9. Time, Days of the Week and Dates

“What time is it?”, “on Monday”, “on the fifth of June”, “in a week” are all built from the numbers of the previous chapter plus a few words. This chapter collects the rules you need to arrange a meeting and read a timetable.

Telling the time

The word שָׁעָה (sha’a, hour) is feminine, so time is told with feminine numbers. Minutes past the hour are added with וְ (“and”), minutes to the next hour with לְ (“to”). The word “hour” itself is not repeated.

“Ten minutes” in clock time is traditionally said with the masculine form: וַעֲשָׂרָה, עֲשָׂרָה לְ. All other minutes are feminine. An exact number of minutes takes the word דַּקּוֹת: שָׁלוֹשׁ וְשֶׁבַע דַּקּוֹת – 3:07.

The 24-hour clock is hardly used in speech; the part of the day is added instead:

• בַּבֹּקֶר (ba-boker) – in the morning: בְּשֶׁבַע בַּבֹּקֶר – at seven in the morning;
• בַּצָּהֳרַיִם (ba-tsohorayim) – at noon, at midday;
• אַחַר הַצָּהֳרַיִם (achar ha-tsohorayim) – in the afternoon: בְּאַרְבַּע אַחַר הַצָּהֳרַיִם – at four in the afternoon;
• בָּעֶרֶב (ba-erev) – in the evening: בְּשֶׁבַע בָּעֶרֶב – at seven in the evening;
• בַּלַּיְלָה (ba-laila) – at night; בַּחֲצוֹת (ba-chatsot) – at midnight.

Phrases: מָה הַשָּׁעָה? (ma ha-sha’a) – What time is it? בְּאֵיזוֹ שָׁעָה? (be-eizo sha’a) – At what time? בְּשָׁלוֹשׁ – at three, בְּשָׁלוֹשׁ בְּדִיּוּק – at three sharp, בְּעֶרֶךְ בְּשָׁלוֹשׁ – at about three, מִשָּׁלוֹשׁ עַד חָמֵשׁ – from three to five. Duration: שָׁעָה – an hour, שְׁעָתַיִם – two hours, שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁעוֹת – three hours, חֲצִי שָׁעָה – half an hour, דַּקָּה / חָמֵשׁ דַּקּוֹת – a minute / five minutes.

Days of the week

The week begins on Sunday, and the days are ordinal numbers with the word יוֹם (yom, day). Only Saturday has a name of its own. In timetables the days are written with letters of the alphabet.

“On Monday” is בְּיוֹם שֵׁנִי, “on Saturday” בְּשַׁבָּת, “on Fridays” בְּיָמֵי שִׁשִּׁי. The weekend is סוֹף שָׁבוּעַ (sof shavua), Friday and Saturday. שָׁבוּעַ טוֹב (shavua tov) – “have a good week” is said on Saturday evening.

Months and seasons

The months of the Gregorian calendar are loanwords: יָנוּאָר, פֶבְּרוּאָר, מֶרְץ, אַפְּרִיל, מַאי, יוּנִי, יוּלִי, אוֹגוּסְט, סֶפְּטֶמְבֶּר, אוֹקְטוֹבֶּר, נוֹבֶמְבֶּר, דֶּצֶמְבֶּר. “In May” is בְּמַאי, “at the beginning of September” בִּתְחִלַּת סֶפְּטֶמְבֶּר, “at the end of the year” בְּסוֹף הַשָּׁנָה.

The Hebrew months (תִּשְׁרֵי, חֶשְׁוָן, כִּסְלֵו, טֵבֵת, שְׁבָט, אֲדָר, נִיסָן, אִיָּר, סִיוָן, תַּמּוּז, אָב, אֱלוּל) are used for holidays and in official documents. The seasons: סְתָו (stav) – autumn, חֹרֶף (choref) – winter, אָבִיב (aviv) – spring, קַיִץ (kayits) – summer; “in summer” is בַּקַּיִץ, “in winter” בַּחֹרֶף.

Dates

The day of the month is a masculine cardinal number with the article (we count יָמִים), and the month is attached with the preposition בְּ. Only “the first” is an ordinal.

In writing the date goes day.month.year: 24.9.2026. A birthday is יוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת (yom huledet): מָתַי יוֹם הַהֻלֶּדֶת שֶׁלְּךָ? – When is your birthday?

Today, yesterday, in a week

“This” period of time is made with the article: הַיּוֹם (ha-yom) – today, הַשָּׁבוּעַ (ha-shavua) – this week, הַחֹדֶשׁ (ha-chodesh) – this month, הַשָּׁנָה (ha-shana) – this year, הָעֶרֶב – this evening. “Last” is שֶׁעָבַר, “next” הַבָּא; “ago” is לִפְנֵי, “in” (a week) is בְּעוֹד.

What to remember

• Time is told with feminine numbers: שָׁלוֹשׁ וָחֵצִי – half past three, רֶבַע לְאַרְבַּע – a quarter to four.
• Days of the week are יוֹם + an ordinal; the week starts on Sunday.
• Dates are a masculine number with the article + בְּ + the month.
• The article turns a unit of time into “this”: הַשָּׁבוּעַ – this week.