A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
Wehr Wednesdays #50
Five Arabic Verbs for “to Include”
تَرادُف
root: ر-د-ف / noun / definition: synonymity
It’s hard to believe: it’s almost been a full year since I started posting on The Arabic Pages, and Wehr Wednesdays #49 was our 100th post! (Most surprising is that I’ve kept up with two posts a week. Two!)
As for today’s post—a.k.a. #101—we’re diving into another edition of the synonyms series with five Arabic verbs for “to include”.
Continue reading “Five Arabic Verbs for “to Include””Wehr Wednesdays #49
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
Comparing the Grammar of Arabic Comparison Particles
مُقارَنة
root: ق-ر-ن / verbal noun of form III / plural: مُقارَنات / definition: comparison
A while back, on The Arabic Pages‘ Instagram page, I received a brilliant idea for a post: to explain the differences between several comparison words which include كَ.
It’s not something that I’d given too much thought to before, but I’ve since realised how confusing these words may seem—so I guess this post is much needed!
Continue reading “Comparing the Grammar of Arabic Comparison Particles”Wehr Wednesdays #48
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
Learning Arabic Through Poetry
شِعْر
root: ش-ع-ر / noun / plural: أَشْعار / definition: poetry
In the course of my language learning journey, I’ve found that going through Arabic texts and looking up each unfamiliar word is a really great way to pick up vocabulary.
And what helps is if you encounter those pieces of vocabulary in interesting contexts.
Continue reading “Learning Arabic Through Poetry”Wehr Wednesdays #47
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
How to Use the Arabic Phrase “مِن قِبَلِ”
فاعِل
root: ف-ع-ل / noun / definition: subject (e.g. of a verb)
It’s no coincidence that I included “مِن قِبَلِ” in the very first Small but Useful Arabic Phrases That You Need To Know post. And because this phrase is so helpful, I thought it was worth making a post explaining how and when to use it.
Continue reading “How to Use the Arabic Phrase “مِن قِبَلِ””Wehr Wednesdays #46
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
Two Ways to Say “Not Yet” in Arabic
طَريقة
root: ط-ر-ق / noun / plural: طَرائِق or طُرُق / definition: way, method
Don’t you just love adding variety to your foreign language lexicon? (For reference, the only correct answers here are ones synonymous with the word “yes”.)
Well, seeing as you do… I now present you with a new synonyms post: two ways to say “not yet” in Arabic.
Continue reading “Two Ways to Say “Not Yet” in Arabic”Wehr Wednesdays #45
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
Arabic Headline Analysis #4
عُنْوان
root: ع-ن-و-ن / noun / plural: عَناوين / definition: title, headline
This week, we’re embarking on another Arabic Headline Analysis—exploring the vocabulary and grammar of a recent news headline and concluding with the resulting translation.
Our Arabic headline this week is taken from an article posted on the Project Syndicate website. I really recommend that you take a look at this post, where I mention why and how the website can be an amazing resource for language learners.
Continue reading “Arabic Headline Analysis #4”Wehr Wednesdays #44
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
كان Plus a Past Tense Verb
الماضي
root: م-ض-ي / noun / definition: the past, past tense
Ever heard of the term “pluperfect”? (Yes? No? Possibly…?) Well, seeing as the Hans Wehr dictionary uses this word (on page 993, to be specific), we’ll have to find out what it means and how it works.
Continue reading “كان Plus a Past Tense Verb”Wehr Wednesdays #43
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
Three Arabic Verbs for “to Think”—and How They Differ
فِعْل
root: ف-ع-ل / noun / plural: أَفْعال / definition: verb
Memory is an odd thing. People’s names, for one, seem to slip from my mind like sand through an hourglass. Yet, when the idea for this post came to mind, I could very clearly remember that I had noted down the differences between three Arabic verbs for “to think” in a second-year Arabic class, and that I had placed that sheet of notes near the beginning of a specific folder, on the left-hand side.
My memory served me well, because there it was: in that folder, on the left-hand side, eight pages in.
Continue reading “Three Arabic Verbs for “to Think”—and How They Differ”Wehr Wednesdays #42
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
The Arabic Pages’ Vocabulary Lists
قائِمة
root: ق-و-م / noun / plural: قَوائِم or قائِمات / definition: list, table
When I first started this blog, I wasn’t entirely sure where The Arabic Pages would go or what it would become. But I did know that I eventually want to create and share Arabic learning resources.
Now, I’ve finally taken the first step towards that goal by creating a page on this blog to share my own vocabulary lists with you: Vocabulary Lists by Topic.
Continue reading “The Arabic Pages’ Vocabulary Lists”Wehr Wednesdays #41
A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #3
قَصِيدَة
root: ق-ص-د / noun / plural: قَصائِد / definition: poem
You may remember me mentioning Badr Shakir al-Sayyab previously, when I used a quote from a poem of his to exemplify one of the Four Synonyms for “to Begin to” in Arabic. And—unsurprisingly, I suppose, considering my dissertation was centred around his poetry—al-Sayyab’s works were the very first thing that popped into my head the moment I thought of using a poem for the next post in the literature translation series.
Continue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #3”
The Arabic Pages 