الْآنَ
The English word 'now' is translated into Arabic as الْآنَ or حَالًا.
Meaning: at the present time (adv)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| الْآنَ | |
| حَالًا | ḥālan |
The word الْآنَ is used to indicate the present time, meaning 'at the present time'. In contrast, حَالًا is used when you want to express immediacy, meaning 'right now' or 'immediately'.
Which one should you use?
While الْآنَ means 'at the present time', حَالًا is used to express immediacy, meaning 'right now' or 'immediately'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
الْآنَ is an indeclinable adverb of time, which means its vowel endings do not change regardless of its position within a sentence.
Did you know?
- In many Arabic dialects, the formal الْآنَ is replaced by the word دِلْوِقْت (dilwaqt) in Egypt or دَابَا (daba) in Morocco to mean 'now'.
- The word حَالًا is derived from the root meaning 'state' or 'condition', so saying it implies something is happening in the current 'state' of affairs.
- Depending on the region, saying حَالًا can sometimes be interpreted as 'in a moment' rather than 'this exact second', creating a polite buffer of time.
Examples in context
- أُريدُ الْآنَ أَنْ أَشْرَبَ.urīdu l-āna an ashraba.I want to drink now.
- هَلْ أَنْتَ مَشْغُولٌ الْآنَ؟hal anta mashghūlun l-āna?Are you busy now?
Example conversation
Ahmed and Noor are deciding when to start their study session.
- أحمد Ahmedهل نبدأ الدراسة الْآنَ يا نور؟Hal nabda' al-dirasa al-aan ya Noor?Shall we start studying now, Noor?
- نور Nourنعم، أنا مستعدة.Na'am, ana musta'idda.Yes, I am ready.
- أحمد Ahmedأين الكتاب؟Ayna al-kitab?Where is the book?
- نور Nourسأحضره لك الْآنَ.Sa-uhdiruhu laka al-aan.I will bring it to you now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “now” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
