Language/Standard-arabic/Vocabulary/Say-No

Instead of saying simply "No", it will sound more natural to be able to say “not now”, “so so” or “not really”.

Here are different ways to say "no" in Arabic:

لا /la/

No

Simply , it means No

ًلا شكرا / la shokran/

No, thanks

In some situations, answering “لا” can come across as rude though. so you may want to say “لا شكرا” instead .

انسى /Insà/

forget it!

انسى is verb ,so you can conjuge and say : انسي /Insi/ for single femin.

This word is used in Egyptian slang.

• هل يمكن ان تقرضني 1,000يورو? انسى ! = Could you lend me 1,000 euros? Forget it!

ليس الآن /laysa elàn/

not now

If you do not wish to do something now, but would be ready in a moment, you can say "Not now".

• هل تود ان نذهب الى المطعم? ليس الان. Do you feel like going to the restaurant? Not now.

للأسف لا /lilasaf la/

Sorry no

To formally decline a request while pretending you really wished you could help, you can say "للاسف لا ".

ًأبدا /abadan/

never!

If you want to say you’ll never do something, you can say “ابد".

• عمرك رحت لامريكا? لا ابدا . = Have you ever been to the US? = No never

مستحيل /Mostaheel/

It means impossible.

• Give me your camera, please.

Impossible