Cairene time and date talk uses stable frames: الساعة كام؟ “What time is it?”, الساعة + clock time, النهارده يوم إيه؟ “What day is it today?”, النهارده كام؟ “What’s today’s date?”, and الميعاد يوم… الساعة… for scheduling. English at, on, and in do not map mechanically onto separate prepositions in every one of these frames.
This page focuses on everyday collocations and scheduling. The complete numeral mechanics are covered under Telling Time and Dates.
Core substitution frames
| Frame | Replaceable slot | Use |
|---|---|---|
| الساعة _ | تلاتة، تلاتة ونص، أربعة إلا ربع | clock time |
| النهارده يوم _ | الحد، الاتنين، التلات | weekday |
| النهارده شهر | date number + month | calendar date |
| الميعاد يوم الساعة | weekday + time | appointment |
| من لحد | start + endpoint | time range |
Rule 1: use الساعة كام؟ for clock time
الساعة كام دلوقتي؟ الساعة تلاتة وعشرة
is-sāʿa kām dilwaʾti? is-sāʿa talāta wi-ʿashara
What time is it now? It’s three ten.
القطر هيتحرك الساعة ستة إلا ربع
il-ʾaṭr hayitḥarrak is-sāʿa sitta ʾilla rubʿ
The train will leave at quarter to six.
The same الساعة appears in telling and scheduling. English inserts at before a time; Egyptian can use الساعة directly, without في.
Rule 2: build halves, quarters, and minutes around the hour
المحاضرة بدأت الساعة تسعة ونص
il-muḥāḍara badaʾit is-sāʿa tisʿa wi-nuṣṣ
The lecture started at half past nine.
وصلت الساعة خمسة وربع، قبل الميعاد بربع ساعة
wiṣilt is-sāʿa khamsa wi-rubʿ, ʾabl il-mīʿād bi-rubʿ sāʿa
I arrived at quarter past five, fifteen minutes before the appointment.
الاجتماع خلص الساعة اتناشر إلا عشر دقايق
il-igtimāʿ khiliṣ is-sāʿa tnāshar ʾilla ʿashar daʾāyiʾ
The meeting ended at ten minutes to twelve.
و adds elapsed minutes after the hour; إلا subtracts time from the coming hour. These are fixed clock constructions, not ordinary arithmetic sentences.
Rule 3: distinguish weekday from calendar date
Ask النهارده يوم إيه؟ for the weekday and النهارده كام؟ for the date number.
النهارده يوم إيه؟ النهارده التلات
in-nahārda yōm ʾēh? in-nahārda t-talāt
What day is today? Today is Tuesday.
النهارده كام؟ النهارده سبعتاشر يونيو
in-nahārda kām? in-nahārda sabaʿtāshar Yūnyu
What’s today’s date? Today is June seventeenth.
Months are often shared international names in ordinary speech; formal documents may use more MSA-oriented date formatting (formal/written).
Rule 4: schedule with يوم plus weekday and الساعة plus time
ميعاد الكشف يوم الحد الساعة حداشر الصبح
mīʿād il-kashf yōm il-ḥadd is-sāʿa ḥadāshar iṣ-ṣubḥ
The doctor’s appointment is Sunday at eleven in the morning.
مناسب ليكي يوم الخميس بعد الضهر؟
munāsib līki yōm il-khamīs baʿd iḍ-ḍuhr?
Does Thursday afternoon work for you? (to a woman)
Weekdays can appear directly after يوم. في يوم الخميس is possible when emphasizing “on a Thursday/within that day,” but do not mechanically translate every English on with في.
Rule 5: express ranges with من…لحد…
المكتب مفتوح من تسعة لحد خمسة ماعدا الجمعة
il-maktab maftūḥ min tisʿa la-ḥadd khamsa maʿada l-gumʿa
The office is open from nine until five except Friday.
استنيتك من الساعة اتنين لحد تلاتة ونص
istannētak min is-sāʿa tnēn la-ḥadd talāta wi-nuṣṣ
I waited for you from two until three thirty. (to a man)
لحد includes an endpoint in ordinary scheduling. Context decides whether an event stops exactly then or remains possible at the endpoint.
Three everyday situations
For transport, combine departure time with a deadline:
الأتوبيس بيمشي سبعة بالضبط، فخليك هناك قبلها بعشر دقايق
il-ʾotobīs biyimshi sabʿa biḍ-ḍabṭ, fa-khallīk hunāk ʾablaha bi-ʿashar daʾāyiʾ
The bus leaves at seven exactly, so be there ten minutes early.
For business hours, the present zero-copula frame is enough: المكتب مفتوح…. For a changed schedule, use a verb:
ميعاد الاجتماع اتغير من الاتنين للأربع
mīʿād il-igtimāʿ itghayyar min il-itnēn lil-ʾarbaʿ
The meeting date changed from Monday to Wednesday.
For social plans, state a time and check uptake rather than merely announcing it.
A scheduling dialogue
ـ فاضية إمتى الأسبوع ده؟ ـ التلات بعد ستة. ـ طب نتقابل الساعة سبعة ونص؟ ـ مناسب، أشوفك التلات
— fāḍya ʾimta l-ʾusbūʿ da? — it-talāt baʿd sitta. — ṭabb nitʾābil is-sāʿa sabʿa wi-nuṣṣ? — munāsib, ʾashūfik it-talāt
— When are you free this week? — Tuesday after six. — Then shall we meet at seven thirty? — That works; see you Tuesday. (women speaking)
The dialogue progresses from an open availability frame to a precise proposal and confirmation.
Register and variation
The frames here are mainstream Cairo (informal/neutral). Official announcements may use في تمام الساعة، الموافق، بتاريخ (formal/written). The 24-hour clock is frequent in tickets and schedules, while conversation often uses twelve-hour time plus الصبح، الضهر، بالليل. Regional pronunciations of numerals and weekday names vary (regional/social).
Common Mistakes
❌ هنتقابل في الساعة تلاتة
Mismatched preposition for the intended neutral conversational schedule; use الساعة directly.
✅ هنتقابل الساعة تلاتة قدام المحطة
hanitʾābil is-sāʿa talāta ʾuddām il-maḥaṭṭa
We’ll meet at three in front of the station.
❌ النهارده إيه يوم؟
Incorrect English-like question order.
✅ النهارده يوم إيه؟ عشان أظبط الميعاد
in-nahārda yōm ʾēh? ʿashān ʾaẓabbaṭ il-mīʿād
What day is it today? I need to set the appointment.
❌ الاجتماع على يوم الخميس
Incorrect support preposition for an ordinary scheduled weekday.
✅ الاجتماع يوم الخميس الساعة عشرة
il-igtimāʿ yōm il-khamīs is-sāʿa ʿashara
The meeting is Thursday at ten.
في تمام الساعة سبعة ونص، يلا بينا
fi tamām is-sāʿa sabʿa wi-nuṣṣ, yalla bīna
At exactly seven thirty, let us depart. (grammatical but ceremonially formal for intimate talk)
✅ الساعة سبعة ونص، يلا عشان مانتأخرش
is-sāʿa sabʿa wi-nuṣṣ, yalla ʿashān ma-nitʾakhkharsh
It’s seven thirty; let’s go so we aren’t late.
Key Takeaways
- Ask الساعة كام؟ and schedule with الساعة + time, usually without في.
- Ask يوم إيه؟ for the weekday and كام؟ for the calendar date.
- Use يوم + weekday، الساعة + time as a stable appointment frame.
- Use من…لحد… for ranges, and match formal date formulas to genuinely formal settings.
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