How to Say 'No' and 'Not' in Arabic: Four Negation Patterns

English has "not" and "don't" for almost everything. Arabic distinguishes negation by tense and by sentence type, using different particles that are worth learning as a set.

Simple "no"

The word for "no" is لا (la). It is used on its own, and it also begins several negative constructions.

Negating the present: لا

To negate a present-tense verb, put لا before it: لا أعرف (la a'rif), "I don't know". لا يعمل (la ya'mal) is "he isn't working" or "it doesn't work".

Negating the past

In Modern Standard Arabic there are two standard options:

• لم + present (jussive): لم أذهب (lam adhhab), "I didn't go".
• ما + past: ما ذهبتُ (ma dhahabtu), also "I didn't go", common in speech.

Both look strange to English speakers, because "lam" is followed by a present-form verb but the meaning is past.

Negating the future

لن (lan) plus the present-subjunctive gives a strong future negative: لن أذهب (lan adhhab), "I will not go".

Negating "is" sentences

For sentences with no verb, such as "he is a student", the negation is ليس (laysa), which behaves like a verb and takes endings: ليس طالباً (laysa taliban), "he is not a student", and لستُ طالباً (lastu taliban), "I am not a student".

Everyday dialect patterns

• Egyptian Arabic wraps the verb with ما … ـش: مش عارف (mish 'arif), "I don't know", is very common, as is ما عرفتش (ma 'araftish).
• Levantine Arabic commonly uses ما + verb and مش (mish) for non-verbal negation.
• Gulf Arabic often uses مو (mu) for "not".

Politeness and softening

A flat لا can sound abrupt in some contexts. Arabic speakers often soften with phrases like للأسف (lil-asaf, "unfortunately") or شكراً (shukran, "thank you") in place of a bare refusal.

Quick summary

• Present: لا + verb
• Past: لم + verb, or ما + past verb
• Future: لن + verb
• "Is not": ليس

Practice

1. Make negative versions of five sentences you already know.
2. Listen for negation in a short dialogue in your chosen dialect.
3. Notice how the verb form changes after لم and لن.
4. Check each new negative in a dictionary.

Look up Arabic negation and verbs with English Arabic Dictionary →