העיקר שתגיעי בזמן.

העיקר literally means the main thing, the essential point, or what matters most.

In this sentence, העיקר ש... is a very common pattern meaning the important thing is that... or what matters is that....

So העיקר שתגיעי בזמן means something like what matters is that you arrive on time.

Because Hebrew often leaves out the verb to be in the present tense.

So where English says:

The main thing is that you arrive on time

Hebrew can simply say:

העיקר שתגיעי בזמן

The idea of is is understood automatically. This is normal in Hebrew nominal sentences.

The prefix ש־ means that here.

It introduces the clause that follows העיקר:

• העיקר = the main thing
• שתגיעי בזמן = that you arrive on time

So ש־ connects the two parts of the sentence, just like that in English.

It is attached directly to the next word, which is very common in Hebrew.

תגיעי comes from the verb להגיע, which means to arrive or to get to.

Here, תגיעי is:

• future tense
• second person
• feminine singular

So it means you will arrive, when speaking to one female.

With the prefix ש־, שתגיעי means that you will arrive or more naturally in English here, that you arrive.

Because the speaker is talking to one female.

Hebrew verbs change depending on who is being addressed.

For comparison:

• to a man: העיקר שתגיע בזמן
• to a woman: העיקר שתגיעי בזמן
• to more than one person: העיקר שתגיעו בזמן

So the ־י ending helps show that the listener is female singular.

Hebrew normally uses the future tense for actions that are expected, desired, or still ahead in time.

So even though English may say:

• that you arrive on time
• that you get there on time

Hebrew uses תגיעי, which is formally a future form.

This does not sound strange in Hebrew. It is the regular way to talk about a future event in a sentence like this.

בזמן is made of:

• ב־ = in / at
• זמן = time

Together, in this sentence, it means on time.

So שתגיעי בזמן means that you arrive on time, meaning not late.

In some contexts בזמן can also mean in time, but with arriving somewhere, on time is the most natural meaning.

Yes. העיקר ש... is a very common expression in both spoken and written Hebrew.

It often means:

• the important thing is that...
• what matters is that...
• sometimes, depending on context, something close to as long as...

So this sentence sounds very natural and idiomatic.

A similar phrase is הכי חשוב ש..., which also means the most important thing is that..., but העיקר ש... is especially common and conversational.

A common pronunciation is:

ha-ikar she-tagí'i bazmán

A few notes:

• העיקר = ha-ikár
• שתגיעי = she-tagí'i
• בזמן = bazmán

The word תגיעי has a noticeable break between the last two vowels, so it sounds like ta-gi-i, not one smooth syllable at the end.

This word order is the most natural one:

העיקר שתגיעי בזמן

Hebrew does allow some flexibility in word order, but here this is the standard, smooth way to say it.

The structure is:

• העיקר
• then the clause introduced by ש־
• then בזמן at the end to describe how the arrival should happen

So for a learner, this is the best version to remember.