What it means
وقت اضافه (vaqt-e ezâfeh) literally means added time, built from وقت (vaqt, time) and اضافه (ezâfeh, extra or added), both words of Arabic origin. In football and other timed sports, it refers to the extra period played after regulation ends in a draw. The phrase covers both the brief stoppage-time minutes added at the end of each half and the full extra-time periods in knockout matches. In casual speech you may also hear اضافهوقت (ezâfeh-vaqt) as a compact reversal of the same compound.
How to use it
- بازی به وقت اضافه رفت. (bâzi be vaqt-e ezâfeh raft.) “The match went to extra time.”
- در وقت اضافه گل زدیم. (dar vaqt-e ezâfeh gol zadim.) “We scored in extra time.”
- داور پنج دقیقه وقت اضافه داد. (dâvar panj daqiqeh vaqt-e ezâfeh dâd.) “The referee added five minutes of stoppage time.”
- در وقت اضافه همه ایستادند. (dar vaqt-e ezâfeh hameh istâdand.) “Everyone stood up during extra time.”
Cultural note
وقت اضافه is among the most tension-loaded phrases in Iranian football culture. When a crucial knockout match enters extra time, social media in Iran fills with countdowns and commentary, and tea shops keep their television sets on well past their usual closing time. The phrase also has a metaphorical life in everyday Persian: describing a project running past its deadline or a meeting that has overrun its slot as رفتن به وقت اضافه is completely natural and widely understood.