Lebanese clock time begins with الساعة “the hour/time,” followed by a colloquial number: الساعة تلاتة “it's three.” Everyday Beirut speech does not need the formal Arabic ordinal phrase الساعة الثالثة. It then adds minutes with و “and,” or counts backward from the next hour with إلا “minus/to.”
The expressions here are informal, neutral urban Lebanese. Phones and timetables often display 24-hour time, but conversation usually converts that display to a 12-hour expression and adds الصبح، بعد الظهر، المسا، بالليل when context is not enough.
Asking what time it is—or when something starts
Use قديش الساعة؟ or الساعة قديش؟ for “What time is it?” For a scheduled event, عالقديش؟ asks “At what time?” while إمتى؟ asks more broadly “When?” and may be answered with a day or date. The broader quantity use of the question word is covered under questions with قديش.
قديش الساعة هلق؟ تلفوني مطفي.
ʾaddēsh es-sēʿa hallaʾ? telefōne miṭfe.
What time is it now? My phone is off. (informal; asking for the current clock time)
عالقديش الموعد بكرا؟
ʿal-ʾaddēsh el-mawʿed bokra?
What time is the appointment tomorrow? (informal; asking for a scheduled hour)
إمتى الاجتماع؟ نهار التلاتا الساعة عشرة.
ēmta l-izhtimēʿ? nhār et-talāta s-sēʿa ʿashra.
When is the meeting? Tuesday at ten. (informal; إمتى receives both day and time)
Hours on the clock
The hour is grammatically tied to feminine ساعة, so one and two use feminine وحدة and تنتين. The other everyday hour forms are the familiar independent numerals.
| Display | Lebanese reading | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | الساعة وحدة | es-sēʿa waḥde |
| 2:00 | الساعة تنتين | es-sēʿa tintēn |
| 3:00 | الساعة تلاتة | es-sēʿa tlēte |
| 4:00 | الساعة أربعة | es-sēʿa arbaʿa |
| 5:00 | الساعة خمسة | es-sēʿa khamse |
| 6:00 | الساعة ستة | es-sēʿa sitte |
| 7:00 | الساعة سبعة | es-sēʿa sabʿa |
| 8:00 | الساعة تمانية | es-sēʿa tmēnye |
| 9:00 | الساعة تسعة | es-sēʿa tisʿa |
| 10:00 | الساعة عشرة | es-sēʿa ʿashra |
| 11:00 | الساعة حدعش | es-sēʿa ḥdaʿash |
| 12:00 | الساعة تنعش | es-sēʿa tnāʿash |
منلتقي الساعة تنتين عند المدخل الرئيسي.
mniltʾe s-sēʿa tintēn ʿind el-madkhal er-raʾīse.
We'll meet at two at the main entrance. (informal; feminine two in clock time)
المحل بيفتح الساعة تمانية كل يوم.
el-maḥall byiftaḥ es-sēʿa tmēnye kill yōm.
The shop opens at eight every day. (informal; on-the-hour schedule)
You may hear عالساعة تنتين when the exact scheduled point is emphasized. A bare الساعة تنتين is already sufficient after verbs of meeting, opening, or beginning.
Minutes after the hour: و
Add و plus the minute amount. Fractions are especially natural: وربع at :15, وتلت at :20, and ونص at :30.
| Time | Natural Lebanese | Literal organization |
|---|---|---|
| 3:05 | تلاتة وخمسة | three and five |
| 3:10 | تلاتة وعشرة | three and ten |
| 3:15 | تلاتة وربع | three and a quarter |
| 3:20 | تلاتة وتلت | three and a third |
| 3:25 | تلاتة ونص إلا خمسة | half past three minus five |
| 3:30 | تلاتة ونص | three and a half |
| 3:35 | تلاتة ونص وخمسة | half past three plus five |
وصلت عالقهوة الساعة خمسة وربع.
wiṣlet ʿal-ʾahwe s-sēʿa khamse w-robʿ.
I got to the café at five fifteen. (informal; quarter past)
الفيلم بيبلش تمانية وتلت، مش تمانية ونص.
el-fīlem byiballesh tmēnye w-tilt, mish tmēnye w-noṣṣ.
The film starts at eight twenty, not eight thirty. (informal; third versus half)
الموعد تلاتة ونص إلا خمسة، يعني تلاتة وخمسة وعشرين.
el-mawʿed tlēte w-noṣṣ illa khamse, yaʿne tlēte w-khamse w-ʿishrīn.
The appointment is at three twenty-five—literally five before half past three. (informal; fractional and exact readings)
The “third” expression is a normal Levantine clock fraction, not a mathematical exercise invented for learners. It efficiently covers :20 and, with إلا, :40. See fractions for نص، تلت، ربع outside clock time.
Minutes before the next hour: إلا
Once you count backward, name the upcoming hour. 3:45 is أربعة إلا ربع, literally “four minus a quarter.” Naming three would shift the reading to 2:45.
| Time | Lebanese reading |
|---|---|
| 3:40 | أربعة إلا تلت arbaʿa illa tilt |
| 3:45 | أربعة إلا ربع arbaʿa illa robʿ |
| 3:50 | أربعة إلا عشرة arbaʿa illa ʿashra |
| 3:55 | أربعة إلا خمسة arbaʿa illa khamse |
وصلت عالعيادة سبعة إلا ربع، وكان الباب مسكر.
wiṣlet ʿal-ʿiyēde sabʿa illa robʿ, w-kēn el-bēb msakkar.
I reached the clinic at quarter to seven, and the door was closed. (informal; next hour named)
When minute is spoken aloud
Short familiar times often omit دقيقة “minute.” When precision matters, the noun follows ordinary number grammar.
| Amount | Counted-noun phrase | Noun form |
|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | دقيقة وحدة dʾīʾa waḥde | singular + following one |
| 2 minutes | دقيقتين dʾīʾtēn | dual |
| 3 minutes | تلات دقايق tlēt dʾāyeʾ | construct numeral + plural |
| 11 minutes | حدعشر دقيقة ḥdaʿashar dʾīʾa | linking teen form + singular noun |
| 22 minutes | تنتين وعشرين دقيقة tintēn w-ʿishrīn dʾīʾa | singular after compound |
القطار تأخر تنتين وعشرين دقيقة.
el-ʾiṭār tʾakhkhar tintēn w-ʿishrīn dʾīʾa.
The train was delayed by twenty-two minutes. (informal; exact duration and singular noun)
Clock reading and duration are related but not identical. On the page, الساعة تلاتة وعشرين can be read as the single compound number “twenty-three o'clock”; a pause after تلاتة can instead support “three and twenty [minutes].” Avoid that collision in ordinary conversation: say الساعة تلاتة وتلت for 3:20, and reserve الساعة تلاتة وعشرين for a clearly established 24-hour context.
Twelve-hour speech and twenty-four-hour displays
Ordinary conversation usually converts a digital time to a 12-hour reading:
| Display | Everyday spoken reading |
|---|---|
| 07:00 | سبعة الصبح sabʿa ṣ-ṣobeḥ |
| 15:30 | تلاتة ونص بعد الظهر tlēte w-noṣṣ baʿd eẓ-ẓohor |
| 18:45 | سبعة إلا ربع المسا sabʿa illa robʿ el-masa |
| 00:15 | تنعش وربع بالليل tnāʿash w-robʿ bil-lēl |
الرحلة عالشاشة ١٨:٤٥، يعني سبعة إلا ربع المسا.
er-riḥle ʿash-shēshe 18:45, yaʿne sabʿa illa robʿ el-masa.
The trip is shown as 18:45 on the screen—that means quarter to seven in the evening. (informal; converting a 24-hour display)
Formal transport or broadcast language may read a 24-hour time with MSA ordinal forms (formal). Recognize that register, but do not transplant it into a casual appointment conversation.
Exact versus approximate time: a dialogue
عالقديش لازم نوصل، شي ستة؟
ʿal-ʾaddēsh lāzem nōṣal, shi sitte?
Maya: What time should we arrive—around six? (informal; approximate time with شي)
الباب بيفتح ستة، بس خلينا نكون هونيك ستة إلا ربع بالضبط.
el-bēb byiftaḥ sitte, bass khallīna nkūn honīk sitte illa robʿ biḍ-ḍabṭ.
Rami: The door opens at six, but let's be there at exactly quarter to six. (informal; scheduled hour versus exact arrival time)
Common Mistakes
Importing formal ordinal clock forms
❌ الموعد الساعة الثالثة والنصف.
Register mismatch—this is formal MSA, not ordinary Beirut clock speech.
✅ الموعد الساعة تلاتة ونص.
el-mawʿed es-sēʿa tlēte w-noṣṣ.
The appointment is at three thirty. (informal Lebanese)
Using masculine two for the hour
❌ الساعة تنين.
Incorrect in the production baseline—ساعة is feminine.
✅ الساعة تنتين.
es-sēʿa tintēn.
It's two o'clock. (informal; feminine two)
Naming the old hour with إلا
❌ الساعة تلاتة إلا ربع.
Wrong for 3:45—this means quarter to three, i.e. 2:45.
✅ الساعة أربعة إلا ربع.
es-sēʿa arbaʿa illa robʿ.
It's quarter to four. (informal; the upcoming hour is named)
Keeping a plural noun after a compound
❌ تأخر تنتين وعشرين دقايق.
Incorrect—after 22, the counted noun is singular.
✅ تأخر تنتين وعشرين دقيقة.
tʾakhkhar tintēn w-ʿishrīn dʾīʾa.
It was delayed twenty-two minutes. (informal; singular دقيقة)
Ignoring the construct form before a plural noun
❌ تأخر تلاتة دقايق.
Non-baseline counting form—before plural دقايق, use construct تلات.
✅ تأخر تلات دقايق.
tʾakhkhar tlēt dʾāyeʾ.
It was delayed three minutes. (informal; construct numeral plus plural noun)
Key Takeaways
Ask قديش الساعة؟ for the current time and عالقديش؟ for a scheduled hour. Say colloquial hour numbers after الساعة, including feminine وحدة and تنتين. Use و for minutes after, and إلا with the upcoming hour for minutes before. Fractions ربع، تلت، نص are everyday clock language. Convert 24-hour displays to 12-hour speech plus a day part unless a formal setting calls for a formal reading.
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