How to say "when" in Arabic
CognateMeaningwhen
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مَتَى
matāמתא
متى
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מתי
matayمَاتَاي
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
One of the cleanest matches in the whole language: Arabic matā and Hebrew מָתַי both continue the same ancient Semitic interrogative for 'when', practically letter for letter and sound for sound.
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
إِمْتَى
imtaאמתאCairo's when is imta.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
إِمْتَا
imtaאמתאDarija's when is imta, or fūqāsh.
In a phrase
مَتَى الْمَوْعِد؟
matā al-mawʿidמתא אל-מועדWhen is the appointment?