Hebrew clock time is built around one quiet fact: שעה is feminine. That makes the hour אחת, שתיים, שלוש, שמונה, not the marked masculine forms. Then the minutes break the pattern in a way almost no beginner's course explains: when דקות is omitted, everyday Hebrew normally uses masculine-marked minute numbers.
Asking and giving the hour
The neutral question is מה השעה? “What time is it?” To ask when an event happens, use באיזו שעה? “At what time?” שעה is feminine, so איזה becomes איזו.
מה השעה? הטלפון שלי נכבה.
ma hasha'á? hatélefon shelí nikhbá
What time is it? My phone died.
באיזו שעה מתחילה ההופעה הערב?
be'éizo sha'á matkhilá hahofa'á ha'érev?
What time does the show start tonight?
The full answer may begin השעה…, but conversation often gives just the time. In either version, the hour uses the bare feminine row because the understood noun is שעה.
השעה אחת, אז בוא נצא לאכול.
hasha'á akhát, az bo netsé le'ekhól
It's one, so let's go and eat. (to a man)
השעה אחת עשרה ואני עדיין במשרד.
hasha'á akhát esré va'aní adáyin bamisrád
It's eleven and I'm still at the office.
החניון כבר מלא בשמונה בבוקר.
hakhenyón kvar malé bishmóne babóker
The car park is already full at eight in the morning.
Past the hour: ו־
Hebrew joins the minute count to the hour with ו־, literally “and”: שתיים ועשרה is “two and ten,” 2:10. The hour comes first, then the elapsed minutes.
השעה שתיים ועשרה והסרט כבר התחיל.
hasha'á shtáyim va'asará vehaséret kvar hitkhíl
It's ten past two and the film has already started.
השעון במטבח מראה ארבע ועשרים וחמישה.
hasha'ón bamitbákh mar'é árba ve'esrím vakhamishá
The kitchen clock says twenty-five past four.
Notice עשרה and חמישה, the marked masculine forms. That is not agreement with שעה; it belongs to the special minute pattern explained below.
Before the next hour: ל־
For minutes remaining until the next hour, put ל־ on that next hour: חמישה לחמש is “five [minutes] to five.” English speakers must actively look forward to the destination hour.
כבר חמישה לחמש, ואנחנו עדיין לא מוכנים.
kvar khamishá lekhamésh, va'anákhnu adáyin lo mukhaním
It's already five to five, and we're still not ready.
הרכבת יוצאת בעשרה לשבע, לא בשבע בדיוק.
harakévet yotsét ba'asará leshéva, lo beshéva bediyúk
The train leaves at ten to seven, not at seven exactly.
The attached ב־ simply marks the time of an event: בעשרה לשבע “at ten to seven.” The wider use of ב־, ל־, and עד with time belongs to time prepositions.
Why the minutes look masculine
Here is the anomaly: דקה is feminine, so an ordinary counted phrase is חמש דקות, “five minutes.” But when the noun דקות is omitted inside a clock reading, Israelis normally say חמישה, not חמש: חמישה לחמש, שתיים ועשרה, עשרים וחמישה. The traditional explanation is that the bare clock pattern preserves older masculine רֶגַע and דַּק behind the omitted unit.
The Academy explicitly declines to call this bare masculine usage an error. It also notes the careful alternative חמש דקות לחמש. Once דקות is actually spoken, ordinary feminine agreement returns. These are two correct register choices, not a right form and a wrong one:
✅ השעה חמישה לחמש, אני כבר בדרך.
hasha'á khamishá lekhamésh, aní kvar badérekh
It's five to five; I'm already on my way. (ordinary Israeli speech; דקות omitted)
✅ השעה חמש דקות לחמש, והדלתות ייסגרו בחמש.
hasha'á khamésh dakót lekhamésh, vehadlatót yisagrú bekhamésh
It is five minutes to five, and the doors will close at five. (careful/explicit; דקות spoken)
Half and quarter
Hebrew says “hour and half” rather than “half after the hour”: שלוש וחצי. Quarter past is חמש ורבע; quarter to puts the destination hour after ל־: רבע לשש.
הפגישה מתחילה בארבע וחצי, לא בארבע.
hapgishá matkhilá be'árba vakhétsi, lo be'árba
The meeting starts at half past four, not four.
יצאנו בחמש ורבע והגענו בדיוק ברבע לשש.
yatsánu bekhamésh varéva vehigánu bediyúk beréva leshesh
We left at quarter past five and arrived at exactly quarter to six.
Arranging a meeting
This short exchange puts the forms into a natural scheduling dialogue:
אז נפגשים מחר בחמש ורבע?
az nifgashím makhár bekhamésh varéva?
So are we meeting tomorrow at quarter past five?
אני לא אספיק. אפשר ברבע לשש?
aní lo aspík. efshár beréva leshesh?
I won't make it. Could we do quarter to six?
כן, נתראה בחמישה לשש ליד הכניסה.
ken, nitra'é bakhamishá leshesh leyád haknisá
Yes, see you at five to six by the entrance.
Morning, afternoon, evening, night
The twelve-hour clock is normal in speech, so context or a day-part phrase does the work of a.m. and p.m.:
| Phrase | Meaning | Typical span |
|---|---|---|
| בבוקר | in the morning | morning hours |
| בצהריים | at midday / in the early afternoon | around noon |
| אחר הצהריים | in the afternoon | after midday |
| בערב | in the evening | evening |
| בלילה | at night | late night / overnight |
נקבע את השיחה לאחת בצהריים, אחרי ארוחת הצהריים.
nikbá et hasikhá le'akhát batsohoráyim, akharéi arukhát hatsohoráyim
Let's schedule the call for one in the afternoon, after lunch.
הטיסה נוחתת באחת בלילה, אז אל תחכה לי.
hatisá nokhétet be'akhát baláyla, az al tekhaké li
The flight lands at one in the morning, so don't wait up for me. (to a man)
Timetables and official notices commonly use the 24-hour clock (formal/official written). Thus 20:30 is printed as digits but normally read aloud in conversation as שמונה וחצי בערב. Hebrew does not make speakers say a military-style “twenty thirty” merely because the timetable prints it.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving the feminine hour a marked masculine numeral.
❌ השעה שלושה.
Incorrect — שעה is feminine, so the hour is השעה שלוש.
✅ השעה שלוש ואני עוד לא אכלתי צהריים.
hasha'á shalósh va'aní od lo akhálti tsohoráyim
It's three and I still haven't had lunch.
2. Translating “half past” as חצי אחרי. Hebrew coordinates the hour with חצי.
❌ חצי אחרי שלוש
Incorrect — Hebrew says ‘three and a half’: שלוש וחצי.
✅ תתקשרי אליי בשלוש וחצי, אהיה פנוי אז.
titkashrí elái beshalósh vakhétsi, ehyé panúy az
Call me at half past three; I'll be free then. (to a woman, m. speaker)
3. Keeping the bare-clock masculine form when דקות is spoken.
❌ חמישה דקות לשבע
Incorrect — once דקות is present, the numeral agrees with the feminine noun: חמש דקות לשבע.
✅ השעה חמש דקות לשבע, בואי נזוז.
hasha'á khamésh dakót leshéva, bó'i nazúz
It's five minutes to seven; let's move. (to a woman)
Key Takeaways
- The hour follows feminine שעה: השעה שלוש, באחת, בשמונה, אחת עשרה.
- ו־ gives minutes past the hour; ל־ counts down to the next hour.
- With דקות omitted, ordinary clock speech uses masculine-marked minutes: חמישה לחמש, שתיים ועשרה. With דקות spoken, feminine agreement returns: חמש דקות לחמש.
- Half and quarter are שלוש וחצי, חמש ורבע, רבע לשש—not calques of English after and before.
- Official writing favours digits and the 24-hour clock; everyday speech normally converts them back to a twelve-hour time plus a day part.
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