Tag Archives: vocabulary

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”

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”

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”

Four Arabic Verbs Meaning “to Urge”

مُغامَرة root: غ-م-ر / noun / plural: مُغامَرات / definition: adventure Somehow, my classmates and I are nearly halfway through our Amman adventure, and with all the new words and phrases we’ve been picking up, I couldn’t resist writing a vocabulary-based post this week. Now the specific set of synonyms in this post—which all meanContinue reading “Four Arabic Verbs Meaning “to Urge””

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”

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”

Root Exploration: د-ل-ه-م

ضَحْك root: ض-ح-ك / verbal noun of form I / definition: laughter After two hours and countless retakes, my classmate and I finally managed to record 20 minutes of Arabic conversation today for an assessment. Yes, that’s two hours of attempts for 20 minutes of usable footage. Honestly though, most of the retakes started soonContinue reading “Root Exploration: د-ل-ه-م”

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”