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How to Say “Never” in Arabic: قَطُّ vs. أَبَدًا
A common mistake in Arabic is confusing the words for “never.” This article clarifies the proper usage of قَطُّ (qattu) for past tense “never” and أَبَدًا (abadan) for future tense “never,” providing clear examples and explaining their grammatical functions to help you use them correctly.
Understanding how to accurately express “never” in Arabic is a common point of confusion for learners, often leading to grammatical mistakes.
This article clarifies the critical distinction between قَطُّ (qattu), used for actions that never happened in the past, and أَبَدًا (abadan), which exclusively refers to actions that will never happen in the future.
Let’s open the discussion with a famous and common mistake in Arabic:
| NOT CORRECT | I have never done that. | لَمْ أَفْعَلْ ذٰلِكَ أَبَدًا |
Why is there a mistake?
- Because the word أَبَدًا (abadan) is an adverb that is used for the future (ظَرْفُ زَمانٍ لِلمُسْتَقْبَلِ) only.
- It basically means always, forever; ever. أَبَدًا conveys the meaning of continuity (اِسْتِمْرارٌ) in the future.
- It may receive case inflections (مُعْرَبٌ).
So, what is the solution? How would you say: “I have never done that”? You use a different word!
| CORRECT | I have never done that. | .لَمْ أَفْعَلْ ذٰلِكَ قَطُّ |
- The word قَطُّ (qattu) means never; ever, at all. It is an adverb of time (ظَرْفُ زَمانٍ) that engages in the past tense (لاِسْتِغْراقُ الْماضِي).
- The word قَطُّ has an indeclinable, fixed shape (مَبْنِيٌّ) and never changes its form.
- قَطُّ must be used with the negation (نَفْيٌ). Since we have to use the past tense, we negate the verb with لَمْ or with ما.
Some examples:
| incorrect | I have never visited him. | .ما زُرْتُهُ أَبَدًا |
| correct | I have never visited him. | .ما زُرْتُهُ قَطُّ |
| correct | I will never visit him. | . لَنْ أَزُورَهُ أَبَدًا |
Remark: The translation of أَبَدًا depends on the context and – more important – whether there is a negation involved or not.
- With a negation: Never (in the future), not at all, on no account
- Not negated: Never! Not at all! By no means!
Let us now check an example of the Holy Qur’an:
Sura 5:24:
قَالُوا يَا مُوسَىٰ إِنَّا لَن نَّدْخُلَهَا أَبَدًا مَّا دَامُوا فِيهَا ۖ فَاذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَا إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ
They said, ‘Moses, we will never enter while they are still there, so you and your Lord go in and fight, and we will stay here.’
Grammar, grammar, grammar….
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Wanna cite this article?
Drißner, G. (2018, September 2). How to Say “Never” in Arabic: قَطُّ vs. أَبَدًا. Arabic for Nerds. https://arabic-for-nerds.com/translation/never-in-arabic/
Published: September 2, 2018
Please check the citation before use, especially if your style guide has local requirements.
Publication ISSN: 3055-1730
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Could you answer these two questions?
1. If I use a مصدر that has a همزة الوصل with the article, does it get a همزة القطع ? Like امتحان > الإمتحان
2. Does the ا at the end of for example اُغْزُوا or رَأَوْا remain written when a word with the article follows?
Like اُغْزُو الرجالَ
If you are right, I used “abadan” wrong till today :-).
In Egyptian dialect I would use “khalis” to stress a kind of “never” for the past or “wa la marra”.
don’t worry. This is about formal Arabic. I know that people use it in dialects (including me) ?