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How to Say ‘Next’ and ‘Last’ in Egyptian Arabic
This guide simplifies expressing “next” and “last” in Egyptian Arabic. It covers common methods, including using ordinal numbers like تانِي (second), active participles like الْجايّ (coming), and إِضافة constructions like آخِر (last).
In Egyptian Arabic, knowing important phrases can improve communication.
This article explores two keywords – next and last – and how they are used in daily conversations.
Let us start with the Arabic word for “next”.
The word “next”
“Next” expressed by the word for “second”
We use an ordinal number here to express next. It is the word second: تانِي
Some examples:
the second year = the next year
| taani sana | تانِي سَنة |
| es-sana t-tanya | السَّنة التَانْية |
the second time = the next time
| taani marra | تانِي مَرّة |
| el-marra t-tanya | الْمَرّة التّانْية |
the second day = the next day
| taani yoom | تانِي يُوم |
| el-yoom et-taani | الْيُوم التّانِي |
Using an active participle
This is very common. You use the Arabic verb to come (جاء) and build the active participle (اِسْم الْفاعِل). And you need to pay attention to the gender and number.
Furthermore, you first need to add the definite article to the active participle and then harmonize the gender with the preceding noun.
| masculine | feminine | plural |
|---|---|---|
| الْجايّ | الْجايّة | الْجايِّين |
| ig-gayy | ig-gayya | ig-gayyeen |
Some examples.
| next Saturday | السّبْت الْجايّ | es-sabt ig-gayy |
| next week | الْأُسْبُوع الْجايّ | el-usboo3 ig-gayy |
| next month | الشّهْر الجتيّ | esh-shahr ig-gayy |
| next year | السَّنة الْجايّة | es-sana g-gayya |
| the next time | الْمَرّة الْجايّة | el-marra g-gayya |
Now, what about the word last? It is quite similar. Let’s see…
The word “last”
Option A: using a إضلفة-construction
Using aa5ir (آخِر )
You use the word aa5ir (آخِر ) and put it before the noun. In this application, you produce an إِضافة. You do not need to harmonize the gender or number. It is always آخِر.
Watch out: Although you want to express a definite construction (e.g. the last time), you don’t use the definite article in the second part of the construction.
Watch out! The word aa5ir with a noun may denote “very” or “extremely”.
| That is very clean. | .دِي آخِر نَضافة |
| That’s extremely nice. | .دَه آخِر جَمال |
Option B: using an adjective
Using a5eer (أَخِير )
This word is placed as an adjective after the noun which means it matches in gender and in number. Let’s see both options in action.
the last day
| option A | آخِر يُوم | aa5ir yoom |
| option B | الْيُوم الْأَخِير | el-yoom el-a5eer |
(the) last time
| option A | آخِر مَرّة | Aaa5ir marra |
| option B | الْمَرّة الْأَخِيرة | el-marra el-a5eera |
Using a relative pronoun
You will hear this very often. You use the verb فات after the relative pronoun which literally means: which has passed.
| masculine | feminine | plural |
|---|---|---|
| اللّي فات | اللّي فاتِت | اللّي فاتُو |
Some examples.
| (the) last time | الْمَرّة اللي فاتِت | el-marra illi faatit |
| last Friday | الْجُمعة اللي فاتِت | el-gum3a illi faatit |
| last week | الاُسْبُِوع اللي فات | el-usbuu3 illi faat |
| last month | الشَهْر اللي فات | esh-shahr illi fat |
| last year | السَّنة اللي فاتِت | es-sana illi fatit |
Other articles about Egyptian Arabic:
- The Ultimate Guide to Arabic Dialect Dictionaries (Online & Print)
- Egyptian Arabic Slang: Youth Language and New Words from Social Media
- How to Find Arabic Videos with Subtitles on YouTube
- How to Say ‘Next’ and ‘Last’ in Egyptian Arabic
- How to Form Plural Adjectives in Egyptian Arabic
Wanna cite this article?
Drißner, G. (2021, February 5). How to Say ‘Next’ and ‘Last’ in Egyptian Arabic. Arabic for Nerds. https://arabic-for-nerds.com/translation/next-last-egyptian-arabic/
Published: February 5, 2021
Please check the citation before use, especially if your style guide has local requirements.
Publication ISSN: 3055-1730
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