Arabic vocabulary
صَحِيحٌauthentic in Arabic
صَحِيحٌ is how you say “authentic” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root ص ح ح (ṣ-ḥ-ḥ)adjective (verbal adjective / ṣifa mushabbaha, faʿīl pattern)Pronounced ṣaḥīḥ
Meaning of authentic in Arabic
- healthy, sound, free from disease — of a body or a person; the physical, literal sense
- sound, valid, true, correct, authentic — figurative use: free from any defect, flaw, or ground for doubt — applied to testimony, a claim, a saying, a contract, or a legal ruling being established and unimpeachable
Ṣaḥīḥ starts from the literal sense of bodily health (opposite of illness) and is extended, by the same logic, to anything free of defect or doubt: a saying that is true, testimony that holds up, a right that is established, a contract properly executed. This figurative use — "sound/valid/authentic" rather than merely "true" — is the sense behind the modern gloss "authentic."
Words from the same root
- صَحَّto be/become healthy, or to recover from illness; also to be or prove true, valid, sound
- صِحَّةٌhealth, soundness of body; also validity/soundness of a claim or statement
- صحّحهُto restore someone to health; also to correct or rectify a text or an account
- اصحّهُto find a person to be healthy; or to have one's family or livestock in a healthy state
- صَحْصَحَfor a thing or matter to become distinct, clear, or manifest
Common questions
- How do you say "authentic" in Arabic?
- صَحِيحٌ (ṣaḥīḥ).
- Does ṣaḥīḥ only mean physically healthy?
- No — it starts from 'healthy, free of disease' but is just as commonly used figuratively for something sound, valid, correct, or authentic, such as a statement, a piece of testimony, or a contract.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
ولهذا ثبت في الصحيح عن النبي ﷺ
And this is why it was affirmed in the authentic narration from the Prophet ﷺ:
الصَّحِيحِ — the authentic narration. A noun-from-adjective, 'the Sound (collection)', in the genitive after 'in' and made specific by 'al-'. It names the recognized body of verified reports.
From: Deeds for God Alone →هذا هو الصحيح في معنى الآية
This is the correct interpretation of the verse.
الصَّحِيحُ — the correct. This noun 'the correct/sound' is the predicate of 'this is the correct', made definite by 'the', in the plain ending. It identifies the interpretation as the sound one and heads into the 'in the meaning' phrase that follows.
From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →فَالنِّيَّاتُ لَا تُغْنِي وَحْدَهَا إِذَا كَانَ الْعَمَلُ
Related words
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