and רֶבַע לְ־ for a quarter to: רֶבַע לְאַרְבַּע.
- Why are hours feminine but dates masculine in Hebrew?
- The number agrees with a noun you don't say. Hours count שָׁעוֹת, and שָׁעָה is feminine, so הַשָּׁעָה שֶׁבַע, it's seven o'clock. Dates count days, and יוֹם is masculine, so בַּחֲמִשָּׁה בְּמַאי, on the fifth of May.
- What are the days of the week in Hebrew?
- Sunday to Friday are numbered: יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן, יוֹם שֵׁנִי, יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי, יוֹם רְבִיעִי, יוֹם חֲמִישִׁי, יוֹם שִׁשִּׁי. Saturday is שַׁבָּת. The week starts on Sunday, and the weekend is Friday and Saturday.
- Do Israelis use the 24-hour clock?
- In writing, yes: timetables, tickets and phones show 17:30. In conversation people count in twelve hours and add the part of the day when needed: חָמֵשׁ וָחֵצִי אַחַר הַצָּהֳרַיִם.
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- What time is it? The full hours
- Half past, quarter to: the minutes
- At what time? Morning, noon and night (Free account)
- Days of the week (Free account)
- Months and dates (Free account)
- Today, tomorrow, a week ago (Free account)
- Common mistakes and summary (Free account)
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