Lesson Summary
In this lesson, you will learn a bunch of expressions to tell the time in Moroccan Arabic. Practice with the provided exercise.
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Resources ➤How to Tell the Time in Moroccan Arabic
Houda Ghazali
What time is it? — Sh7âl (hâdî) f ssâ3a? شحال (هادي) ف السّاعة؟
We answer this question by the demonstrative pronoun hâdî, which means this is, referring to the current time. Using hâdî is optional.
It’s… : Hâdî…
| English | Darija Transcription | Darija in Arabic letters |
| It’s two o’clock | Hâdî jjôj nîshan | هادي الجُّوج نيشان |
| It’s five past two | Hâdî jjôj o qsm | هادي الجُّوج أُ قْسْم |
| two** | Hâdî jjôj o qsmâyn | هادي الجُّوج أُ قْسْماين |
| It’s two and a quarter | Hâdî jjôj o rb3 | هادي الجُّوج أُ رْبعْ |
| It’s twenty past two | Hâdî jjôj o tolôt | هادي الجُّوج أُ تُلُت |
| It’s two and a half | Hâdî jjôj o nSS | هادي الجُّوج أُ نْصّ |
| It’s twenty to three | Hâdî ttlâta qll 3shrîn / tolot | هادي التّلاتة قْلّْ عشرين / تُلُت |
| three** | Hâdî ttlâta lla rôb/ qll rb3. | هادي التّلاتة لّا رُوب / قّل ربع |
| It’s ten to three | Hâdî ttlâta qll qsmâyn | هادي التّلاتة قل قْسماين |
| It’s five to three | Hâdî ttlâta qll qsm | هادي التّلاتة قل قْسم |
Illustrations:
| Darija Transcription | Darija in Arabic letters | English |
| Nishân | نيشان | Exactly |
| Qsm | قْسم | 5 minutes |
| Qsmâyn | قْسماين | 10 minutes |
| Rb” | رْبْع | Quarter |
| Tolot | تُلت | Third |
| NSS | نص | Half |
| O | أُ | And |
| Qll / lla | قلّ / لّا | Minus |
To express an hour, you add the definite article to the appropriate number.
Examples:
It’s 5:00 = Hâdî lkhmsa nîshan. هادي لخمسة نيشان
It’s 6:45 = Hâdî ssb3a lla rôb. هادي السبعة لّا رُوب
It’s 6:30 = Hâdî sstta w nSS. هادي السّتة و نص
Exercise:
Read these:
– 5:50
– 2:30
– 4:00
– 6:10
– 12:15
– 10:05
– 7:20
– 8:40
– 9:45
– 11:55
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