ردّ radd — answer; return | Arabic (Egyptian) Grammar

ردّ radd is a geminate verb with two central everyday meanings: “answer/reply” and “return/give back.” Its suffixed perfect expands to رديت raddēt, while its imperfect is يرد yirodd. The consonants belong to root ر-د-د; the long ē in رديت is part of the Cairene suffixed stem.

Meaning determines the frame. “Reply to” selects على: رد على الرسالة. “Return an object” takes that object directly and normally uses لـ for its destination or owner: رد الكتاب للمكتبة. The broader geminate-verb system explains the stem class; this page focuses on this verb’s practical uses.

Complete Practical Paradigm

Person	Perfect	Bare imperfect	b-imperfect	ḥa-future
أنا	رَدِّيتْ raddēt	أَرُدّْ ʾarodd	بَرُدّْ barodd	حَرُدّْ ḥarodd
إنت	رَدِّيتْ raddēt	تِرُدّْ tirodd	بِتِرُدّْ bitirodd	حَتِرُدّْ ḥatirodd
إنتي	رَدِّيتِي raddēti	تِرُدِّي tiroddi	بِتِرُدِّي bitiroddi	حَتِرُدِّي ḥatiroddi
هو	رَدّْ radd	يِرُدّْ yirodd	بِيِرُدّْ biyirodd	حَيِرُدّْ ḥayirodd
هي	رَدِّتْ raddit	تِرُدّْ tirodd	بِتِرُدّْ bitirodd	حَتِرُدّْ ḥatirodd
إحنا	رَدِّينَا raddēna	نِرُدّْ nirodd	بِنِرُدّْ binirodd	حَنِرُدّْ ḥanirodd
إنتوا	رَدِّيتُوا raddētu	تِرُدُّوا tiroddu	بِتِرُدُّوا bitiroddu	حَتِرُدُّوا ḥatiroddu
هم	رَدُّوا raddu	يِرُدُّوا yiroddu	بِيِرُدُّوا biyiroddu	حَيِرُدُّوا ḥayiroddu

The commands are رد rodd, ردي roddi, and ردوا roddu. Negative commands are ماتردش، ماترديش، ماتردوش.

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Store رد radd / رديت raddēt / بيرد biyirodd / رد rodd. Gemination tells you that the last two root consonants match; it does not let you guess the imperfect vowel.

Replying Selects على

A person, call, message, question, or request answered is introduced with على. Pronominal addressees therefore attach to the preposition: رد عليه، رد عليها، رد عليهم. English answer him has no preposition, so direct transfer from English is a frequent error.

رديت على الإيميل بعد ما راجعت المرفقات.

raddēt ʿala l-ʾimēl baʿd ma rāgaʿt il-morfaʾāt

I replied to the email after checking the attachments.

هي بترد على المكالمات لحد الساعة أربعة.

hiyya bitirodd ʿala l-mokālamāt laḥadd is-sāʿa ʾarbaʿa

She answers calls until four o'clock.

ماردش عليا من يوم ما بعتله التفاصيل.

ma-raddish ʿalayya min yōm ma baʿattlo t-tafāṣīl

He hasn't replied to me since I sent him the details.

The prepositional suffix is obligatory when the addressee is pronominal. رده does not mean “he answered him” in this baseline; without على, it naturally belongs to the “return it/him” frame.

Returning Something Takes a Direct Object

In the physical or financial sense, رد directly governs the thing returned. Its destination or owner commonly takes لـ. Object pronouns attach to the verb: رده “he returned it,” رديتها “I returned it (feminine).”

رديت الجاكيت للمحل عشان المقاس كان ضيق.

raddēt il-gākēt lil-maḥall ʿashān il-maʾās kān ḍayyaʾ

I returned the jacket to the shop because the size was tight.

الشركة ردتلي العربون في نفس الأسبوع.

ish-sharika radditli l-ʿarbūn fi nafs il-ʾusbūʿ

The company refunded my deposit that same week.

الكتاب خلصته، وحرده للمكتبة بكرة.

il-kitāb khallaṣto, wi-ḥaroddo lil-maktaba bokra

I've finished the book, and I'll return it to the library tomorrow.

Here ـه is a direct object. Compare reply حرد عليه “I'll reply to him,” where the pronoun belongs to على.

Aspect, Future, and Negation

The b-imperfect presents an actual or habitual response. Bare يرد appears after a licenser such as لازم، ممكن، عايز. Future حـ joins the imperfect. Finite negation surrounds the verb and any direct object with ما...ش.

لازم نرد على العرض قبل نهاية الأسبوع.

lāzim nirodd ʿala l-ʿarḍ ʾabl nihāyit il-ʾusbūʿ

We need to respond to the offer before the end of the week.

ماردتهاش عشان كانت من غير إيصال.

ma-raddithāsh ʿashān kānit min ghēr ʾīṣāl

I didn't return it because it had no receipt.

The second sentence means “return it,” not “reply to it,” because feminine direct object ـها attaches to the verb. Final ـش follows the object.

Idioms and Lexical Extensions

رد الجميل literally “return the favor” is a conventional positive expression. رد الاعتبار means restore someone’s standing or vindicate them and is more common in public or legal discussion (formal/neutral). رد على نفسه can mean contradict himself in argumentative contexts, while رد عليه may imply a verbal comeback depending on tone.

وقفت جنبي وقت الأزمة، وعايز أردلك الجميل.

wiʾift gambi waʾt il-ʾazma, wi-ʿāyiz ʾaroddlak il-gamīl

You stood by me during the crisis, and I want to return the favor.

Derived ردد raddid means “repeat.” It has an extra written د in ordinary spelling and its own paradigm. Do not treat it as another tense of رد.

ردد العنوان مرتين عشان السواق يسمعه.

raddid il-ʿunwān marratēn ʿashān is-sawwāʾ yismaʿo

Repeat the address twice so the driver hears it.

Participles: Possible but Uneven

Active رادد rādid can describe someone who has replied, particularly with على, but finite رد / بيرد is often more idiomatic for ordinary events. Passive/result مردود mardūd means “returned” and can also mean “rejected,” especially in administrative language (formal/professional).

الطلب مردود عشان صورة البطاقة مش واضحة.

iṭ-ṭalab mardūd ʿashān ṣūrit il-biṭāʾa mish wāḍḥa

The application was rejected because the ID copy isn't clear.

Do not force a participle merely because English uses answered or returned. Productive morphology supplies a possible form; frequency and register determine whether speakers prefer it.

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Use a frame diagnostic: رد على شخص/رسالة “reply to,” but رد حاجة لحد “return something to someone.” The preposition distinguishes two high-frequency senses.

A Short Dialogue

ـ الزبون رد على عرض السعر؟ ـ لسه، بس قال إنه حيرد علينا النهارده.

— iz-zabūn radd ʿala ʿarḍ is-siʿr? — lissa, bass ʾāl ʾinnu ḥayirodd ʿalēna n-nahārda

‘Did the customer respond to the quotation?’ ‘Not yet, but he said he'll reply to us today.’

Register and Variation

This paradigm is mainstream Cairene (informal/neutral). Formal MSA shares the root but uses رَدَّ / يَرُدُّ with formal endings (formal). Regional and community varieties may differ in the short vowel of the imperfect or connected-speech realization. Administrative مردود and elevated idioms can coexist with otherwise Egyptian syntax; that is structured style-shifting, not a defective mixture.

Common Mistakes

❌ أنا ردت على المدير الصبح.

Incorrect first-person perfect: geminate رد expands to رديت before this suffix.

✅ أنا رديت على المدير بعد الاجتماع.

ʾana raddēt ʿala l-modīr baʿd il-igtimāʿ

I replied to the manager after the meeting.

❌ رديت العميل امبارح.

Incorrect for ‘replied to the customer’: the addressee requires على.

✅ رديت على العميل ووضحتله المشكلة.

raddēt ʿala l-ʿamīl wi-waḍḍaḥtlo l-moshkila

I replied to the customer and explained the problem to him.

❌ ماردت هي ش للمحل.

Incorrect spacing: a direct-object pronoun and negative -ش attach to the verb.

✅ ماردتهاش للمحل عشان استعملتها.

ma-raddithāsh lil-maḥall ʿashān istaʿmaltha

I didn't return it to the shop because I had used it.

هو بيرد على كل الأسئلة.

huwwa biyirodd ʿala kull il-ʾasʾila

huwa yaruddu ʿalā kulli l-ʾasʾilati

Pronunciation/register error: MSA mood and case endings do not belong to this Cairene sentence.

Key Takeaways

Learn the geminate set رد–رديت–بيرد–رد.
Use على for a reply target, but a direct object plus لـ for returning property or money.
Keep direct-object suffixes inside ما...ش; attach reply pronouns to على.
Treat ردد “repeat” and administrative مردود as separate lexical/register choices.

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