التايمر شغال دلوقتي.

A natural Egyptian pronunciation is:

et-taymer shaghghāl دلwaʔti

A simpler learner-friendly version is:

et-TAY-mer shagh-GHAAL del-WA’-ti

Notes:

• التايمر sounds like et-taymer, not el-taymer
• شغال has a strong gh sound: shaghghāl
• دلوقتي is often said as delwa’ti or dilwa’ti, depending on the speaker

التايمر is a loanword from English timer.

Egyptian Arabic uses a lot of borrowed words, especially for modern objects, technology, and appliances. So instead of a more formal Arabic word, people often just use the English-based word in Arabic script.

Here:

• تايمر = timer
• الـ = the

So التايمر means the timer.

Because ت is a sun letter.

In Arabic, the ل of الـ often disappears in pronunciation before certain letters, and the next consonant gets doubled. Since ت is one of those letters, الـ + تايمر is pronounced:

et-taymer

not

el-taymer

This is a pronunciation rule. In writing, it still stays التايمر.

In this sentence, شغال means something like:

• on
• working
• running
• operating

So for a device, التايمر شغال means the timer is currently functioning or active.

شغال is very common in Egyptian Arabic and can be used for machines, electricity, apps, systems, and even people in some contexts.

Examples:

• النور شغال = The light is on
• المكيّف شغال = The AC is running
• أنا شغال = I’m working

Because in Arabic, the present-tense verb to be is usually not said.

So English:

• The timer is on now

becomes in Egyptian Arabic:

• التايمر شغال دلوقتي

This is completely normal.

Arabic often says:

• هو تعبان = He is tired
• البيت كبير = The house is big
• التايمر شغال = The timer is on

If you want past or future, then words like كان or هيبقى can appear:

• التايمر كان شغال = The timer was on
• التايمر هيبقى شغال = The timer will be on

دلوقتي means:

• now
• right now
• at the moment

It is a very common Egyptian Arabic word.

So:

• التايمر شغال دلوقتي = The timer is on now

A more formal Arabic equivalent would be الآن, but in everyday Egyptian speech, دلوقتي is much more natural.

It is clearly Egyptian Arabic.

The strongest clue is دلوقتي, which is colloquial Egyptian. In Modern Standard Arabic, you would not normally say it this way.

A more formal version might be something like:

• المؤقّت يعمل الآن
• المؤقّت قيد التشغيل الآن

But in everyday Egyptian speech, التايمر شغال دلوقتي sounds natural and normal.

This is a normal Arabic nominal sentence pattern:

subject + description/state + time word

So:

• التايمر = the timer
• شغال = on / working
• دلوقتي = now

Literally, it is something like:

The timer — on/working — now

That is a very common Arabic structure.

It can be used for both, but the meaning changes slightly depending on context.

For machines/devices:

• شغال = on / running / working

For people:

• شغال usually means working or employed, and sometimes busy with something

Examples:

• المروحة شغالة = The fan is on
• هو شغال في بنك = He works in a bank
• أنا شغال دلوقتي = I’m working right now

So the core idea is that something is active, operating, or engaged.

You would usually say:

التايمر مش شغال دلوقتي.

That means:

The timer isn’t on now
or
The timer isn’t working now

Here:

• مش = not
• شغال = on / working

So:

• التايمر شغال دلوقتي = The timer is on now
• التايمر مش شغال دلوقتي = The timer is not on now

Yes, sometimes you can, although التايمر شغال دلوقتي is very natural.

You may also hear:

• دلوقتي التايمر شغال
• التايمر دلوقتي شغال

These all relate to the timer being on now, but the emphasis changes a little.

• التايمر شغال دلوقتي = neutral, very natural
• دلوقتي التايمر شغال = emphasis on now
• التايمر دلوقتي شغال = also possible, often contrastive

For a learner, التايمر شغال دلوقتي is the safest pattern to use.

In this sentence, شغال is functioning like a predicate adjective/state word, not a fully conjugated verb.

That is why there is no extra word for is.

So:

• التايمر = subject
• شغال = state/condition
• دلوقتي = time expression

Even though شغال comes from a root connected to working/operating, in sentences like this it behaves like a description of the current state:

• the timer is working
• the light is on
• the machine is running