Tag Archives: vocabulary

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”

Arabic Observations: الإتباع

إتباع root: ت-ب-ع / verbal noun of form IV / definition: to make something follow something else It was a long time ago when I first realised that a linguistic phenomenon that occurs in various languages—like my heritage language, Turkish—can also be found in Arabic. Now I wish I could remember the exact Arabic exampleContinue reading “Arabic Observations: الإتباع”

Dictionary Finds: ناهيك

ناهٍ root: ن-ه-ي / form I active participle / definition: prohibitive Under certain words in the dictionary, we find a list of their various usages—some collocations, some phrases. ناهٍ—which is a form I active participle from a defective root, ن-ه-ي (hence the kasratayn ending)—is one example of this.

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #11

مُواصَلة root: و-ص-ل / verbal noun of form III / definition: continuation This week we’re continuing on from last week’s literature translation where we went through the first part of our extract:

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #10

سِكّين root: س-ك-ك / noun / plural: سَكاكين / definition: knife As September swept in, I made a resolution to read more in both English and Arabic. Novels, specifically, because I miss getting lost in them as I used to. And I’ve now, for various reasons, found myself in a situation where I have multipleContinue reading “Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #10”

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””

What’s the Difference Between ابن and بن?

اِبْن root: ب-ن / noun / plural: أَبْناء or بَنون / definition: son Having finished my master’s, I took myself to the Tate Modern last week and wandered around the galleries and the exhibitions I’d booked to see. I was clearly inspired by the trip because I picked up my paintbrush again a few eveningsContinue reading “What’s the Difference Between ابن and بن?”

Master’s, Completed

التَّسليم root: س-ل-م / verbal noun of form II / definition: submitting, submission Yesterday I submitted my dissertation and, with it, completed my master’s degree in Advanced Arabic! The dissertation deadline was actually today, so I wasn’t scrambling to finish like I thought I might be. I realised I was thankfully cruising through to submissionContinue reading “Master’s, Completed”

Arabic Observations: Arabic Plurals

الجَمْع root: ج-م-ع / noun / definition: the plural I’m back from my little Venice getaway and straight back to working on my dissertation. Well… I mean, of course I took a day’s rest because, you know… jet lag, or something. I think those few days away from my laptop were worth the extra stressContinue reading “Arabic Observations: Arabic Plurals”

Meanings of منذ

رِحْلة root: ر-ح-ل / noun / plural: رِحلات / definition: a trip My mini summer getaway is just around the corner… and my dissertation deadline is almost just as close. I’ll try not to stress just yet, but with roughly 10,000 words left to write, I’m sure that the adrenaline will come in handy whenContinue reading “Meanings of منذ”