עכשיו השעה 3, והפגישה שלנו מתחילה ב-4.

It is 3 o’clock now, and our meeting starts at 4.

Breakdown of עכשיו השעה 3, והפגישה שלנו מתחילה ב-4.

• עכשיו: now
• ו: and
• ב: at
• שעה: time
• פגישה: meeting
• שלנו: our
• להתחיל: to start
• 3: three
• 4: four

Questions & Answers about עכשיו השעה 3, והפגישה שלנו מתחילה ב-4.

How do you pronounce this sentence?

A common pronunciation guide is:

akhsháv ha-sha'á shalósh, veha-pgishá shelánu matchilá be-arbá.

A few notes:

• עכשיו = akhsháv = now
• השעה = ha-sha'á = the hour / the time
• הפגישה = ha-pgishá = the meeting
• שלנו = shelánu = our
• מתחילה = matchilá = starts / is starting
• ב-4 is usually read out loud as be-arbá = at four

Why does Hebrew say השעה 3 instead of something more like it is 3 o’clock?

Hebrew commonly tells time with the pattern:

השעה + number
literally: the hour is ...

So:

• השעה 3 = It is 3 o’clock
• more literally = The hour is 3

This is just the normal Hebrew way to state the time. English uses it is, but Hebrew uses השעה.

Why is there no Hebrew word for is in עכשיו השעה 3?

In the present tense, Hebrew usually does not use a separate word for am / is / are.

So English:

• Now it is 3

becomes Hebrew:

• עכשיו השעה 3

There is no present-tense verb to be written here. That is completely normal in Hebrew.

What exactly does עכשיו mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

עכשיו means now.

In this sentence it comes first:

• עכשיו השעה 3 = Now it’s 3

Hebrew is fairly flexible with word order, but starting with עכשיו is very natural when setting the time context first.

Why is it והפגישה with ו־ attached to the next word?

The letter ו at the beginning of a word usually means and.

So:

• הפגישה = the meeting
• והפגישה = and the meeting

In Hebrew, this ו־ is attached directly to the following word, not written separately.

What does הפגישה שלנו literally mean, and why is שלנו after the noun?

הפגישה שלנו literally means:

• the meeting of ours
• natural English: our meeting

In Hebrew, possessive words like שלי, שלך, שלו, שלנו often come after the noun:

• הספר שלי = my book
• הבית שלנו = our house
• הפגישה שלנו = our meeting

So unlike English, Hebrew often says the noun first and the possessor after it.

Why is there a ה in הפגישה שלנו if English just says our meeting, not the our meeting?

That is a very common question.

In Hebrew, when you use של... possession like שלנו, the noun is often definite:

• הפגישה שלנו = our meeting
• literally: the meeting of ours

So although English does not say the our meeting, Hebrew naturally uses the definite form here.

Why is the verb מתחילה and not מתחיל?

Because the subject הפגישה (the meeting) is a feminine singular noun.

Hebrew verbs in the present tense agree with the noun in gender and number.

• masculine singular: מתחיל
• feminine singular: מתחילה
• masculine plural: מתחילים
• feminine plural: מתחילות

Since פגישה is feminine singular, the correct form is:

• הפגישה מתחילה = the meeting starts

Does מתחילה mean starts or is starting?

It can mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• הפגישה שלנו מתחילה ב-4

the meaning is usually:

• our meeting starts at 4
• or our meeting is starting at 4

Because a time is given, Hebrew present tense often works for a scheduled future event, much like English:

• The train leaves at 8
• Our meeting starts at 4

So even though מתחילה is a present-tense form, it can refer to a future scheduled event.

What does ב-4 mean?

The prefix ב־ usually means in / at / on, depending on context.

Here it means at:

• ב-4 = at 4

So:

• מתחילה ב-4 = starts at 4

When Hebrew uses digits, the preposition is often written with a hyphen:

• ב-4

If written fully in words, it would usually be:

• בארבע

How would this sentence look if the numbers were written out in words?

A fully written version would normally be:

עכשיו השעה שלוש, והפגישה שלנו מתחילה בארבע.

So:

• 3 = שלוש
• 4 = ארבע
• ב-4 = בארבע

Learners often see both digits and written-out numbers, and both are common.

Why is it שלוש and ארבע here, not שלושה and ארבעה?

When telling time with שעה, Hebrew normally uses the forms:

• שלוש
• ארבע
• חמש, etc.

These are the forms you will typically hear in clock time expressions such as:

• השעה שלוש
• בשעה ארבע
• בארבע

So even if number-gender rules seem complicated elsewhere, for telling the time these forms are the ones you should learn first.

Is השעה 3 the same as בשעה 3?

No. They are related, but they mean different things.

• השעה 3 = it is 3 o’clock
• בשעה 3 = at 3 o’clock

In your sentence, both ideas appear:

• עכשיו השעה 3 = Now it is 3
• מתחילה ב-4 = starts at 4

So one part states the current time, and the other gives the meeting’s start time.

Could I say this sentence in a slightly different but still natural way?

Yes. A few natural alternatives are:

• עכשיו שלוש, והפגישה שלנו מתחילה בארבע.
• השעה עכשיו שלוש, והפגישה שלנו מתחילה בארבע.

These all mean essentially the same thing.

Your original sentence is perfectly natural and clear, especially for learners because it shows the standard time expression very clearly.

What is the basic structure of the whole sentence?

It breaks down like this:

• עכשיו = now
• השעה 3 = it is 3
• ו־ = and
• הפגישה שלנו = our meeting
• מתחילה = starts
• ב-4 = at 4

So the full structure is:

Now + the time is 3, and + our meeting + starts + at 4.

That makes it a very useful model sentence for both telling the time and talking about schedules.