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حِينَ when in Arabic

حِينَ is how you say “when” in Arabic.

Root ح ي ن ḥ-y-n. adverb / conjunction (accusative of the time-noun ḥīn). ḥīna.

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Meaning of when in Arabic

  1. when, at the time that Introduces a clause of time, e.g. ḥīna faʿala 'when he did (it)' — the ordinary way Classical/Qur'anic Arabic links an action to the moment it occurred.
  2. at that time, then Retains its literal sense as the accusative of ḥīn ('a time'), used adverbially rather than as a full conjunction.

Example sentence

إذ نظر عمر إلى عمير حين أناخ على باب المسجد متوشحا بالسيف

Umar saw Umair when he arrived at the mosque's door, girded with a sword.

حِينَ when

hin means 'time'; here 'at the time when', opening the time clause.

From Early Converts to Islam

The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used

ḥīna is the accusative case of the noun ḥīn ('a time, period'), used adverbially to function as the conjunction 'when.' It is common in Classical and Qur'anic Arabic to open a temporal clause, contrasting with ḥīn itself, which stands as a plain noun for 'a time' or 'a while.'

Words from the same root

More example sentences

ومع كل فجرٍ جديد، اجعل نيتك أوّل عملك، وابتسم سرًّا حين تنتصر على نفسك في أمر صغير؛

With each new dawn, make your intention your first action, and smile secretly when you overcome yourself in a small matter.

حِينَ when

'hina' = 'when, at the time that'.

From Small Daily Habits

وتقول الله أكبر فتُعيد ترتيبَ الأولويّات حين تتزاحمُ الشاشاتُ والمواعيد

And you say: 'Allah is the Greatest' and rearrange priorities when screens and appointments crowd in.

حِينَ when

'when' — a time-adverb, 'at the moment that', opening a 'when X' clause. It frames the timing of the re-ordering.

From Remembrance That Reshapes the Heart

فيتيمم لها حين يذكر

They perform Tayammum for it when they remember.

حِينَ when

'at the time that / when' — a time-word in the -a form that introduces a whole clause. It fixes the moment of the tayammum: right when he remembers, as the verb next states.

From When Earth Replaces Water

حين تسكتُ قليلًا، تسمعُ بوضوحٍ ما يقوله عقلك وما يخفيه قلبك

When you are silent for a while, you clearly hear what your mind says and what your heart hides.

حِينَ when

'when / at the time that' — a time-word in the -a form introducing a whole clause. It sets the condition: WHEN you fall silent a while, the result (you hear clearly) follows.

From On Silence

حين تُصفِّي القصدَ، يتقلّص الضجيجُ من حولك،

When you purify the intention, the noise around you diminishes.

حِينَ when

'when / at the time that' — a time-word in the -a form introducing a clause. It sets the condition: WHEN you purify your aim, the result (the noise shrinks) follows.

From Purifying Your Intentions

ما تفعله بلا تفكير هو ما يصنعُك حين يتعبُ التفكير

What you do without thinking defines you when thinking tires.

حِينَ when

'when / at the time that' — a time-word in the -a form introducing a clause. It fixes when habit takes over: WHEN thinking grows weary — the moment deliberation drops away and habit drives.

From Steady Spiritual Habits

حين تستقرّ العادةُ، تصير كالعجلة على سكّة؛ أقلُّ احتكاك، أسرعُ وصول

When the habit becomes settled, it is like a wheel on a track; less friction, faster arrival.

حِينَ when

'when / at the time that' — a time-word in the -a form introducing a clause. It sets the condition: WHEN the habit settles in, the result (it runs like a wheel on a rail) follows.

From Steady Spiritual Habits

قَالَهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْخَلِيلُ حِينَ أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ

Ibrahim, the intimate friend, said it when he was cast into the fire.

حِينَ when

A time word 'when' that opens a subordinate time-clause, anchoring the main action to a moment. It needs the verb after it to fill in 'when X happened'. It hooks a whole background clause onto the main statement.

From Trust and Piety

حِينَ قَالَ لِهِمْ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ

When the people said to them, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you."

حِينَ when

A time word 'when' opening a subordinate time-clause that locates the main action. It demands the following verb to complete 'when they said...'. It attaches a background circumstance to the main statement.

From Trust and Piety

فَقَامَ الْفَضْلُ حِينَ أَخَذَ يَحْيَى مِضْجَعَهُ إِلَى قُمْقُمٍ كَانَ بِالسِّجْنِ،

Al-Fadl rose when Yahya took his sleeping mat to a vessel in the prison.

حِينَ when

This is a time-word meaning 'at the moment when', opening a clause that pins down the timing of the main action. It works like a hinge, attaching a whole 'when he...' sub-event to the sentence. Arabic uses it to anchor one event to the instant another occurs.

From A Son Protecting His Father

فَتَقَلَّبَتْ فِي أَعْجَبِ الْحَالَاتِ إِلَى حِينَ الْبُرُوزِ،

It then passed through the most astonishing states until the moment of emergence.

حِينَ the moment

A noun 'moment / time', the object of 'until', hence genitive after that relator. It heads an 'of' pairing with 'emergence' next, giving 'the moment of emergence', the end-point the development runs to.

From On Birth and Its Timing

قَالَتْ فَكَلَّّمَتْهُ حِينَ دَارَ إِلَيْهَا أَيْضًا،

She said, then she spoke to him when he turned toward her again.

حِينَ when

A time-word meaning 'when', opening a clause that fixes the moment of her speaking; it tells the listener the verb after it sets the timing. It links her speech to the moment he turned toward her.

From Wives of the Prophet

حَدِّثْنِي كَيْفَ صَنَعْتُمَا حِينَ سَرَيْتَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

Tell me how you two behaved when you set out with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace.

حِينَ when

A time-word meaning 'when' that introduces the moment-clause attached to the question, anchoring the asked-about deeds to a point in time. It links the manner-question to the setting-out that follows. It does not change endings on itself; it simply opens the time-frame.

From A Night with the Prophet

فَوَافَقْتُهُ حِينَ اِسْتَيْقَظَ،

So I came upon him when he woke up,

حِينَ when

A time-word meaning 'when' that opens the moment-clause anchoring the meeting to a point in time, 'when he woke'. It links the main action to the waking that follows. It does not change its own ending; it simply frames the time.

From A Night with the Prophet

فَقَالَ حِينَ دَخَلَ لِأَبِي بَكْرِ أَخْرِجْ مَنْ عِنْدَكَ

When he entered, the Prophet said to Abu Bakr, "Bring out whoever is with you."

حِينَ when

A time-word 'when', heading a clause that fixes the moment of the speaking; it pulls the verb after it into a 'when he ...' frame. It sets the timing of the speech, anchoring 'said' to the instant he entered.

From The Secret Migration

حَتَّى يَأْتِيهُمَا بِخَبَرِ ذَلِكَ حِينَ يَخْتَلِطُ الظَّلاَمُ،

until news of that reaches them both, when darkness gathers,

حِينَ when

A time-anchor word 'at the moment when' that introduces a whole clause as its complement; the verb right after it states the event being timed. It needs no separate 'that' or relative word to hook the clause on.

From The Secret Migration

فَيُرِيحُهَا عَلَيْهِمَا حِينَ تَذْهَبُ سَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْعِشَاءِ،

So he leaves it to rest with them two when an hour of the evening has passed.

حِينَ when

A 'at the moment when' time-word that hooks a whole clause on as its complement; the verb just after sets the event being timed. No extra linking word is needed.

From The Secret Migration

حِينَ رَآنِيِ وَعَرَفَ،

When he saw me and recognized me,

حِينَ when

This is the time word 'when', which opens a clause locating the action in time, here 'at the moment he saw me'. It governs the clause that follows and frames it as the temporal setting. Arabic uses this word to anchor 'when X happened, then Y'.

From Generosity to the Poor

حِينَ يَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ

When he repents to Him from one of you.

حِينَ when

This is a time-word meaning 'when' that opens a clause locating the action in time. It expects a verb-clause to follow that names the event defining that moment, so it ties the statement of joy to the precise occasion of repenting.

From The Joy of Repentance

وَعِلَاجُ الأَبْدَانِ أَيْسَرُ خَطَبًا حِينَ تَعْتَلُ مِنْ عِلَاجِ الْعُقُولِ

And the treatment of bodies is an easier matter when they fall ill than the treatment of minds.

حِينَ when

This is a time adverb meaning 'when/at the time that', and it sets up the clause that follows as the moment being talked about. It governs the verb after it, framing the illness as the condition under which the comparison holds. It links the main statement to its timing rather than adding new content.

From On Foolishness and Wisdom

لِيَعْلَمَ فِرْعَوْنُ حِينَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهَا أَنَّ مَقْدَرَتُهُ تَعْجِزُ عَنْ مِثْلِ مَا أُوتِيتُمَا،

Pharaoh will know when he looks at it that his power cannot match what you two were given.

حِينَ when

This opens a time clause, the 'when' that frames the moment of looking against which the knowing happens. It links the looking and the knowing as simultaneous. It governs the clause that follows, telling you the action it heads is the time-setting for the main idea.

From Under God's Shield

كما قال أبو بكر الصديق ﵁ حين تولى أمر المسلمين وخطبهم،

As Abu Bakr al-Siddiq said when he assumed responsibility over the Muslims and addressed them,

حِينَ when

A time-word, 'when', that opens a past-time clause and pins the saying to a specific occasion. It sets up 'when he took charge', anchoring the speech to that moment.

From Obedience to God and Authority

Common questions

How do you say "when" in Arabic?
حِينَ (ḥīna) — the accusative form of حِينٌ (ḥīn, 'a time'), used to introduce a time clause, as in ḥīna faʿala, 'when he did (it).'
What is the difference between حِينَ and حِينٌ?
حِينٌ (ḥīn) is the plain noun meaning 'a time, period, while'; حِينَ (ḥīna) is its accusative form used adverbially/conjunctively to mean 'when.'

Related words

Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).