past in Arabic: ماضي (māḍī) – meaning, pronunciation, examples

Other meanings

مَاض māḍ — past · past (time, tense)
بَعْدَ baʿda — past · after, past

How to use it

The word 'al-māḍī' (المَاضِي) refers to the past time. As an adjective, 'māḍin' (مَاضٍ) describes something that has passed or is from the past, like the past tense in grammar. 'Baʿda' (بَعْدَ) is a preposition meaning 'after' or 'past' a certain point.

Example sentences

نَحْنُ نَتَعَلَّمُ مِنَ المَاضِي.

naḥnu nataʿallamu mina l-māḍī.

We learn from the past.
الفِعْلُ المَاضِي يُسْتَخْدَمُ لِلأَحْدَاثِ السَّابِقَةِ.

al-fiʿlu l-māḍī yustaḵdamu lil-ʾaḥdāṯi s-sābiqati.

The past tense is used for previous events.
مَرَرْنَا بِالمَتْجَرِ بَعْدَ السَّاعَةِ الثَّامِنَةِ.

mararnā bil-matjari baʿda s-sāʿati ṯ-ṯāminati.

We passed by the store after eight o'clock.

Examples from real texts

Sentences taken from published bilingual texts (subtitles, documents). They show the word in context and are not reviewed one by one.

Past legacy

ألف - تركة من الماضي

In the past day

في اليوم الماضي

In the past hour

في الساعة الماضية

In the past week

في الأسبوع الماضي

He is past forty.

هو تجاوز الأربعين.

That time is past.

بيد أن ذلك الزمن قد ولى.

Sofia: Past&Present.

صوفيا: الماضي والحاضر.

Past and Present Strategies

ثامنا - الاستراتيجيات الماضية والراهنة

Sami investigated Layla's past.

حقّق سامي في ماضي ليلى.

Only then can the past truly be past.

وحينئذ فقط يصبح الماضي حقاً من الماضي.

The past is the past. There's nothing you can do about it.

الماضي هو الماضي. لا يوجد شىء تفعلهُ حيال ذلك.

Because the past is knowable, the best way of understanding a current crisis is to search for a model in past experiences, even those that are long past.

ولأن الماضي أمر معلوم فإن أفضل وسيلة لفهم أي أزمة حالية تتلخص في البحث عن نموذج بين التجارب الماضية، حتى تلك التجارب التي مرت منذ أمد بعيد.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between 'al-māḍī' and 'māḍin'?

'al-māḍī' is the definite noun 'the past'. 'māḍin' is an indefinite adjective, meaning 'past' or 'previous'.

Can 'baʿda' be used for time and place?

Yes, 'baʿda' can be used for both time (after a specific hour) and place (past a certain location).