המשרד נסגר ב-5, אבל ביום חמישי הוא נסגר כבר ב-4.

נסגר is from the נפעל pattern and here means closes / becomes closed. With places like offices, stores, banks, and doors, Hebrew very often uses this form to describe their opening and closing times.

So המשרד נסגר ב-5 is a very natural way to say that the office closes at 5.

By contrast, סוגר is the more active form, often understood as closes something. In everyday speech, you may also hear people say המשרד סוגר בחמש, but נסגר is especially common when talking about business hours.

In unpointed Hebrew writing, נסגר can look the same in both forms, so context is what tells you the meaning.

Here it is understood as a present habitual form:

• המשרד נסגר ב-5 = the office closes at 5
• ביום חמישי הוא נסגר כבר ב-4 = on Thursday it closes already at 4

Because the sentence is talking about regular hours, not a one-time event, the present-time reading is the natural one.

The prefix ב־ often means at, in, or on, depending on context.

With clock times, it means at:

• ב-5 = at 5
• ב-4 = at 4

The hyphen is used because the prefix is being attached to a numeral. If the numbers were written out as words, you would usually see:

• בחמש
• בארבע

So the meaning is the same; the sentence just uses digits instead of spelling the numbers out.

Yes, Hebrew often does leave out subject pronouns, especially when the subject is clear from context. But pronouns can still be added for clarity, contrast, or rhythm.

Here הוא refers back to המשרד. Since משרד is grammatically masculine singular, the pronoun is הוא.

The sentence could be shorter:

• אבל ביום חמישי נסגר כבר ב-4

But the version with הוא sounds very natural too, especially because the second clause contrasts with the first one.

כבר often means already, but with times it often has the nuance of as early as.

So:

• הוא נסגר כבר ב-4

means more than just it already closes at 4. It suggests:

• it closes as early as 4
• it closes at 4, which is earlier than usual or earlier than expected

That fits the contrast with the first clause, where the office normally closes at 5.

Yes, literally it is on the fifth day.

Hebrew weekday names are mostly based on numbers:

• יום ראשון = Sunday
• יום שני = Monday
• יום שלישי = Tuesday
• יום רביעי = Wednesday
• יום חמישי = Thursday
• יום שישי = Friday
• שבת = Saturday

So יום חמישי is the normal Hebrew name for Thursday.

The ב at the beginning means on, so:

• ביום חמישי = on Thursday

This full form is very common and very clear.

Sometimes yes, but ביום חמישי is clearer and more neutral.

בחמישי can be understood as on Thursday in the right context, especially in casual speech, but it can also potentially sound like on the fifth. Using ביום חמישי avoids that ambiguity and is a very standard way to say on Thursday.

So for a learner, ביום חמישי is a very safe and useful pattern to remember.

Hebrew word order is fairly flexible, and the order here is chosen for emphasis.

The sentence first gives the normal rule:

• המשרד נסגר ב-5

Then the second clause immediately introduces the exception:

• אבל ביום חמישי... = but on Thursday...

Putting ביום חמישי early makes the contrast clear right away. Then כבר ב-4 comes later, where it highlights the surprising part: the office closes as early as 4.

So the word order is natural and helps structure the contrast:

• usual closing time: 5
• exception: Thursday
• earlier closing time: 4

Not necessarily. Hebrew often leaves out repeated words when the meaning is obvious.

A shorter version could be:

• המשרד נסגר בחמש, אבל ביום חמישי כבר בארבע.

That is perfectly understandable.

The full version in your sentence:

• אבל ביום חמישי הוא נסגר כבר ב-4

is also completely natural. It is just a little more explicit and slightly more balanced stylistically.