لُجوء root: ل-ج-ء / form I verbal noun / definition: refuge It’s the final week of the first semester, which means I’ll soon have five weeks to completely focus on my PhD without thinking about teaching. At the end of the first semester last year, I wrote the post The مَـ of Place and Time,Continue reading “Ten Arabic Place Nouns for “Refuge””
Tag Archives: synonyms
Three Ways to Say “There is” in Arabic
ضَوْء root: ض-و-ء / noun / plural: أَضْواء / definition: light I feel like a heavy door has flung open and let light flood in since I wrote about my deepening winter blues two weeks back. Maybe it’s my increased vitamin D dosage. Or maybe entering my twenty-sixth year of life brought with it lotsContinue reading “Three Ways to Say “There is” in Arabic”
Some Arabic Words and Phrases for “to Cry”
دَمْع root: د-م-ع / noun / plural: دُموع / definition: tear October is the month of the pomegranate, according to the fruit tree calendar on my wall. Which means I’m begrudgingly ushering in the wintery months where a gloomy disposition clouds over me and clings on until the dawn of spring. It happens every yearContinue reading “Some Arabic Words and Phrases for “to Cry””
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”
Arabic Verbs for “to Look at” (Part 2)
نَظَر root: ن-ظ-ر / noun / plural: أَنْظار / definition: sight, view We’re adding to our synonyms series this week, with part two of Arabic Verbs for “to Look at”. And this time, we’re including some phrases. Let’s get into it:
Three Arabic Phrases Meaning “to Take Someone’s Place”
اِستِبْدال root: ب-د-ل / verbal noun of form X / definition: replacement Back in December, we explored the مَـ of place and time. Today, we’re taking a look at three phrases meaning “to take someone or something’s place” that combine a verb with a place noun from the same root:
Arabic Words for “Eternity”
جَزيرة root: ج-ز-ر / noun / plural: جُزُر / definition: island I’ve spent the past week reconnecting with my home from home: backpacking around Majorca and reacquainting myself with its beaches and towns, and visiting the school I once attended for a year in our village in the south of the island. Ah, those irresistibleContinue reading “Arabic Words for “Eternity””
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:
Four Arabic Verbs for “to Bring”
آخَر root: ء-خ-ر / adjective / definition: other We’re adding another post to the synonyms series today by looking at four ways to say “to bring” in Arabic.
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”
Solidarity and Coming Together: Seven Verbal Nouns in Arabic
كارِثة root: ك-ر-ث / noun / plural: كَوارِث / definition: catastrophe We’ve all no doubt heard about the earthquakes that struck this week, affecting parts of Türkiye and Syria. And perhaps most of us have seen photos and videos of the catastrophic consequences. Alongside the horrors, we’ve also seen people coming together and joining forcesContinue reading “Solidarity and Coming Together: Seven Verbal Nouns in Arabic”
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…
Seven Arabic Phrases Meaning “and so on”
مَهارة root: م-ه-ر / noun / plural: مَهارات / definition: skill A great way to hint at your remarkable ability to provide countless examples in a list (thereby convincing whoever’s reading your essay of your expert knowledge of the topic), is to end your lists with a phrase like “and so on”. So, what areContinue reading “Seven Arabic Phrases Meaning “and so on””
Arabic Synonyms Meaning “Resistance”
ثَلْج root: ث-ل-ج / noun / plural: ثُلوج / definition: snow, ice I couldn’t resist wrapping up in all my layers this morning around sunrise to venture out into the garden and ramble through the thick snow blanketing the decking. My mum handed me some dried remnants of the floral arrangements we’ve had displayed aroundContinue reading “Arabic Synonyms Meaning “Resistance””
Six Arabic Words for “Ocean” or “Sea”
ماء root: م-و-ه / noun / plural: مِياه / definition: water Autumn is officially here. And I’m sure of this because I’m wearing two pairs of socks, as I’m forced to every autumn or winter because my feet turn to ice—although my parents always tell me it’s not that cold and walk around as thoughContinue reading “Six Arabic Words for “Ocean” or “Sea””
Three Arabic Verbs for “to Show”
الثُّلاثاء root: ث-ل-ث / noun / definition: Tuesday Tuesday feels a little sleepy this week but I have no time to nap. My weekend was spent packing up the things I had left in my university flat which involved an eight-hour round trip (actually, nine with the traffic on the way back) and no progressContinue reading “Three Arabic Verbs for “to Show””
Three Ways to Say “Seize the Opportunity” in Arabic
حَرّ root: ح-ر-ر / noun / definition: heat I’ve been making the most of the heat and sun these two days with (very) mini sunbathing sessions in the garden fuelled by several litres of water and regular respite inside the somewhat-cooler house. Living in the UK, I feel like I need to make the mostContinue reading “Three Ways to Say “Seize the Opportunity” in Arabic”
Four Words for “Contradiction” in Arabic
قِطار root: ق-ط-ر / noun / plural: قِطارات / definition: train I’m back in London as of Sunday and I’m relieved. It feels much less… claustrophobic. The two-hour train journey here was neither fun nor productive though, because although I had planned to get some dissertation reading done on the journey, I only managed aboutContinue reading “Four Words for “Contradiction” in Arabic”
Some Form VI Verbs for “to Compete with One Another”
مُنافَسة root: ن-ف-س / verbal noun of form III / plural: مُنافَسات / definition: competition Form VI verbs typically refer to some sort of exchange, or mutual action. And competition, by nature, involves mutual participation. So let’s explore some of the form VI verbs that mean “to compete with one another”, and the roots they’reContinue reading “Some Form VI Verbs for “to Compete with One Another””
Eight Ways to Say “to Die” in Arabic
وَفاة root: و-ف-ي / noun / plural: وَفَيات / definition: death There’s life… and there’s death. And we have to know how to talk about both in Arabic. So I thought I’d compile a (non-exhaustive) list of words and phrases we can use to talk about the latter. (On a side note: a pat onContinue reading “Eight Ways to Say “to Die” in Arabic”
The Arabic Pages 