Specifying minutes İn Arabic-Arabic- Arabic Beginner Lesson 62 Learn Arabic Free Online
Specifying minutes İn Arabic-Arabic- Arabic Beginner Lesson 62 Learn Arabic Free Online
Specifying minutes İn Arabic
When telling time in Arabic, you can specify minutes in two different ways:
noting the fractions of the hour, such as a half, a quarter, and a third, or actually
spelling out the minutes. Because these methods have different conventions,
this section examines each method separately.
Using fractions of the hour
When using the fraction method of telling minutes, use the following structure:
as-saa’a + ordinal number + wa (wah; and) + fraction
So what you’re in fact saying is “It’s the second hour and a half,” for example.
In English transliteration, that’s the equivalent of “It’s half past two.”
The main fractions you use are:
an-niSf (ah-nee-sef; half)
ath-thuluth (ah-thoo-looth; third)
ar-rubu’ (ah-roo-booh; quarter)
‘ashara (ah-sha-rah; tenth)
The following examples show you how to use the fraction method to specify
minutes when telling time:
as-saa’a ath-thaaniya wa ar-rubu’. (ah-sah-ah ah-thah-nee-yah wah
ah-roo-booh; It’s quarter past two.)
as-saa’a at-taasi’a wa an-niSf. (ah-sah-ah ah-tah-see-ah wah ah-nee-sef; It’s
half past nine.)
as-saa’a al-waaHida wa ath-thuluth. (ah-sah-ah al-wah-hee-dah wah
ah-thoo-looth; It’s twenty past one.)
as-saa’a al-khaamisa wa ar-rubu’. (ah-sah-ah al-kah-mee-sah wah
ah-roo-booh; It’s quarter past five.)
as-saa’a al-Haadiya ‘ashra wa an-niSf. (ah-sah-ah al-hah-dee-yah ah-shrah
wah ah-nee-sef; It’s half past eleven.)
Using this system, you can cover ten past the hour, quarter past the hour,
twenty past the hour, and half past the hour, which are the major fractions.
But what if you want to say “It’s quarter of” or “It’s twenty of”? In those cases,
you need to use the preposition ‘ilaa (ee-lah), which means “of” or “to.” If you
think of the preposition wa as adding to the hour then think of ‘ilaa as subtracting
from the hour.
124 Part II: Arabic in Action
Because ‘ilaa subtracts from the hour, you must add one hour to whatever
hour you’re referring to. For example, if you want to say “It’s 5:45,” then you
must say “It’s quarter of six” and not “It’s a quarter of five,” which would be
4:45. Here are some examples that use ‘ilaa:
as-saa’a as-saadisa ‘ilaa ar-rubu’. (ah-sah-ah ah-sah-dee-sah ee-lah ah-roobooh;
It’s quarter to six, or 5:45.)
as-saa’a al-waaHida ‘ilaa ath-thuluth. (ah-sah-ah al-wah-hee-dah ee-lah
ah-thoo-looth; It’s twenty to one, or 12:40.)
If you want to express minutes as a fraction and specify which time of day
(a.m. or p.m.), you simply add fii and the time of day. For example, as-saa’a
al-waaHida wa an-niSf fii ba’da aDH-DHuhr means “It’s 1:30 in the afternoon.”
Here are other examples:
as-saa’a ath-thaaniya ‘ashra wa ar-rubu’ fii al-layl. (ah-sah-ah ah-thahnee-
yah ah-shrah wah ah-roo-booh fee ah-lah-yel; It’s 12:15 at night, or
12:15 a.m.)
as-saa’a as-saabi’a wa an-niSf fii al masaa’. (ah-sah-ah ah-sah-bee-ah wah
ah-nee-sef fee al-mah-sah; It’s 7:30 in the evening.)
as-saa’a ath-thaamina wa ar-rubu’ fii aS-SabaaH. (ah-sah-ah ah-tha-neeyah
wah ah-roo-booh fee ah-sah-bah; It’s 8:15 in the morning.)
as-saa’a al-khaamisa ‘ilaa ar-rubu’ fii al-’asr. (ah-sah-ah al-kah-mee-sah
ee-lah ah-roo-booh fee al-ah-ser; It’s quarter to five in the late afternoon,
or 4:45 p.m.)