يَوْم today in Arabic
يَوْم is how you say “today” in Arabic.
Root ي و م y-w-m. noun (masculine). yawm.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of today in Arabic
- a day (from sunrise to sunset) the common, conventional sense; the legal sense runs from true dawn to sunset
- time, in general the original, broader signification — any period, whether night or day
- today usually with the definite article, اليوم, 'the day' = 'today'
- an event, or a day of battle as in أَيَّامُ العَرَبِ, 'the days (conflicts) of the Arabs'
Example sentence
كنت تدخل عليّ دخول الملوك على الملوك، واليوم تدخل عليّ دخول العبيد على الملوك
You used to enter upon Me like kings enter upon kings, and today you enter upon Me like slaves upon kings.
وَالْيَوْمَ and today
wa- = 'and'; al- = 'the'; yawm means 'day'; the '-a' ending works adverbially here — 'and today'.
The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used
يوم is one of the most common nouns in Arabic. Bare, it means 'a day' or, more broadly, 'time' itself; with the definite article, اليوم, it takes the idiomatic sense 'today'. Classically it also extends to mean a notable happening, especially a day of battle, as in the set phrase أَيَّامُ العَرَبِ, 'the days (i.e. battles) of the Arabs'.
Words from the same root
- يَوْمٌ day; time; today (with the article)
- يَوْمِيَّةٌ a day's wages
- مُيَاوَمَةٌ dealing or working on a day-by-day basis
More example sentences
وآخرها تحيّتهم يوم يلقونه سلام
And the final stage is their greeting of peace on the day they meet Him.
يَوْمَ on the day
yawm means 'day'; the '-a' ending works adverbially here — 'on the day, when'.
والنتيجةُ يومٌ منظَّمٌ بنورِ الذِّكر، محروسٌ من العادةِ الفارغة، متَّجِهٌ إلى الله
The result is a day organized by the light of remembrance, guarded from empty habits, and directed toward Allah.
يَوْمٌ a day
'a day', nominative indefinite — the predicate, 'the result is a day...'. The bare noun completes 'X is Y' with no 'is'.
تُعرَض عليه الأعمال يوم القيامة لا كأرقام جافّة، بل كصورٍ ومعانٍ حية لها ثِقَلٌ وحضور
Actions are presented on it on the Day of Judgment not as dry numbers, but as living images and meanings with weight and presence.
يَوْمَ Day of
'on the Day of' — accusative as a time-word ('when?'), head of an 'of' pairing with 'the Resurrection'. Arabic uses the bare accusative for points in time.
وعلى الضدّ من ذلك مَن لم تبقَ له حسنةٌ معتبرة وقد قضاها على الباطل فلا يقوم له وزن؛ أعماله كالسراب أو الرماد في يومٍ عاصف
And on the contrary: whoever has no significant good deeds left—having wasted them on falsehood—has no weight; his deeds are like a mirage or ashes on a stormy day.
يَوْمٍ a day
'a day', genitive after 'fi', indefinite, head of an adjective pairing with 'stormy'. 'On a day [that is] stormy'.
امْلأ يومك بحقائق صغيرةٍ متينة نِيّةٍ مصحَّحة، صلاةٍ على وقتها، كلمةِ عدل، عفوٍ عند القدرة
Fill your day with small, sturdy truths—a corrected intention, a prayer on time, a word of justice, forgiveness when able—
يَوْمَكَ your day
'your day', accusative object plus 'your'.
وإذا قال ﴿مالك يوم الدين﴾ قال الله مجدني عبدي،
When he says: "Master of the Day of Judgment," God says: "My servant has glorified Me,"
يَوْمِ Day
'the Day of', genitive owner, head of a further 'of' link with 'Judgment'.
وإذا قال ﴿مالك يوم الدين﴾ قال الله مجدني عبدي،
And when he says: 'Master of the Day of Judgment,' Allah says: 'My servant has glorified Me.'
يَوْمِ Day
'the Day of', genitive owner, head of a further 'of' link with 'Judgment'.
كُنْت خَلْفَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَوْمًا،
One day, I was behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
يَوْمًا one day
The '-an' ending marks an accusative of time, 'one day, on a certain day'. Arabic expresses such a point in time with the object case directly, where English needs 'on a...'.
مَنْ نَفَّسَ عَنْ مُؤْمِنٍ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ الدُّنْيَا نَفَّسَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرَبِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ،
"Whoever relieves a believer's hardship of this world, Allah will relieve a hardship of the Day of Resurrection from him.
يَوْمِ Day of
'Day of', the next link of the chain, both owned by 'hardships' and owner of 'the Resurrection', hence the genitive. It builds 'the hardships of the Day of the Rising'.
يخرج الدجال في أمتى فيمكث أربعين لا أدري يوماً أو أربعين شهراً، أو أربعين عاماً،
The Dajjal will appear in my nation and will remain for forty—I do not know whether days or months or years.
يَوْمًا days
This is the counted noun after 'forty', and by the rule for numbers 11-99 it comes SINGULAR and accusative — 'forty day[s]'. So one 'day' stands for the whole count. The singular accusative is grammar, the first guessed unit.
فذلك يوم يجعل الولدان شيباً،
That is the day which will turn children gray-haired,
يَوْمٌ the day
This is the predicate — 'a day', nominative and indefinite — 'that is a day [which]...'. It is then defined by the relative clause to come. So 'that' is identified as the terrible Day.
وذلك يوم يكشف عن ساق
And that is the day when the Shin will be uncovered,
يَوْمٌ the day
This noun carries no 'the', and its ending marks it as indefinite, which is why it reads as 'a day' presented as fresh information rather than one already known. It also serves as the thing the previous 'that' is being equated with, so the bare noun is doing the work English would split into 'is the day'.
فلتأته منيته وهو يؤمن بالله واليوم الأخر،
let him meet his death while believing in Allah and the Last Day,
وَالْيَوْمِ and the Day
This is wa- (and) on 'the Day' carrying 'the', a second object of belief joined to the first. It is the first half of 'the Last Day', with the describing word following; the definite article marks it as the known appointed Day.
فيوم القيامة تبدو سريرته ويكون الحكم والظهور لها
On the Day of Judgment, his inner state will be revealed, and judgment will be made accordingly.
فَيَوْمَ On the Day of
fa- (so/then) on a time-noun 'on the day of', in the object-style ending because it works as an adverb of time fronted for emphasis. Heading a possessive pairing with 'the resurrection' after it, it sets the scene 'on the Day of...'.
فان لها في مضمر القلب والحشا سريرة حب يوم تبلى السرائر
Indeed, within the heart and chest, there is a secret of love on the day secrets are revealed.
يَوْمَ on the day
A time-noun 'on the day of', in the object-style ending because it works as an adverb of time, and heading a clause-pairing with the verb after it: 'the day secrets are tested'. Arabic lets such a time-noun take a whole clause as its complement.
ثم أخبر سبحانه عن حال الانسان في يوم القيامة أنه غير ممتنع من عذاب الله لا بقوة منه ولا بقوة من خارج وهو الناصر
Then Allah informed that on the Day of Judgment, a human cannot protect himself from Allah's punishment, neither through his own strength nor through outside help.
يَوْمِ the Day of
A noun heading a possessive pairing with 'the resurrection' after it: 'the Day of Judgment'. It surrenders its own article and draws definiteness from the owner; its genitive comes from the preposition before it.
وهم من أهل الخوض مع الخائضين المكذبين بيوم الدين
And they are among those who engage in vain talk along with those who deny the Day of Judgment.
بِيَوْمِ the Day of
This noun has the preposition 'with/in' fused to its front and opens a possessive pairing with the next word: the day of judgment. The preposition links it to the denying participle as what is denied, and it governs the following noun.
ولا تؤخر عمل اليوم إلى الغد، فلعل الغد لا يأتيك
And do not delay today's work until tomorrow, for perhaps tomorrow will not come to you.
اليَوْمِ the day
The completing half of 'work of the day', so it carries the possessive case ending and the 'the' that makes the whole phrase definite. Arabic forms 'X of Y' by placing the two nouns directly together with no separate 'of'.
أحوال الناس في العيد تشبه أحوالهم يوم القيامة
People's conditions during Eid resemble their conditions on the Day of Judgment.
يَوْمَ day
This is the first half of 'day of judgment', a time word in the object case marking when. It owns the link with the noun after it and gives up its own 'the', taking definiteness from that following noun.
ترى الناس في يوم العيد يلبسون الجديد، ويتطيبون، ويخرجون إلى المصلى فرحين مسرورين
You see people on the day of Eid wearing new clothes, perfuming themselves, and going out to the prayer area happy and joyful.
يَوْمِ day of
This is the first half of 'day of the festival', the object of 'on', so it stands in the possessive case. It owns the link with the noun after it and gives up its own 'the', taking definiteness from that following noun.
وكذلك يوم القيامة، يبعث الناس من قبورهم، فيقومون لرب العالمين
Similarly on the Day of Judgment, people will be resurrected from their graves and will stand before the Lord of the worlds.
يَوْمَ day of
This is the first half of 'day of judgment', a time word in the object case marking when. It owns the link with the noun after it and gives up its own 'the', taking definiteness from that following noun.
والعاقل من يعمل ليوم المعاد، فيستعد له بالأعمال الصالحة، ليلقى ربه وهو عنه راض
And the wise is the one who works for the Day of Return, preparing for it with righteous deeds, so he meets his Lord and He is pleased with him.
لِيَوْمِ for the Day of
The preposition 'for' fused to 'day', and 'day of' opens an 'of' pairing with the next word. As object of the preposition the noun takes the possessive case and owns the pairing that follows.
وليتذكر أن الدنيا أيام قلائل، وأن الآخرة هي دار القرار
Let him remember that this world is only a few days, and the hereafter is the abode of permanence.
أَيَّامٌ days
This is the predicate of the 'that' clause, telling what this world is, so it stands in the subject-style case, a plural 'days'. Without 'the' it is indefinite; the adjective that follows narrows it to 'a few'.
Common questions
- How do you say "today" in Arabic?
- اليوم (al-yawm) — literally 'the day', used idiomatically to mean 'today'.
- What is the root of يوم and what does it mean?
- The root is ي و م (y-w-m), meaning 'day' or 'time' in general — the same root behind يَوْمِيَّة ('a day's wages') and مُيَاوَمَة ('dealing day by day').
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).