حالة root: ح-و-ل / noun / plural: حالات / definition: state, case, condition In the post Treasures in Translation, I used a quote from an article to illustrate a cool translation point—the quote being: وما ينذر بالسوء أن درجة حرارة الأرض أصبحت الآن أعلى مما كانت عليه خلال عصر الهولوسين …and the translation point beingContinue reading “What Does مما كان عليه Mean?”
Tag Archives: how to say
Forming “Too X to X” Constructions in Arabic
بَعيد root: ب-ع-د / adjective / definition: far, distant How do we form constructions like “too far away to see” or “too young to understand” in Arabic? Let’s take a look!
Arabic Observations: Time of Day and “to Become” Synonyms
وَقْت root: و-ق-ت / noun / plural: أَوْقات / definition: time The first post in the synonyms series was Four Common Words for “to Become” in Arabic. By definition, the verb “to become” is inherently linked to time—it indicates that something first wasn’t and then came to be afterwards. But the synonyms of “to become” inContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Time of Day and “to Become” Synonyms”
Six Ways to Say “Can” or “to be Able to” in Arabic
قُدْرَة root: ق-د-ر / noun / plural: قُدُرات / definition: ability, capability For the vast majority of us, this past year has swirled into a nebulous stretch of time—a calendar that’s run away with itself and plunged into senselessness. One of the only things punctuating my weeks has been writing these posts (the Wehr WednesdaysContinue reading “Six Ways to Say “Can” or “to be Able to” in Arabic”
Four Particles That Mean “So That”
حَرْف root: ح-ر-ف / noun / plural: حُروف / definition: letter, (grammatical) particle It’s never too soon for another synonyms post, so this week we’re taking a look at four different particles we can use to express purpose—they can all be translated as “so that” or “in order to“.
Three Ways to Say “One of” in Arabic
واحِد root: و-ح-د / active participle of form I / definition: one Do you know the different ways to say “one of” in Arabic? It seems quite a simple thing, but I remember that I didn’t actually learn these three ways until my third year of university. And if you haven’t learnt them yet, keepContinue reading “Three Ways to Say “One of” in Arabic”
Four Arabic Roots to Express the Phrase “on the Verge of”
أَرْبَعَة root: ر-ب-ع / noun / definition: four We couldn’t go much longer without another synonyms post (even though my posts-to-write list is ever-expanding with other wonderful things)—so this week we’re taking a look at four different roots that we can use to express the meaning of “on the verge of” in Arabic.