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””
Tag Archives: synonyms
Seventeen Arabic Words for Peace
سَبْعة root: س-ب-ع / noun / definition: seven Only seven days to go, I remind myself, willing away the days but craving more hours. I’m restless with the wait, yet overwhelmed by all I need to get done before next Tuesday. Despite the dull pangs of stress in my head, my heart is at peaceContinue reading “Seventeen Arabic Words for Peace”
Five Arabic Words for the Metaphorical Heart
وَطَن root: و-ط-ن / noun / plural: أَوْطان / definition: homeland Is your homeland still your homeland if you’ve never set foot on its soil? I don’t give myself much time to come up with an answer because my flight is due to take off in a matter of hours. But perhaps it’s not thatContinue reading “Five Arabic Words for the Metaphorical Heart”
Arabic Prepositions: Common and Less So
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”
Seven Arabic Passive Participles Meaning “Infatuated”
طُفولة root: ط-ف-ل / noun / definition: childhood Isn’t it interesting how places from our childhood seem smaller when we revisit them? Maybe it’s that we’ve grown physically—sure—and the space is narrower, relative to our bodies. But maybe it’s also our worldview that has expanded and, subsequently, made our past seem that little bit moreContinue reading “Seven Arabic Passive Participles Meaning “Infatuated””
Seven Phrases of Rage in Arabic
غَضَب root: غ-ض-ب / noun / definition: anger My mind feels switched off today, and I think it’s because I poured out all of my thoughts into the other post. I talked about the word عدن, my PhD status upgrade, and my search for olive leaves to burn. My friend said she liked that metaphor—aboutContinue reading “Seven Phrases of Rage in Arabic”
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”
Four Arabic Phrases Meaning “Unable to Speak”
الاِنجِذاب root: ج-ذ-ب / form VII verbal noun / definition: gravitation (towards, إلى) Since late 2019, I’ve been writing two posts a week on this blog—one of which is always an addition to the Wehr Wednesdays series. Every Wednesday, or just before it, I pick a random word or phrase from my list of “coolContinue reading “Four Arabic Phrases Meaning “Unable to Speak””
Four Dual Nouns Meaning “Day and Night”
نَهار root: ن-ه-ر / noun / plural: أَنهُر / definition: day, daytime At the beginning of the year, we looked at some dual nouns which carry the meaning of “the Sun and the Moon“, because sometimes the dual is used to refer to a pair of things often mentioned together. So, I thought, why don’tContinue reading “Four Dual Nouns Meaning “Day and Night””
Ten Arabic Verbs Meaning “to Support”
قَريباً root: ق-ر-ب / adverb / definition: soon Books seemed to be the gift of choice when I was in Qatar, as I received—I think—eight. With my overly-packed suitcase exceeding 30kg and three more books stuffed into my hand luggage, I managed to take with me all but one. And I left that one, aContinue reading “Ten Arabic Verbs Meaning “to Support””
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”
Six Arabic Verbs Meaning “to Prefer”
حُبّ root: ح-ب-ب / noun / definition: love Deciding to spend the rest of my year studying in Qatar has come with many immediate benefits. For one, it motivated me to finally address a major point of procrastination: sorting through the big bag of miscellanea at the foot of my bed which has been satContinue reading “Six Arabic Verbs Meaning “to Prefer””
Some Arabic Words for “Darkness”
اِسْحِنْكاك root: س-ح-ك / form XIV verbal noun / definition: to be extremely dark Last week for me was full of meetings, meet-ups, appointments, and a good three-hour conversation over dinner. So my productivity and social battery, this week, are dragging their feet to recovery—and taking a few hits on the way. But we’re onContinue reading “Some Arabic Words for “Darkness””
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”
Two Other Ways to Refer to the Arabic Language
يَقْطين root: ق-ط-ن / noun / definition: pumpkin Somehow, and I really don’t know how, I managed to submit my PhD work earlier today despite it not being due until mid next week. I really thought I’d be last-minuting it on Wednesday until the midnight clock struck and I’d turn into a pumpkin… or howeverContinue reading “Two Other Ways to Refer to the Arabic Language”
Three Arabic Verbs for “to Announce”
إِعْلان root: ع-ل-ن / noun / plural: إعْلانات / definition: announcement, declaration There’s a lot on my mind as we approach the end of Ramadan, and I’m faced with some decisions that I didn’t expect to have to make. Decisions that will impact the course of my studies—and life in general—for at least the nextContinue reading “Three Arabic Verbs for “to Announce””
Five Arabic Words Meaning “Nightmare”
فَوْضى root: ف-و-ض / noun / definition: chaos I’ve just emailed a wonderfully chaotic draft of a PhD chapter to my supervisor who, if he’s reading this post, might scoff at the word “wonderfully” coming anywhere near the mention of that calamitous document—the second half of which is a roaring pandemonium of red font andContinue reading “Five Arabic Words Meaning “Nightmare””
Post-Sleep Linguistic Observations and Finds
عَشْوائي root: ع-ش-و / adjective / definition: random I was introduced to the beauty of Babylonian names in a recent Akkadian class and have grown mildly obsessed with the idea of naming my future child (or pet… perhaps a terrapin) with something like May I See Your Light in Akkadian, which I might have toContinue reading “Post-Sleep Linguistic Observations and Finds”
Arabic Words for “Perhaps”
أَمَل root: ء-م-ل / noun / plural: آمال / definition: hope I’ve been feeling a sense of peace recently that had remained elusive for a while. Or maybe I mean a sense of relief. Perhaps it’s to do with the fact that some internal pressure has been lifted, and my mind isn’t beating me upContinue reading “Arabic Words for “Perhaps””
Five Dual Nouns Meaning “the Sun and the Moon”
قَمَر root: ق-م-ر / noun / plural: أَقمار / definition: moon, satellite We usually use dual nouns in Arabic to refer to two of the same thing. Like يَومان, “two days”, and مَكتَبَتان, “two libraries”. But sometimes, the dual is used to refer to two things that are usually mentioned together—like the Sun and theContinue reading “Five Dual Nouns Meaning “the Sun and the Moon””
The Arabic Pages 