زمان

See also: رمان

Arabic

Etymology

With the alternative form زَمَن (zaman) an old loan, becoming productive in the root ز م ن (z-m-n), perhaps directly borrowed from or from a close Aramaic relative to Imperial Aramaic 𐡆𐡌𐡍 (zmn), 𐡆𐡌𐡀𐡍 (zmʾn), borrowed from a late pronunciation of the religiously relevant Old Persian *jamānā (“time”), reconstructible for Proto-Iranian *ǰámaHnaH, of a native derivation type from Proto-Indo-European.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /za.maːn/

Noun

زَمَان • (zamān) m (plural أَزْمِنَة (ʔazmina))

1. (uncountable and countable) time

   Synonym: زَمَن (zaman)

   Coordinate term: مَكَان (makān)

2. age (A particular period of time in history)
3. season

   أَزْمِنَةُ ٱلسَّنَةِ هِيَ: ٱلْخَرِيفُ وَٱلشِّتَاءُ وَٱلرَّبِيعُ وَٱلصَّيْفُ

   ʔazminatu s-sanati hiya: l-ḵarīfu waš-šitāʔu war-rabīʕu waṣ-ṣayfu

   The seasons of the year are: autumn, winter, spring and summer.

Declension

Declension of noun زَمَان (zamān)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	زَمَان zamān	الزَّمَان az-zamān	زَمَان zamān
Nominative	زَمَانٌ zamānun	الزَّمَانُ az-zamānu	زَمَانُ zamānu
Accusative	زَمَانًا zamānan	الزَّمَانَ az-zamāna	زَمَانَ zamāna
Genitive	زَمَانٍ zamānin	الزَّمَانِ az-zamāni	زَمَانِ zamāni
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	زَمَانَيْن zamānayn	الزَّمَانَيْن az-zamānayn	زَمَانَيْ zamānay
Nominative	زَمَانَانِ zamānāni	الزَّمَانَانِ az-zamānāni	زَمَانَا zamānā
Accusative	زَمَانَيْنِ zamānayni	الزَّمَانَيْنِ az-zamānayni	زَمَانَيْ zamānay
Genitive	زَمَانَيْنِ zamānayni	الزَّمَانَيْنِ az-zamānayni	زَمَانَيْ zamānay
Plural	broken plural triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَزْمِنَة ʔazmina	الْأَزْمِنَة al-ʔazmina	أَزْمِنَة ʔazminat
Nominative	أَزْمِنَةٌ ʔazminatun	الْأَزْمِنَةُ al-ʔazminatu	أَزْمِنَةُ ʔazminatu
Accusative	أَزْمِنَةً ʔazminatan	الْأَزْمِنَةَ al-ʔazminata	أَزْمِنَةَ ʔazminata
Genitive	أَزْمِنَةٍ ʔazminatin	الْأَزْمِنَةِ al-ʔazminati	أَزْمِنَةِ ʔazminati

Derived terms

• زَمَانِيّ (zamāniyy)
• زَمَكَان (zamakān)

Descendants

• Maltese: żmien

References

• Freytag, Georg (1833) “زمان”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[2] (in Latin), volume 2, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 256
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “زمن”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, page 444

Central Kurdish

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *hižwáH (compare Persian زوان (zavân)/زبان (zabân), Pashto ژبه (žəba), Avestan 𐬵𐬌𐬰𐬎𐬎𐬁 (hizuuā)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́iȷ́ʰwáH (compare Sanskrit जिह्वा (jihvā), Hindi जीभ (jībh)), from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (compare Old Prussian insuwis, Russian язы́к (jazýk), French langue, English tongue).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zmaːn/
• Hyphenation: ز‧مان

Noun

زمان (ziman)

1. tongue
2. language

Chadian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic زَمَان (zamān).

Adverb

زمان (zamān)

1. long ago
   • 2019, الكتاب المقدس بالعربي الدارجي هنا تشاد [The Bible in Chadian Arabic]‎^[3], N'Djamena: Alliance biblique du Tchad, أعمال الرُسُل [Acts] 15:18:

     الْمَعْرُوف منِ زَمَان

     [he has made these things] known from the earliest times.

2. used to form the past tense of the copula: was, were

   هو زمان كريم

   hū zamān karīm.

   he was generous.

Usage notes

The past tense of the copula is usually implicit, however زمان or كان can also be used to express the past notion. While زمان is uninflected, كان changes in form according to the subject.

Khalaj

Noun

زَمان (zamân) (definite accusative زَمانؽ, plural زَمانلار)

1. Arabic spelling of zamân (“time”)

Declension

Declension of زمان

	singular	plural
nominative	زمان	زمانلار
genitive	زمانؽݧ	زمانلارؽݧ
dative	زمانقا	زمانلارقا
definite accusative	زمانؽ	زمانلارؽ
locative	زمانچا	زمانلارچا
ablative	زماندا	زمانلاردا
instrumental	زمانلا	زمانلارلا
equative	زمانوارا	زمانلاروارا

Malay

Alternative forms

• zaman

Etymology

From Persian زمان (zamân).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zaman/
• Rhymes: -aman, -man, -an

Noun

زمان (Rumi spelling zaman, plural زمان٢)

1. age (particular period of time in history)

Persian

Etymology

From Middle Persian 𐭥𐭣𐭭𐭠 (ODNA /⁠zamān⁠/), 𐭦𐭬𐭠𐭭𐭩 (ẕmʾn' /⁠zamān⁠/), 𐭦𐭬𐭭𐭩 (zmn' /⁠zamān⁠/), 𐫉𐫖𐫀𐫗 (zmʾn /⁠zamān⁠/), from Old Persian *jamānā; see there for more.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [za.ˈmɑːn]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [zä.mɑ́ːn]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [zä.mɑ́ːn]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [zä.mɑ́ːn]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [zä.mɔ́ːn]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [zæ.mɒ́ːn]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [zä.mɔ́n]

Readings
Classical reading?	zamān
Dari reading?	zamān
Iranian reading?	zamân
Tajik reading?	zamon

• Rhymes: -ân

Noun

Dari	زمان
Iranian Persian
Tajik	замон

زمان • (zamân) (plural زمان‌ها (zamân-hâ) or ازمنه (azmâne))

1. time, epoch, period, age, season (a broad time period; not the precise time on a clock)

   در زمان شاه ― dar zamân-e šâh ― in the time of the Shah

   در زمان جنگ ― dar zamân-e jang ― in the time of the war

   در این زمان ― dar in zamân ― in this period, in these days

   1. (physics) time
   2. (grammar) tense

      زمان گذشته ― zamân-e gozašte ― past tense

   3. (figurative) death

      Synonym: مرگ (marg)

Derived terms

• زمانمند (zamânmand)
• زمانه (zamâne)
• زمانی (zamâni)
• زمان‌بندی (zamân-bandi)
• فضازمان (fazâ-zamân)

 

Descendants

• → Armenian: զաման (zaman)
• → Azerbaijani: zaman
• → Bashkir: заман (zaman)
• → Gilaki: [script needed] (zəmån)
• → Kazakh: заман (zaman)
• → Kermanic:

  Qohrudi: zamān

• → Khalaj: zamân
• → Central Kurdish: زه‌مان (zeman)
• → Kyrgyz: заман (zaman)
• → Malay: زمان / zaman
  • Indonesian: zaman, jaman
• → Ossetian: за́ман (záman)
• → Pashto: زمانه (zamâna)
• → Ottoman Turkish: زمان (zaman)
  • → Turkish: zaman
  • → Greek: ζαμάνι (zamáni)
  • → Albanian: zaman
  • → Serbo-Croatian: заман
• → Tatar: заман (zaman)
• → Waigali: zëmën

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic زَمَان (zamān).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /za.maːn/, [zaˈmæːn], [zaˈmaːn]

• Audio (Amman)

  (file)

Noun

زمان • (zamān) m (plural زمانات (zamānāt))

1. time, period, era (in the past)

   كان عايش على زمان الأتراك.

   kān ʕāyeš ʕala zamān il-ʔatrāk

   He lived in the Ottoman period.

   (literally, “He was living in the time of the Turks.”)

2. (definite) long ago

   انتا متذكر كيف كانت أيّام زمان؟

   enta mitzakker kīf kānat ʔayyām zamān?

   Do you remember how the old days used to be?

   (literally, “Do you remember how the days of long ago were?”)

Adverb

زمان • (zamān)

1. (in a) long time

   زمان ما رحت على رام الله.

   zamān mā ruḥt ʕala rām-allah

   I haven't been to Ramallah in a long time.

   ما شفته من زمان.

   mā šufto min zamān.

   I haven't seen him in a long time.

   زمان عنّك.

   zamān ʕannak

   Long time no see.

   (literally, “A long time from you.”)

See also

• وقت (waʔt, “time”)
• مرّة (marra, “time, instance”)