- English translation
One sit-down after another, Saʿda, and the day is already gone.
- Literal wording
A sitting upon a sitting, the day has gone, O Saʿda.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying remarks on how quickly time escapes. One spell of sitting follows another, and before anyone notices, the whole day has slipped away. The speaker turns to a woman called Saʿda, a stock name rather than a real individual, as if sharing the surprise of finding the daylight already gone.
In Arabic the line rests on a neat rhyme between qaʿda, a sitting, and the name Saʿda, giving it a sing-song, memorable shape.
- When it is used
Suitable when hours have drifted by in lingering or repeated sitting and someone suddenly notices the day is spent. Its rhyme and familiar address make it light, almost wistful, rather than a harsh or direct rebuke.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: One sit-down after another, Saʿda, and the day is already gone.