Author Archives: thearabicpages

To Amman!

سَفَر root: س-ف-ر / verbal noun of form III / definition: travel Apologies in advance for a very tired post (forgive any typos!) but I’ve spent the first half of the day travelling by train and tube for over three hours (with a packed-to-the-weight-limit suitcase and two bags) and the rest shopping for home decorContinue reading “To Amman!”

Arabic Observations: Distance and the Future

مَسافة root: س-و-ف / noun / plural: مَسافات / definition: distance Have you ever had those moments when you finally make the connection between two words from the same root? I mean, I knew مَسافة (“distance”) and سَوفَ (the particle indicating future tense) were both from the root س-و-ف, but they’d clearly been floating aroundContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Distance and the Future”

The Case of امّحق: Form VII Assimilation

مُماثَلة root: م-ث-ل / verbal noun of form III / definition: assimilation (phonology) There’s less than three weeks until my study abroad module begins which means I’ll be jetting off very soon for a relaxing break an intensive period of Arabic study in Jordan. It really can’t come soon enough because I’ve forgotten almost allContinue reading “The Case of امّحق: Form VII Assimilation”

Root Exploration: د-ل-ه-م

ضَحْك root: ض-ح-ك / verbal noun of form I / definition: laughter After two hours and countless retakes, my classmate and I finally managed to record 20 minutes of Arabic conversation today for an assessment. Yes, that’s two hours of attempts for 20 minutes of usable footage. Honestly though, most of the retakes started soonContinue reading “Root Exploration: د-ل-ه-م”

Affinity to Quadriliterals

اِنْجِذاب root: ج-ذ-ب / verbal noun of form VII / definition: affinity, attraction I have such an affinity to Arabic quadriliterals (four-letter roots). Are there really that many in the dictionary that they can’t be ignored, or are my eyes just drawn to them whenever they’re present on the page? Either way, I usually taskContinue reading “Affinity to Quadriliterals”

Arabic Observations: “Diamonds” and the Definite Article

قِراءة root: ق-ر-ء / verbal noun of form I / definition: reading As I was doing my reading for yesterday’s literature class, I came across a familiar word: الأَلماس. I instantly recalled that it meant “diamond”… but then I remembered another word for “diamonds” that I had learnt: الماس. So, I headed to the HansContinue reading “Arabic Observations: “Diamonds” and the Definite Article”

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #9

حَقيقة root: ح-ق-ق / noun / plural: حَقائِق / definition: reality, truth Well, well, well… it’s been quite a while since we had a literature translation post, hasn’t it? (On consulting the calendar, that “while” appears to be nearly six months—time must have taken a shortcut somewhere…) Time anxiety aside, in this post we’ll beContinue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #9”

The False/Adjective إضافة

إضافة root: ض-ي-ف / verbal noun of form IV / definition: addition, genitive construction So we all know the إضافة, right? It’s a construction where nouns are put together, with certain rules, to indicate possession. Well… Did you know we can actually use adjectives inside إضافة constructions? I know this probably sounds contradictory to everythingContinue reading “The False/Adjective إضافة”

The Meaning of لم يكن لـ

إبْداعي root: ب-د-ع / adjective / definition: creative I was tempted to write another literature-inspired post this week (especially considering I just completed my first piece of creative writing Arabic homework which was so fun to do!), but how long can we go without some good old grammar?! A long while ago, when I wasContinue reading “The Meaning of لم يكن لـ”

Reading Arabic Literature: Snippets From This Week

أُسبوع root: س-ب-ع / noun / plural: أَسابيع / definition: week Conveniently for this reading literature series, I’ve just started Arabic literature classes at university this term—which means lots more reading for me and lots more vocabulary for these posts!