דקה
daká
The Hebrew word for minute is דקה (daká).
דקה is used as a noun to refer to the unit of time. When you need to express the concept of being very careful or providing small details, the adjective מפורט is used. If you are referring to the act of writing the minutes of a meeting, you can use the verbs סיכם, רשם בפרוטוקול or רשם פרוטוקול.
Meaning: unit of time (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
The variation daka is used in some dialects.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of דקה is דקות. To specify exactly 'one minute', you can place the feminine number אחת after the noun to form דקה אחת.
How do you pronounce it?
daká
Did you know?
- The word דקה comes from a root meaning 'small' or 'thin'. This mirrors the logic of the English word 'minute', which originally described something very tiny rather than a unit of time.
- In casual conversation, Israelis often say דקה to mean 'wait a second' or 'hold on'. It functions as a conversational marker to pause the other person regardless of the actual time elapsed.
- While דקה refers to time, the act of 'minuting' a meeting is handled by the word פרוטוקול, which is a loanword from the Greek 'protokollon'.
Examples in context
- רק תן לנו דקה.Just give us a minute.This example shows how to ask for a short amount of time using דקה.Tatoeba #4654583 by fekundulo, translation #3151344 by CK
- תן לי עוד דקה.Give me another minute.This example shows how to request an additional minute using דקה.Tatoeba #4660361 by fekundulo, translation #3151528 by CK
- תן לי דקה, טוב?Give me a minute, will you?This example shows how to ask for a minute in a conversational manner using דקה.Tatoeba #4738735 by fekundulo, translation #3151537 by CK
- ניתן לסיים את התהליך בתוך דקה וחצי.The process can be completed within a minute and a half.
- רַגַע, אני מביא לך את הספר.Hold on a sec, I'll bring you the book.
- 53 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maya and Itai are meeting for coffee.
- מאיה Mayaאיתי, אתה יכול לחכות דקה?Itay, ata yachol lachakot daka?Itai, can you wait a minute?
- איתי Itayבטח, אני מחכה לך כאן.Betchach, ani mechake lach kan.Sure, I'm waiting for you here.
- מאיה Mayaתודה, אני חוזרת בעוד דקה.Toda, ani chozeret be'od daka.Thanks, I'll be back in a minute.
- איתי Itayאין בעיה, קחי את הזמן.Ein be'aya, kchi et hazman.No problem, take your time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry דקה, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries דקה, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
