Learn Arabic › A1 › أُولَى
أُولَى
first (feminine) /ˈʔuː.laː/
adjectiveA1#388 most common
Also: foremost, former (of two), earliest
Example sentences
هَذِهِ هِيَ المَرَّةُ الأُولَى.
This is the first time.
الخُطْوَةُ الأُولَى صَعْبَةٌ دائِماً.
The first step is always difficult.
فازَ فَريقُنا في المُبارَاةِ الأُولَى مِنَ المَوسِمِ.
Our team won the first match of the season.
كانَتِ الحَربُ العالَمِيَّةُ الأُولَى نُقطَةَ تَحَوُّلٍ في التّاريخِ.
The First World War was a turning point in history.
تُعَدُّ هذِهِ الرِّوايَةُ التَّجرِبَةَ الأُولَى لِلكاتِبِ في الأدَبِ السّاخِرِ.
This novel is considered the author's first venture into satirical literature.
في السَّنَواتِ الأُوَلِ مِنَ الاستِقلالِ، واجَهَتِ البِلادُ أزَماتٍ اقتِصادِيَّةً خانِقَةً.
In the first years of independence, the country faced suffocating economic crises.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | أُولَى | أُوَل |
| Genitive | أُولَى | أُوَل |
| Accusative | أُولَى | أُوَل |
| Vocative | أُولَى | أُوَل |
Word family
أَوَّلfirst (masculine)
أَوَّلاًfirstly, first of all
أَوَّلِيّprimary, initial
أَوائِلearly parts, first onesأَوَّلِيَّةpriority, primacy
Etymology
أُولَى is the feminine of أَوَّل, 'first.' Both grow from the root ء و ل, which carries the idea of a beginning or a point one returns to. The feminine follows the فُعْلَى pattern that pairs with the masculine elative أَفْعَل. The same root gives تَأْوِيل, 'interpretation,' the act of tracing a text back to its origin.
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