مدرسة
madrasa/mad.ra.sa/Egyptian Arabic, feminine
The Arabic word for school is مدرسة (madrasa). If unsure, use مدرسة. Wiktionary also lists مَدْرَسَة (madrasa) and مَكْتَب (maktab).
Meaning: an institution dedicated to teaching and learning (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| مدرسة | madrasa | /mad.ra.sa/ /mu.dar.ri.sa/ |
Egyptian Arabic, feminine |
| مَدْرَسَة | madrasa | feminine | |
| مَكْتَب | maktab | historical, masculine |
مدرسة is used for any school, from a public school to a language school or a Quranic school.
What does it mean word for word?
مَدْرَسَة comes from the root meaning to study, with a pattern that marks a place where an action happens. It literally means place of study.
Which one should you use?
مَكْتَب (maktab) is a historical word for a school.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural is مَدَارِس (madaris). The word is feminine, so verbs and adjectives agree with it in the feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
It is /mad.ra.sa/, three syllables with the stress on the first.
When do people say it?
English borrowed madrasa from this word, but in Arabic it means any school, not only a religious one.
Did you know?
- In many Arabic dialects, calling someone a مدرسة is a high compliment, suggesting they are a 'master' or a person who embodies a certain level of expertise.
- The term مدرسة can be derived from two different verbs: one meaning 'to study' and another meaning 'to teach'.
- While مدرسة is the standard word for school, the older term مكتب literally means 'office' or 'place of writing'.
Examples in context
- أعمل في مدرسة للغات.I work in a language school.مدرسة للغات means a language school.Tatoeba #3665757 by Shereen, translation #4036840 by eeyinn
- تعلم في مدرسة عمومية.He was educated at a public school.مدرسة عمومية means a public school.Tatoeba #1593945 by Amastan, translation #292420 by CK
- هو يدرس في مدرسة قرآنية.He's going to a Quranic school.مدرسة قرآنية is a Quranic school.Tatoeba #11684580 by dididodo, translation #8247806 by Amastan
- أذهبُ إلى المَدْرَسَة كُل يَوْمٍ.I go to school every day.
- أودُّ أنْ أذهبَ إلى أفْضَلِ مَدْرَسَةٍ.I want to go to the best school.
- مِنْ خَلالِ المَدْرَسَة بُنِيَتْ صِداقاتِي.I built my friendships through school.
- أنْتِ تَذْهَبِينَ إِلَى المَدْرَسَة اليَوْمَ؟Are you going to school today?
- 26 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “school” translations and entries مدرسة, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries مدرسة, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
