Tag Archives: arabic

A Word from the Saudi Dialect: بزران

مَزْرَعَة root: ز-ر-ع / noun / plural: مَزارِع / definition: farm, plantation In Medina, the week before last, we’d wandered off-path and through-open-gate into someone’s land. Unknowing trespassers, our eyes took in the palm trees, running water, greenery. And then—oops—the someone whose land it was walked over and asked how we got in. It wasContinue reading “A Word from the Saudi Dialect: بزران”

What’s the Difference between Form II and Form IV Verbs?

سَبَبِيّة root: س-ب-ب / abstract noun / definition: causality You probably already know that different Arabic verb forms point to different general meanings. For example, form X verbs refer to seeking something, and form VII indicates that the verb meaning is passive. But have you noticed that form II (فَعَّلَ / يُفَعِّلُ) and form IVContinue reading “What’s the Difference between Form II and Form IV Verbs?”

An Eastern Dialect, a Return to the Peninsula

شَرقِيّ root: ش-ر-ق / nisba adjective / definition: eastern It’s funny. In the summer, I was preparing to spend my winter studying in Jeddah, but ended up cancelling my plans for one reason and the other. And now we’re nearing the end of December, I’m here in Jeddah—on completely different terms. I’m on a four-cityContinue reading “An Eastern Dialect, a Return to the Peninsula”

Three Arabic Words for “Sleeplessness”

سَهْران root: س-ه-ر / adjective / definition: sleepless Here I sit, nearby suitcase half-packed with un-ironed clothes, and I remember that it’s been a while since our last post in the synonyms series. In fact, it was over two months ago—so, before my move—that I wrote Seventeen Arabic Words for Peace and my thesaurus-inclined mind cravesContinue reading “Three Arabic Words for “Sleeplessness””

Winter, Visas, Bowl

صَحْن root: ص-ح-ن / noun / plural: صُحون / definition: bowl, dish In case any one of you hadn’t noticed that daylight hours have dwindled to their almost-minimum: it’s winter. (And if you actually hadn’t noticed, I apologise for being the bearer of this heavy news.) That is, of course, unless you’re over on theContinue reading “Winter, Visas, Bowl”

Arabic Observations: The Root of Falling, and Love

مَهْوًى root: ه-و-ي / noun of place and time / plural: مَهاوٍ / definition: abyss I love little linguistic crossovers between languages. The ones where we find that two or more languages, far-removed in terms of place and origin, express a particular concept through the same semantic lens. Maybe I love them because they revealContinue reading “Arabic Observations: The Root of Falling, and Love”

Dictionary Finds: A Form XIV Verb

نادِر root: ن-د-ر / adjective, form I active participle / definition: uncommon, rare As they say, one discovery in the dictionary leads to another. So that’s why—for the second week in a row—I couldn’t resist adding to the Dictionary Finds series. And this time, our dictionary find brings us back to an uncommon triliteral verbContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: A Form XIV Verb”

Dictionary Finds: The Thursday Before الخميس

خَميس root: خ-م-س / noun / definition: Thursday Last Thursday marked my move into my twenty-ninth year of life, which makes me twenty-eight in some cultures and twenty-nine in others—and makes me closer to twenty-one in my head. But it’s not like numbers really matter. Except in the case of the days of the weekContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: The Thursday Before الخميس”

Reading Arabic Literature: Settling in and Heading Back

اِسْتِقْرار root: ق-ر-ر / form X verbal noun / definition: settling down, stability For the past month, studying productively (and at all) has been a struggle. I’ve been settling into a new life and trying to settle back into a study routine—at a time that my annual, late-autumn sleepiness lulls me into cognitive numbness. I’mContinue reading “Reading Arabic Literature: Settling in and Heading Back”

Arabic Observations: Reflections on حصحص and the Truth

اِستِطْراد root: ط-ر-د / form X verbal noun / definition: digression I was browsing my notes on Notion, seeking inspiration for today’s post, when one little word pulled at my eyelashes and demanded attention. So the title thus began to take form, and I headed to the dictionary where my semantics addiction took hold andContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Reflections on حصحص and the Truth”