عَفْواً!
ʕafwan!
In Arabic, the phrase for pardon is عَفْواً! (ʕafwan!) If unsure, use عَفْواً! Wiktionary also lists مَاذَا قُلْتَ؟ (māḏā qulta?) and مَاذَا قُلْتِ؟ (māḏā qulti?).
Meaning: interjection, request to repeat (intj)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| عَفْواً! | ʕafwan! | |
| مَاذَا قُلْتَ؟ | māḏā qulta? | addressee masculine |
| مَاذَا قُلْتِ؟ | māḏā qulti? | addressee masculine |
عَفْواً! is used as a polite, short interjection meaning.
What does it mean word for word?
The word عَفْواً is the adverbial form of a root meaning.
Which one should you use?
While عَفْواً! is a polite, short interjection for.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form مَاذَا قُلْتَ؟ is used when asking a male to repeat himself, whereas مَاذَا قُلْتِ؟ is used when asking a female to repeat herself.
How do you pronounce it?
ʕafwan!
Did you know?
- While عَفْواً! is often used to ask for a pardon, it is also the standard, most common way to say 'you are welcome' after someone thanks you.
- While عَفْواً is universal, some speakers use the phrase نِعَم ('yes') as a way to say 'pardon' when they didn't hear the speaker.
- The root of عَفْواً is connected to the concept of 'forgiveness' and 'erasing' a mistake, suggesting that asking for a pardon is literally asking to have the error wiped away.
Examples in context
- أَعْتَذِرُ عَنِ الإِزْعَاجِ.I apologize for the disturbance.
- أَعْتَذِرُ، لَمْ أَنْتَبِهْ جَيِّدًا.I apologize, I didn't pay close attention.
- عَفْواً! لَمْ أَسْمَعْكَ.ʿafwan! lam asmaʿka.Pardon! I didn't hear you.
- عَفْواً! هَلْ يُمْكِنُكَ الإِعادَةُ؟ʿafwan! hal yumkinuka al-iʿāda?Pardon! Can you repeat that?
- عَفْواً! مَاذَا تَقُولُ؟ʿafwan! mādhā taqūlu?Pardon! What are you saying?
Example conversation
Nour and Ahmed are talking in a noisy cafe.
- أحمد Ahmedالقهوة هنا لذيذة جداً.Al-qahwa huna ladhidha jiddan.The coffee here is very delicious.
- نور Nourعَفْواً! ماذا قلت يا أحمد؟Afwan! Madha qult ya Ahmed?Pardon! What did you say, Ahmed?
- أحمد Ahmedقلت إن القهوة لذيذة.Qultu inna al-qahwa ladhidha.I said that the coffee is delicious.
- نور Nourنعم، أنا أتفق معك.Na'am, ana attafiqu ma'ak.Yes, I agree with you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pardon” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
