Tag Archives: hans wehr

Another Small But Useful Phrase: جاء في

تَقرير root: ق-ر-ر / verbal noun of form II / plural: تَقارير / definition: report With my last deadline until September out of the way as of Monday, my brain has finally had time to do… nothing. And it’s really needed that break to be honest—since we started semester two way back in January, it’sContinue reading “Another Small But Useful Phrase: جاء في”

Dictionary Finds: أيِس

وَثائِقي root: و-ث-ق / adjective / definition: documentary I’ve spent the past few days furiously (and, sometimes, frustratedly) editing the mini documentary I have to submit for an Arabic assessment. I say “mini”, but creating a 30-minute video with footage from Jordan and videos I shot here in my flat of me speaking face-to-camera—with myContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: أيِس”

Dictionary Finds: لا تدمري

اِكتِشاف root: ك-ش-ف / verbal noun of form VIII / plural: اِكتِشافات / definition: a discovery, find There are certain words and phrases you’ll come across in the Arabic dictionary that’ll stick with you for some reason or other, despite you never having heard them uttered or seen them written down elsewhere. For me, theContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: لا تدمري”

Arabic Observations: More Word Twins

مَزيد root: ز-ي-د / noun / definition: more Over two years ago, I wrote about a phenomenon which I like to call “word twins” in an Arabic Observations post. In summary: […] there are some Arabic words you’ll find that have essentially the same meaning, but they differ by a single letter. Sometimes it’ll beContinue reading “Arabic Observations: More Word Twins”

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”

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”