المدرسة المتوسطة
al-madrasa al-mutawassita
Middle school in Arabic is المدرسة المتوسطة (al-madrasa al-mutawassita).
The term refers to a school that contains both primary and secondary students.
Meaning: school containing both primary and secondary students (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The adjective al-mutawassita literally means the middle or the intermediate.
Which one should you use?
المدرسة المتوسطة refers to middle school, while المدرسة الإعدادية is a formal phrase that can be translated as preparatory school or intermediate school.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egypt, the term for middle school is الإعدادية.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase المدرسة المتوسطة uses the definite article al- on both the noun and the adjective to form a specific noun phrase.
How do you pronounce it?
al-madrasa al-mutawassita
Did you know?
- In traditional Islamic education, a madrasa was not just a grade level but a specialized college for law and theology, a meaning that exists alongside the modern 'school' definition.
- The term al-madrasa is a cognate with the word 'madrasah' used in several non-Arabic languages, such as Swahili and Urdu, due to historical trade and scholarly exchange.
- If you use the term المتوسطة in a mathematical context in Arabic, you are no longer talking about a school, but rather the 'mean' or 'average' of a set of numbers.
Examples in context
- بدأت تعلّم الأمازيغيّة في المدرسة المتوسطة.I started to learn Berber in middle school.This sentence is useful for showing how to use المدرسة المتوسطة in the context of learning a language.Tatoeba #7755691 by MisterBrown, translation #7748921 by Amastan
- ابن عمي يدرس في المدرسة المتوسطة.My cousin attends middle school.
- المدرسة المتوسطة قريبة من بيتي.al-madrasah al-mutawassitah qaribah min baytī.The middle school is close to my house.
- أنا أدرس في المدرسة المتوسطة.anā adrus fī al-madrasah al-mutawassitah.I study in the middle school.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their daily routine.
- أحمد Ahmedأين تدرسين يا نور؟ayna tadrusīna yā Nur?Where do you study, Nour?
- نور Nourأدرس في المدرسة المتوسطة.adrus fī al-madrasah al-mutawassitah.I study in the middle school.
- أحمد Ahmedهل هي مدرسة كبيرة؟hal hiya madrasah kabīrah?Is it a big school?
- نور Nourنعم، هي مدرسة متوسطة كبيرة جداً.na'am, hiya madrasah mutawassitah kabīrah jiddan.Yes, it is a very big middle school.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
