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: verb forms
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”
Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence
التَّدَرُّج root: د-ر-ج / form V verbal noun / definition: gradual advance or progression I’ve gone straight from floating to hitting the ground running. And between that landing and my approaching take-off, things have progressed unexpectedly quickly in the space of a week. I could get used to this pace. But Arabic’s form VI verbsContinue reading “Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence”
إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots
صُداع root: ص-د-ع / noun / definition: headache I keep forgetting I’m 27. In my head, I’m already 28, and I’m not sure why. It’s slightly ironic that I can’t digest the number 27; it seems I recognise 27 in everything but myself. (I wonder if I lost a year in the time difference betweenContinue reading “إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots”
Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an
مَخْفيّ root: خ-ف-ي / adjective / definition: hidden, concealed Last week, I attended an online talk about developing a writing system for Cypriot Arabic. As a Cypriot linguist who’s studying Arabic, I kind of couldn’t miss it. I hadn’t realised, though, that it was a “camera-on” event—so I quickly threw on a headscarf and smoothedContinue reading “Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an”
Root Exploration: ر-ح-م
رَحّال root: ر-ح-ل / adjective / plural: رُحَّل / definition: nomadic Every now and then, a wave of embarrassment that I thought had ebbed into nonexistence surges over me once more. Once upon a time, I received feedback for one of my undergrad Linguistics essays and was mortified to find that the teacher had correctedContinue reading “Root Exploration: ر-ح-م”
Arabic Epiphanies in Akkadian Class: خلق, the Rule of 12, and 19 Verb Forms
خَلَقَ root: خ-ل-ق / form I verb / definition: to create I’ve taken on a few new projects recently which have made for an exciting–albeit very busy—week. My tranquil Monday mood helped me to take everything in my stride… and the giant pizza over a business dinner didn’t hurt mood-wise either. But in between reviewingContinue reading “Arabic Epiphanies in Akkadian Class: خلق, the Rule of 12, and 19 Verb Forms”
Root Exploration: ء-ب-د
دَهْر root: د-ه-ر / noun / plural: دُهور / definition: long period of time, epoch If you’ve been reading closely, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been talking about time a lot lately. My term of studying here in Doha officially ends next week, and it’s as though I’m inside an hourglass trying to grapple withContinue reading “Root Exploration: ء-ب-د”
The “Would-Be” Active Participle in Arabic
مُتَفَلْسِف root: ف-ل-س-ف / form II quadriliteral active participle / definition: philosophaster There’s something comforting about being in this library as the Sun goes down and spills through the vast windows in waves of golden orange light, deluging everything around me in a soft, forgiving glow. Or maybe I’m just a would-be academic romanticising thisContinue reading “The “Would-Be” Active Participle in Arabic”
Form I Active Participles of Hollow Roots
فَراغ root: ف-ر-غ / noun / definition: void, emptiness I’m wrapping up my last week in London for the next few months on the emptiness of fallen-through plans and the urge to claw out a silent space to curl up in and calm my mind. In the corner of my field of vision, I seeContinue reading “Form I Active Participles of Hollow Roots”
Root Exploration: ع-ذ-ب
سِلْسِلة root: س-ل-س-ل / noun / plural: سَلاسِل / definition: series, chain Due to an unexpected series of events, I found myself this weekend somewhere I never thought I’d go: mini golf. As it turns out, I’m quite the pro (for a beginner, anyway). But I bring myself back to more familiar territory now, asContinue reading “Root Exploration: ع-ذ-ب”
Root Exploration: ج-ن-ح
طائِرة root: ط-ي-ر / active participle of form I / plural: طائِرات / definition: airplane A wise woman I met in the Jordanian desert told me to always have my next flight booked before the end of a trip. Good advice that I didn’t take at the time, and that now has me searching forContinue reading “Root Exploration: ج-ن-ح”
Imperatives of Sound Form I Verbs
سَجّادة root: س-ج-د / noun / plural: سَجاجيد / definition: carpet On the weekend, I returned from an expectation-exceeding week-long stay in beautiful Baku, Azerbaijan. And I would jump on the five-and-a-half hour flight again in a heartbeat, even just to get my hands on the perfect xalça that I didn’t have time to shopContinue reading “Imperatives of Sound Form I Verbs”
Arabic Observations: “Seeking” in Arabic and Turkish
لُغَويّ root: ل-غ-و / nisba adjective / definition: linguistic I’ve been toying with the idea of writing this Arabic Observations post for a while, but I was unsure whether it’s too small of an observation to be added to this series. I’ve since concluded, however, that no linguistic observation is too small to be noted.Continue reading “Arabic Observations: “Seeking” in Arabic and Turkish”
Form I Defective Verbs: ا or و or ي or ى?
ناقِص root: ن-ق-ص / active participle of form I / definition: defective, incomplete Defective verbs are those with either ي or و as their final root letter. For defective verbs, this final root letter appears as one of four letters when conjugated: ا or و or ي or ى. So, how can we tell whatContinue reading “Form I Defective Verbs: ا or و or ي or ى?”
Verbal Nouns of Hollow Roots
مَصْدَر root: ص-د-ر / noun / plural: مَصادِر / definition: verbal noun, source Back in June, when we looked at the different types of Arabic roots, we mentioned that hollow roots are those with either و or ي as the middle letter. Like ق-و-ل and غ-ي-ر. Verbal nouns (مصادر) derived from hollow roots sometimes followContinue reading “Verbal Nouns of Hollow Roots”
Form I Active Participles of Geminate Roots
مُضَعَّف root: ض-ع-ف / passive participle of form II / definition: doubled, geminate As we saw in the post Arabic Roots: the Different Types, geminate roots are those whose final two letters are the same. Like م-س-س or ح-ر-ر. When it comes to the form I active participle of geminate roots then, we might expect itsContinue reading “Form I Active Participles of Geminate Roots”
Active Participles of Defective Roots
مُمارَسة root: م-ر-س / verbal noun of form III / definition: practice So I got the chance to practise speaking Arabic today and it’s safe to say that I’m… rusty. I shouldn’t be overly surprised seeing as it’s somehow been three and a half months since my final Arabic oral exam in Jordan, and I’veContinue reading “Active Participles of Defective Roots”
Root Exploration: م-د-ن
مُصابَة root: ص-و-ب / passive participle of form IV (feminine) / definition: afflicted, ill After more than two years of successfully dodging Covid, it finally caught me—and my parents—out. At least there’s some solidarity. That annoying cough is still plaguing me as I type this and, over the weekend, I was suffering the worst soreContinue reading “Root Exploration: م-د-ن”
The Case of امّحق: Form VII Assimilation
مُماثَلة root: م-ث-ل / verbal noun of form III / definition: assimilation (phonology) There’s less than three weeks until my study abroad module begins which means I’ll be jetting off very soon for a relaxing break an intensive period of Arabic study in Jordan. It really can’t come soon enough because I’ve forgotten almost allContinue reading “The Case of امّحق: Form VII Assimilation”
The Arabic Pages 