yesterday in Arabic: امس (ʾams) – meaning, pronunciation, examples

How to use it

"Yesterday" refers to the day before today. It is used as an adverb of time and does not change form. In Arabic the word is أَمْس (ʾams).

ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى المَدْرَسَةِ أَمْسَ.

dhahabtu ilā al-madrasati ʾamsa.

I went to school yesterday.
قَرَأْتُ كِتَابًا أَمْسِ.

qaraʾtu kitāban ʾamsi.

I read a book yesterday.
كُنْتُ مَتْعَبًا أَمْسِ.

kuntu mataʿaban ʾamsi.

I was tired yesterday.

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

Yesterday

البارحة

He died yesterday.

مات البارحة.

Tom died yesterday.

مات توم أمس.

That was yesterday.

كان ذلك بالأمس.

Yes, I went yesterday.

نعم ذهبت البارحة.

It was cold yesterday.

كان الجو بارداً البارحة.

Yesterday was Thursday.

البارحة كان يوم الخميس.

Did you work yesterday?

هل عملت البارحة؟

I bought this yesterday.

اشتريته بالأمس.

It snowed hard yesterday.

أثلجت بشدة الأمس.

Last backup was yesterday.

آخر نسخ احتياطي كان بالأمس

Yesterday was my birthday.

البارحة كان عيد ميلادي.

Can "yesterday" be used as a noun?

In English it can, but in Arabic أَمْس is only an adverb. You would need a phrase like "في الأمس" (on yesterday) to act as a noun.

Is there a formal vs. informal way to say "yesterday"?

Both spoken and written Arabic use أَمْس. No special informal form exists.