How to say "yesterday" in Arabic

Cognate

Meaningyesterday

Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic

أَمْس

amsאמס

أمس

Hebrew · Modern Hebrew

אתמול

etmolإِتْمُول

How the two words are related

Cognate

Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.

Arabic root

ء-م-س

Hebrew root

א-מ-ש

Hebrew אמש is the same word as Arabic ams — the regular ש↔س swap. Hebrew uses it mostly for 'last night', Arabic for 'yesterday': same word, a hair of drift.

Related Hebrew word:אמשemeshإِمِش

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On the street

How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.

Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

مْبَارِح
mbāriḥמבארח

The spoken word, from al-bāriḥa 'the past (night)'.

Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta

اِمْبَارِح
imbāriḥאמבארח

Cairo: imbāriḥ, with a helping vowel in front.

Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes

الْبَارح
l-bāreḥאל-בארח

Darija: l-bāreḥ — the article is still audible.

In a phrase

وَصَلْتُ أَمْس
waṣaltu amsוצלת אמס

I arrived yesterday

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