Arabic Observations: Doubled Roots

مُزْدَوِج

root: ز-و-ج / active participle of form VIII / definition: double

I really love writing these Arabic Observations posts, because the way the Arabic language reveals its beautiful complexities—no matter how “small” they may be—deserves to be recorded.

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One Way to Form -able/-ible Adjectives in Arabic

نَحْو

root: ن-ح-و / noun / definition: grammar, syntax

Negotiable, feasible, transferable, reversible, washable… All of these adjectives end in the -able/-ible suffix and indicate an ability or susceptibility to something (for example, something “measurable” is able to be measured, something “combustible” is susceptible to combustion, etc).

Now, how can we express this category of words in Arabic?

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Arabic Headline Analysis #2

خَبَر

root: خ-ب-ر / noun / plural: أخْبار / definition: news

It’s safe to say that most of us are following the news more than ever now, now that we’re in the middle of an accelerating pandemic.

And while headlines seem to be overwhelming in number, I’ve decided to pick a recent Arabic headline to analyse—step-by-step—so that you’ll hopefully find them less overwhelming in terms of linguistic content.

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Four Common Words for “to Become” in Arabic

شائِع

root: ش-ي-ع / adjective, active participle of form I / definition: common, widespread

When you’re learning a new language, it’s all too easy to get comfortable with the core set of words you learnt at the very start, without even letting your mind venture into the realm of synonyms.

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Small But Useful Arabic Phrases That You Need To Know (Part 2)

عِبارة

root: ع-ب-ر / noun / plural: عبارات / definition: phrase, expression

Back in December, I posted a list of Small But Useful Arabic Phrases That You Need To Know. But seeing as you can never have too much vocabulary in Arabic, I felt compelled to put together a Part 2—so here’s some more very useful Arabic expressions:

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Saying “May” or “Might” in Arabic

مُصْطَلَح

root: ص-ل-ح / noun / plural: مُصْطَلَحات / definition: term (e.g. linguistic or technical)

If you’re studying Arabic, you’ll know that there is usually a plethora of corresponding Arabic terms for each English word—and you’ll also know that a lot of those Arabic words can carry a variety of different meanings based on the immediate context…

But, today, we’re just going to focus on one use of a single Arabic word: how to use قَد to express the meaning of “might”/”may”.

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Reference: Arabic Verb Forms Table

جَدْوَل

root: ج-د-ل / noun / plural: جَداوِل / definition: chart, table

I can’t quite believe that I have been posting on this blog since October without actually posting an Arabic verb table for reference. So, without further ado:

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Arabic Observations: Root Derived From Phrase

جَذْر

root: ج-ذ-ر / noun / plural: جُذور / definition: root

Flick through to page 1016 of the Hans Wehr dictionary (4th ed.) and you’ll find something really intriguing.

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Something Along These Lines…

فَنّ

root: ف-ن-ن / noun / plural: فُنون / definition: art

In much more succinct terms than those which appeared in its title, my dissertation explored specific expressions of the concept of “homeland” (الوَطَن) in Arabic poetry.

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