Tag Archives: vocabulary

Arabic Headline Analysis #11

صَديقة root: ص-د-ق / feminine noun / plural: صَديقات / definition: friend Has it really been over a year since I last wrote an Arabic headline analysis? My archives nod “yes” and guilt sinks me into my chair. I think of my friend who was the inspiration behind both the headline analysis and literature translationContinue reading “Arabic Headline Analysis #11”

Arabic Observations: Solace Through Forgetting

التَّأَمُّل root: ء-م-ل / form V verbal noun / definition: reflection, contemplation I’ve been in a reflective mood lately. And it’s the type of reflection that is directly opposed to productivity rather than one that drives it: consuming, daydreamy, paralysing. As such, it made sense for me to write a reflective post today, adding toContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Solace Through Forgetting”

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”

Four Weeks, and Three Arabic Phrases

العَوْم root: ع-و-م / form I verbal noun / definition: floating I returned to London yesterday with my glasses broken, heart full, and mind a mess. Those four weeks in Majorca, in my childhood home and bedroom with the sea-blue curtains I’ve had for the past twenty years, felt like too little time to honourContinue reading “Four Weeks, and Three Arabic Phrases”

Dictionary Finds: A Page of Woe

مُخَلِّص root: خ-ل-ص / form II active participle / definition: saviour, Salvador These days, I’ve been thinking a lot about Salvador—the diabetic former boxer who drove my mum and I to the airport two years ago. He was driving between motorway lanes whilst scrolling through photos on his phone to share with us and pullingContinue reading “Dictionary Finds: A Page of Woe”