הזמן הזה לא כל כך מתאים לי, כי זאת השעה הרגילה של ארוחת הערב שלנו.

Not exactly.

• זמן means time in a general sense: a time, a time slot, a moment, timing.
• שעה means hour or time of day more specifically.

So:

• הזמן הזה = this time / this time slot
• השעה הרגילה = the usual hour / the usual time

In this sentence, the speaker is first reacting to a suggested time: הזמן הזה לא כל כך מתאים לי = This time doesn’t suit me very well.
Then they explain why by referring to their usual dinner hour: כי זאת השעה הרגילה של ארוחת הערב שלנו.

So the sentence uses two related but slightly different words on purpose.

לא כל כך means not so, not that, or not all that.

So:

• לא מתאים לי = it doesn’t suit me / it doesn’t work for me
• לא כל כך מתאים לי = it doesn’t work that well for me / it’s not so convenient for me

This makes the sentence a little softer and more polite. It sounds less absolute.

For example:

• זה לא מתאים לי = That doesn’t work for me
• זה לא כל כך מתאים לי = That doesn’t work so well for me

So כל כך is often used to soften or intensify, depending on context:

• כל כך טוב = so good
• לא כל כך טוב = not so good

Because the verb/adjective מתאים works with ל־ in Hebrew.

Literally, מתאים לי is suits to me / is suitable for me, not suits me as a direct object.

So:

• מתאים לי = suits me / works for me
• מתאים לך = suits you
• מתאים לו = suits him
• מתאים לנו = suits us

This is a very common Hebrew pattern: many expressions that take a direct object in English use ל־ in Hebrew.

Examples:

• זה מתאים לי = This suits me
• היום הזה לא מתאים לנו = This day doesn’t work for us

זאת means this or that is, depending on context.

Here, זאת השעה הרגילה... means something like:

• that is the usual time...
• this is the usual time...

In natural English, we would usually translate the whole clause as:

• because that’s our usual dinner time

So זאת is functioning like that is / this is before a feminine noun, השעה.

You can think of it as pointing to the time being discussed and identifying it:

• זאת השעה = this/that is the hour/time

Because השעה is a feminine noun.

Hebrew demonstratives agree with the gender of the noun:

• masculine: זה
• feminine: זאת or זו

So:

• זה הזמן = this is the time / this time
• זאת השעה = this is the hour / this hour

In the sentence, the speaker says זאת השעה הרגילה... because שעה is feminine.

Yes. In many contexts, especially in modern Hebrew, זאת and זו can both mean this for feminine nouns.

So these are both possible:

• זאת השעה הרגילה
• זו השעה הרגילה

Both mean this/that is the usual hour.

A few useful notes:

• זאת is very common in writing and speech.
• זו is also very common, especially in speech and in standard modern usage.
• Learners will see both a lot.

So the sentence is completely normal as written, but כי זו השעה הרגילה של ארוחת הערב שלנו would also be natural.

This is a great example of the construct state in Hebrew, called סמיכות.

ארוחת הערב literally means the meal of the evening, which in natural English is dinner or the evening meal.

Here is the structure:

• ארוחה = meal
• ערב = evening
• ארוחת ערב = dinner / evening meal
• ארוחת הערב = the evening meal / dinner

Notice what happened:

• ארוחה becomes ארוחת when it goes into construct state.
• The definiteness appears on the second noun: הערב.

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• בית ספר = school
• יום הולדת = birthday
• ארוחת ערב = dinner

So ארוחת הערב שלנו = our dinner / our evening meal.

Because in a construct phrase, the first noun usually does not take ה־.
Instead, the whole phrase becomes definite through the second noun or through possession.

So:

• ארוחת ערב = a dinner / dinner
• ארוחת הערב = the dinner / the evening meal
• ארוחת הערב שלנו = our dinner

This is normal Hebrew grammar.

Compare:

• ספר של הילד = the boy’s book
• ספר הילד is a more literary/construct-style form in some contexts
• ארוחת הערב is the standard fixed construct expression here

So even though the phrase is definite, ארוחת itself does not get ה־.

Because שלנו modifies the whole noun phrase ארוחת הערב.

So:

• ארוחת הערב שלנו = our dinner
• literally: the dinner of ours

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

• הבית שלי = my house
• החברים שלנו = our friends
• ארוחת הערב שלנו = our dinner

Putting שלנו at the end is the normal way to say that the dinner belongs to us.

Because the speaker means the usual hour/time, not just a usual hour.

Both the noun and the adjective are definite:

• שעה רגילה = a usual/regular hour
• השעה הרגילה = the usual/regular hour

In Hebrew, when a noun is definite and an adjective describes it, the adjective is usually definite too:

• הספר החדש = the new book
• הילדה הקטנה = the little girl
• השעה הרגילה = the usual hour

So הרגילה agrees with השעה in:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• definiteness: definite

רגיל / רגילה means regular, usual, or customary.

Here, השעה הרגילה means:

• the usual time
• the regular hour
• the time we normally have dinner

So the speaker is saying that the suggested time clashes with their normal dinner routine.

A few related forms:

• רגיל = masculine singular
• רגילה = feminine singular
• רגילים = masculine plural
• רגילות = feminine plural

Because שעה is feminine singular, the sentence uses רגילה.

In everyday Hebrew, כי is the most common word for because in a sentence like this.

So:

• כי זאת השעה הרגילה... = because that’s the usual time...

There are other ways to express cause in Hebrew, but כי is the most straightforward and natural here.

It is very common in spoken and written Hebrew:

• אני לא בא, כי אני עייף = I’m not coming because I’m tired
• הוא יצא מוקדם, כי יש לו פגישה = He left early because he has a meeting

It is very natural here, and it can mean more than just suitable in a formal sense.

Depending on context, מתאים לי can mean:

• suits me
• works for me
• is convenient for me
• is good for me

In scheduling contexts, English often says That time doesn’t work for me.
Hebrew often uses זה לא מתאים לי or הזמן הזה לא מתאים לי for that idea.

So in this sentence, מתאים לי is not just about style or suitability. It is very naturally about scheduling and personal convenience.

Both are possible, but הזמן הזה is more explicit.

Compare:

• זה לא כל כך מתאים לי = That/This doesn’t work so well for me
• הזמן הזה לא כל כך מתאים לי = This time doesn’t work so well for me

Using הזמן הזה makes it clear that the issue is the proposed time, not something else.

So the full noun phrase gives extra clarity, especially in conversation about scheduling.

In modern Hebrew writing, a comma before כי is often used when the second clause gives an explanation, as it does here.

So:

• הזמן הזה לא כל כך מתאים לי, כי זאת השעה הרגילה של ארוחת הערב שלנו.

This punctuation is natural and helps readability.

In less formal writing, punctuation may vary a bit, but the sentence as written is perfectly standard.

A natural spoken rhythm would put stress on the important information:

הזמן הזה לא כל כך מתאים לי, כי זאת השעה הרגילה של ארוחת הערב שלנו.

A rough pronunciation guide:

ha-zman ha-ze lo kol kakh mat-IM li, ki zot ha-sha-A ha-regi-LA shel aru-KHAT ha-EREV she-LA-nu

A few pronunciation notes:

• מתאים is usually pronounced mat-IM
• כל כך is often said quickly, roughly kol kakh
• ארוחת has the stress on the last syllable: aru-KHAT
• שלנו is she-LA-nu

The sentence sounds natural and polite in conversation.