تَنْفيس root: ن-ف-س / form II verbal noun / definition: catharsis Someone told me yesterday that I seem to do a lot of work without much financial return. Exhibit A: this blog. But this passion project doesn’t feel like work in any sense of the word. Except for the part where I spend hours planningContinue reading “Arabic Prepositions: Common and Less So”
Category Archives: uncommon arabic words for…
Uncommon Arabic Words for Mankind
البَشَر root: ب-ش-ر / noun / definition: mankind For someone who aspires for a slow-paced life, I sure do seem to be on the go a lot. “Another project?” they ask. Yes, apparently so. I’ve been liaising with venues and thinking of my friend’s article in between organising a family trip on an I’ll-reply-when-I-can groupContinue reading “Uncommon Arabic Words for Mankind”
Uncommon Arabic Words for Dates
تَطْريز root: ط-ر-ز / form II verbal noun / definition: embroidery September feels notably less hot and humid than August here, but maybe—just maybe—I’ve successfully acclimatised to Doha’s weather in these four short weeks. Or maybe it’s that I’ve been keeping myself busy with things like the Palestinian embroidery (التطريز الفلسطيني) workshop I attended onContinue reading “Uncommon Arabic Words for Dates”
Uncommon Arabic Words for the Soul
روح root: ر-و-ح / noun / plural: أَرْواح / definition: soul Having entered the ballot for the 2025 London Marathon back in April, I am only reassured of my athletic endurance by the fact that I can walk up the escalators at Bond Street station without my legs giving way or needing to stop forContinue reading “Uncommon Arabic Words for the Soul”
Uncommon Arabic Words for the Desert
صَحراء root: ص-ح-ر / noun / plural: صَحارٍ / definition: desert In this series so far, we’ve explored uncommon Arabic words for colours, clouds, and rain. This time—as I’ve kept on coming across alternative terms for it in my regular resorts to the dictionary—I’m compiling a list of uncommon Arabic words for “desert”, most commonlyContinue reading “Uncommon Arabic Words for the Desert”
Uncommon Arabic Words for Rain
مَطَر root: م-ط-ر / noun / plural: أَمطار / definition: rain In our Wehr Wednesdays series, we’ve seen two phrases so far related to rain:
Uncommon Arabic Words for Clouds
بَرْد root: ب-ر-د / noun / definition: cold I spent last week roaming around Granada, charmed by its old streets of whitewashed houses, the views of majestic snow-capped mountains, and the stunningly detailed architecture of Alhambra (الحَمراء)—not to mention the Moroccan-style souqs and the flamenco dancers in the square whose stamping feet became the beatContinue reading “Uncommon Arabic Words for Clouds”
Uncommon Arabic Words for Colours
لَوْن root: ل-و-ن / noun / plural: أَلْوان / definition: colour I opened my laptop intending to write a different type of post today, but when I saw a certain note in my phone, I decided that this Tuesday would be the start of a whole new series of posts: Uncommon Arabic Words for…
The Arabic Pages 