How to Say "One Minute" in Arabic

دقيقة واحدة

daqīqa wāḥida

In Arabic, "one minute" is expressed as دقيقة واحدة (daqīqa wāḥida).

The phrase refers to a period of time lasting sixty seconds.

What does it mean word for word?

The word واحدة (wāḥida) means 'one' and is used here as an adjective to emphasize the number 'one'.

To add emphasis to the short duration, you can say دقيقة واحدة فقط, which means "one minute only".

In Egyptian Arabic, you can say لحظة بس to express "one minute".

In casual spoken Arabic, the word واحدة (wāḥida) is often dropped and people simply say دقيقة (daqīqa) to mean "one minute".

daqīqa wāḥida

Because دقيقة (daqīqa) comes from the root meaning 'fine' or 'thin', it is a cognate with the English word 'minute' when used as an adjective to mean 'extremely small'.
In some contexts, using دقيقة (daqīqa) to describe a person's work implies that the person is very meticulous and pays great attention to detail.
In some Levantine dialects, people use the word ثانية (thāniya) for 'second' to mean 'one minute' when asking someone to wait, blurring the line between the two time units.

يرجى الانتظار دقيقة واحدة فقط.
Please wait one minute only.
انتظر دقيقة واحدة من فضلك.
intazir daqiqa wahida min fadlak.
Wait one minute, please.
بقي دقيقة واحدة على المباراة.
baqiya daqiqa wahida 'ala al-mubarah.
One minute is left until the match.
استغرقت الرحلة دقيقة واحدة فقط.
istaghraqat al-rihla daqiqa wahida faqat.
The trip took only one minute.

Sarah is on the phone with Yusuf.

سارة Sara

أهلاً يوسف، هل أنت جاهز؟
ahlan yūsuf, hal anta jāhiz?
Hello Yusuf, are you ready?
يوسف Youssef

أحتاج إلى دقيقة واحدة فقط.
aḥtāju ilā daqīqa wāḥida faqaṭ.
I just need one minute.
سارة Sara

حسناً، سأنتظرك في السيارة.
ḥasanan, sa-antaẓiruka fī as-sayyāra.
Okay, I will wait for you in the car.
يوسف Youssef

شكراً يا سارة، أنا قادم.
shukran yā sāra, ana qādim.
Thank you Sarah, I am coming.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏