How to say "time (period), era" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningtime (period), era
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
zamanזמן
زمن
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
zmanزْمَان
How the two words are related
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Hebrew root
ז-מ-ןHebrew זמן and Arabic zaman are literally the same word — both picked up from Aramaic zeman (itself probably from Persian). Free vocabulary!
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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
The dialect prefers zamān; min zamān! = 'it's been ages!'
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
Cairo: zamān — min zamān, 'it's been ages'; zamān kān… — 'back in the day'.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
Darija: zmān — 'in the old days'; 'long ago' is also bekri.
In a phrase
a long time ago
Plural
broken plural aCCiCa — like مكان→أمكنة (place→places).