حالا

Arabic

Etymology

Adverbial accusative of حَال (ḥāl, “condition, state, situation”), from حَالَ (ḥāla, “to change”), from ح و ل (ḥ w l).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ħaː.lan/

Adverb

حَالًا • (ḥālan)

1. presently, immediately, at once, right away, without delay
2. now, actually, at present

Descendants

• → Classical Persian: حَالَا (hālā)
  • → Armenian: հըլը (hələ)
  • → Azerbaijani: hələ
  • → Chagatai: حالا (ḥʾlʾ /⁠hālā⁠/)
  • → Ottoman Turkish: حالا
    • → Albanian: halá
    • Turkish: hâlâ

See also

• حَالًا بَالًا (ḥālan bālan)

North Levantine Arabic

Etymology

Inherited from Arabic حَالًا (ḥālan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈħaː.lan/

Adverb

حالا • (ḥālan)

1. right away, at once, immediately

Persian

Alternative forms

• حالو (hâlo) (colloquial, Shiraz)

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic حَالًا (ḥālan).

The pronunciation with final -ā is considered a spelling pronunciation by the Encyclopaedia Iranica. This is, however, an unusual case as the tanwin ending is generally preserved and has even become productive in Persian. Alternatively, حالا (hâlâ) might represent an early borrowing with the Arabic pausal pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /haː.ˈlaː/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [hɑː.lɑː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [hɑː.lɑː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔɑː.lɑː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔɔː.lɔː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [hɒː.lɒː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [hɔ.lɔ]

• Rhymes: -aː

Readings
Classical reading?	hālā
Dari reading?	hālā
Iranian reading?	hâlâ
Tajik reading?	holo

• (Shiraz) IPA^(key): /hɒː.lo/

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

Adverb

حالا • (hālā / hâlâ)

Dari	حالا
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ҳозир, ҳоло

1. now, presently

   Synonyms: (more literary) اکنون (aknun), الان (alân)

   حالا تو را می‌بینم. (more literary) ― hâlâ to-râ mi-binam. ― I see you now.

   حالا می‌بینمت. (more colloquial) ― hâlâ mi-binam-et. ― I see you now.

   • 2018, “سفر از افغانستان به ایران برای سرقت آیفون”, in newspaper.hamshahrionline.ir‎^[3], Hamshahri:

     آن دختر حالا کجاست؟ − انداختمش بیرون. نمی‌دانم کجا رفته.

     ân doxtar hâlâ kojâ-st? — andâxtam-eš birun. ne-mi-dânam kojâ rafte.

     Where is that girl now? — I threw her outside. I do not know where she has gone.

Usage notes

• Compared to فعلا (fe'lan), which has a stronger connotation of a duration of time including the present and stretching into the future, حالا (hâlâ) has a stronger connotation of a moment in the present.

Derived terms

• حالاها (hâlâ-hâ, “these days”)

Descendants

• → Armenian: հըլը (hələ)
• → Azerbaijani: hələ
• → Chagatai: حالا (ḥʾlʾ /⁠hālā⁠/)
• → Ottoman Turkish: حالا
  • → Albanian: halá
  • Turkish: hâlâ

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian حالا (hālā), from Arabic حَالًا (ḥālan).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ɦɑː.lɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː, -ɑːlɑː
• Hyphenation: حا‧لا
• Homophone: ہالا (hālā)

Adverb

حالا • (hālā) (Hindi spelling हाला)

1. now, at this moment, at present