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Waiting rooms and long queues test our patience. To describe what we do "while waiting for" or "until" something happens, Arabic uses the temporal conjunction ريثما.

### Using ريثما with the Present Tense

The conjunction ريثما always governs a verbal clause. When you are currently waiting for an event, or giving an instruction for someone to wait, follow ريثما with a present tense verb.

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### Using ريثما with the Past Tense

When you are recounting a completed event in the past, simply follow ريثما with a past tense verb to express what you did "until" the expected event finally occurred.

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### Passing the Time

When describing the experience of waiting, you will often use a specific set of vocabulary to express things dragging on (طال), passing the time (تسلى), or getting restless and fidgeting (تململ).

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"While waiting for" (رَيْثَمَا)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
client (consulting a professional or office)	مراجعmurâji'
while waiting for	ريثماraythamâ
The client waits in the lounge until her turn comes.	تنتظر المراجعة في الصالة ريثما يحين دورها.tantaziru al-murâjiatu fî as-sâlati raythamâ yahînu dawruhâ
inquiries (information desk)	استعلاماتisti'lamât
to wait patiently	تريثtarayyatha
I asked the clerk at the information desk, and she asked me to wait patiently for a little while.	سألت موظفة الاستعلامات، وطلبت مني أن أتريث قليلا.sa'altu muwazzafatal-isti'lâmâti, wa talabat minnî an atarayyatha qalîlan.
to drag on	طالtâla
to fidget	تململtamalmala
The wait dragged on a lot, and the girl began to fidget.	طال الانتظار جدا، وبدأت البنت تتململ.tâla al-intizâru jiddan, wa bada'ati al-bintu tatamalmalu
to pass the time	تسلىtasallâ
puzzle (riddle or brain-teaser)	أحجيةuhjiyyah
My sister passed the time solving a difficult puzzle until the train came.	تسلت أختي بحل أحجية صعبة ريثما جاء القطار.tasallat ukhtî bihalli uhjiyyatin sa'batin raythamâ jâ'a alqitâru
intersecting	متقاطعmutaqâti'
boredom	مللmalal
I pass the time with crosswords until my female colleague arrives so that I avoid boredom.	أتسلى بالكلمات المتقاطعة ريثما تصل زميلتي حتى أتجنب الملل.atasallâ bil-kalimâti al-mutaqâti'ati raythamâ tasilu zamîlatî hattâ atajannaba al-malala.
Do you like solving crosswords?	هل تحبين حل الكلمات المتقاطعة؟hal tuhibbîna halla l-kalimâti l-mutaqâti'ati?
The clients headed to the information desk to ask about the doctor.	اتجه المراجعون إلى مكتب الاستعلامات حتى يسألوا عن الطبيب.ittajaha al-murâji'ûna ilâ maktabi al-isti'lâmâti hattâ yas'alû 'ani at-tabîb
Please wait patiently for a little while until I prepare the coffee for you.	من فضلك تريث قليلا ريثما أجهز لك القهوة.min fadlika tarayyath qalîlan raythamâ ujahhizu laka alqahwata.
I thought the solution was easy, but the wait dragged on and the participants fidgeted.	ظننت الحل سهلا، لكن الانتظار طال وتململ المشاركون.zanantu al-halla sahlan, lâkinna al-intizâra tâla wa-tamalmala al-mushârikûn.
I hope you pass the time with this story and do not feel bored.	عسى أن تتسلى بهذه القصة ولا تشعر بالملل.asâ 'an tatasallâ bihâdhihi alqissati walâ tashura bilmalali
The patient passed the time with a puzzle until his turn came.	تسلى المريض بأحجية ريثما جاء دوره.tasallal-marîdu bi'uhjiyyatin raythamâ jâ'a dawruhu