The English word ‘time’ means about a thousand different things, and working out which of the apparently endless list of Arabic words you should use when talking about ‘time’ when your own native language covers everything with one enormous semantic umbrella can be tricky. Here’s a rough guide that might help a bit.
زمان zamaan
The usual conceptual term for talking about ‘time’ as an idea:
مفاهيم الزمان
mafaahiim ézzamaan
concepts of time
Also means ‘a long time (ago)’:
ولله زمان عنك يا زلمة
waLLa zamaan 3annak ya zalame
It’s been such a long time, man! [= by God, a long time away from you man!]
بس هالحكي من زمان ما عاد في منو
bass hal7aki mén zamaan ma3aad fii ménno
But this was [= this talk is] a long time ago, nowadays there’s none of that
صارلي زمان ماني شايفتا
saLLi zamaan maani shaayéfta
I haven’t seen her for a long time [= it’s become for me a long time I’m not having seen her]
ايام زمان means ‘the old days’ or ‘in the olden days’, etc:
سألله على ايام زمان
s2aLLa 3ala 2éyyaam zamaan
How I miss the old days!
Often appears in iDaafe with quantities of time:
كلو جمعة زمان وبتخلص
kéllo jém3et zamaan w btékhloS
Another week and it’ll all be over [= it’s all a week of time and it’ll finish]
And in these fixed expressions:
اخر زمان
2aakher zamaan
the end times, end of days
على مر الزمان
3ala marr izzamaan
With the passing of time
وقت wa2@t
Generally meaning something like ‘amount of time’. In the expressions 3indo/ma3o wa2@t ‘to have time to’, plus subjunctive:
ما معي وقت روح
maa ma3i wa2@t ruu7
I don’t have time to go
In other expressions referring to personal amounts of time that you have or don’t have:
وقتي مضغوط
wa2ti maDghuuT
‘I’m pressed for time’
بأسرع وقت
b2asra3 wa2@t
As soon as possible [= in the fastest time]
قديش بدك وقت لتوصل
2addeesh béddak wa2@t latwaSSel?
How long will it take you to get here [how much time do you want to arrive?]
عطيني شوية وقت بس
3aTiini shweyyet wa2@t bass
Just give me a little bit of time
In expressions meaning ‘the time for something’ (with iDaafe):
مو وقتو هلق
muu wa2to halla2
Now’s not the right time [for this conversation]
وقت الانتظار
wa2t él2intiZaar
waiting time
جيت بوقتك
jiit bwa2tek
You came at exactly the right time
A couple of other generic expressions:
طول الوقت
Tool élwa2@t
all the time
الوقت متأخر
élwa2@t mét2akhher
it’s late
مع الوقت
ma3 élwa2@t
With time, with the passing of time
الوقت عم يزيد سرعة
ilwa2t 3am yziid sur3a
Time is getting faster
بنفس الوقت
bnafs élwa2et
At the same time…
بالوقت اللي بيتسارع فيه المسؤوالين الغربيين لـ
bilwa2t élli byétsaara3 fii lmas2uuliin élgharbiyyiin la…
At a time [= the time] that Western officials are making haste to…
Also used in plural to mean ‘sometimes’ (اوقات aw2aat) and with or without ma to mean ‘when’ (وقت ما wa2@t, wa2@t ma).
ساعة saa3a
This obviously literally means ‘hour’ but translates as ‘time’ when talking about clock time:
قديش صارت الساعة
2addeesh Saaret éssaa3a?
What time is it? [= how much has the hour become?]
On its own or with ع to express times:
الساعة تلاتة الصبح
éssaa3a tlaate SSeb7
three in the morning
اي ساعة اتفقتو؟
2eyy saa3a ttafa2tu?
What time did you agree [to meet]?
This one is also used for ‘sometimes’ in the plural: ساعات saa3aat, and for ‘when’ (ساعة ما saa3et ma).
توقيت tawqiit, taw2iit
You probably know this one for talking about timezones:
الساعة وحدة ونص بتوقيت القاهرة
éssaa3a wa7de wnéSS btawqiit élqaahira
at 1.30 Cairo time
It can also be used in contexts like ‘the time of the appointment’:
يا ريتك تعرفلي توقيت الموعد
yaa reetak ta3réfli tawqiit élmoo3ed
If you could possibly [= I wish you’d, a polite request] find out the time of the appointment for me
مرة marra
‘Time’ as in ‘one occasion’, ‘one time’, ‘another time’. There are various other nouns of instance that occasionally appear in this meaning, but this is by far the most common, derived obviously from مر marr ‘pass’.
مرة كنت بالشام
marra ként bisshaam
This one time/once I was in Damascus
هديك المرة
hadiik élmarra
This one time… [= that time]
بصير معي كل مرة
biSiir ma3i kéll marra
It happens to me every time
غير مرة ان شاء الله
gheer marra nshaLLa
maybe another time
كمان مرة
kamaan marra
one more time
اول مرة جاية لهون؟
2awwal marra jaaye lahoon?
Is this the first time you’ve been here? [= first time coming to here?]
وقررتي تروحي هيك مرة واحدة؟
w qarrarti truu7i heek marra wa7de?
And you decided to go just like that, all of a sudden? [= one time]
This is also one of the various words used for ‘sometimes’, in its various plurals: marraat, miraar, maraari. There’s also the fuSHa expression مرارا تكرارا miraaran tikraaran ‘time and time again’.
حين 7iin
In (non-rural) dialect, limited to the classicisms 2a7yaanan ‘sometimes’ and min 7iin la7iin ‘from time to time’.
زمن zaman
Typically ‘the times’:
تغير الزمن
tghayyar ézzaman
Times have changed
الزمن قاسي
ézzaman 2aasi
Times are hard
لحّق la77a2
This is a verb (in southern Levantine and regionally form I: li7e2) meaning, among other things, ‘have time to’:
لا هيك ما بلحق اجي
la2 heek maa bla77e2 2éji
No, that way I won’t make it/have time to come
مشغول بشغلي لدرجة انو ما عم لحق ادرس
mashghuul bshéghli ladarajet 2énno maa 3am la77e2 2édros
I’m so busy with work I can’t keep up with my studies [= I’m not finding time to study]
maa bla77e2 can also refer to other similar situations, like not having enough money.
طول Tawwal
This is another verb meaning ‘to take a long time’:
شو مطوله هنيك؟
shu mTawwle hniik?
Are you going to be there for a long time?
بطول ليوقف نزف
biTawwel la-ywa22ef naz@f
It takes a long time to stop bleeding
لا تطول اه
laa TTawwel aa?
Don’t be long, OK?