Naming Decades
To talk about a specific decade, like "the twenties" or "the nineties," Arabic builds on the cardinal numbers for the tens. You create the word for a decade by following a simple pattern:
- Start with the oblique form of the number (the one ending in ـين, such as عشرين for twenty).
- Attach the Nisba suffix (ـيـ).
- Add the feminine sound plural ending (ـات).
This pattern transforms عشرين into عشرينيات (twenties). When referring to a specific decade, such as "the twenties," simply add the definite article الـ (العشرينيات).
| The radio became famous in the twenties. | أصبح المذياع مشهورا في العشرينيات.asbaha al-midhyâ'u mash'hûran fî al-'ishrîniyyâti |
| Television began to develop in the thirties. | بدأ التلفاز يتطور في الثلاثينيات.bada'a attilfâzu yatatawwaru fî aththalâthînîyyât |
Decades in Context
These words act exactly like regular nouns. They can be the subject of a sentence, the object of a preposition (often في to say "in" a decade), or the second part of an Idafa (possessive construction).
| The female engineers invented the first computer in the forties. | اخترعت المهندسات أول حاسوب في الأربعينيات.ikhtara'ati al-muhandisâtu awwala hâsûbin fi al-arba'îniyyâti |
| The camera became small in the fifties. | صارت الكاميرا صغيرة في الخمسينيات.sârati l-kâmîrâ saghîratan fî l-khamsîniyyât. |
Since they are plural nouns ending in ـات, they take standard feminine sound plural case endings. The pattern remains perfectly consistent up to "the nineties."
| She was a famous programmer in the sixties. | كانت مبرمجة مشهورة في الستينيات.kânat mubarmijatan mashhûratan fis-sittîniyyât. |
| The portable tape spread in the seventies. | انتشر الشريط المحمول في السبعينيات.intashara ash-sharîtu al-mahmûlu fî as-sab'îniyyât. |
| The internet spread quickly in the nineties. | انتشر الإنترنت بسرعة في التسعينيات.intashara al-internet bisur'atin fi at-tis'îniyyât. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io