Arabic vocabulary
خَيَّرَchoose in Arabic
خَيَّرَ is how you say “choose” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root خ ي ر (kh-y-r)verb (form II)Pronounced khayyara
Meaning of choose in Arabic
- give someone a choice, let them choose — typically with بين (between) two things or options
- prefer, favor one thing over another
- judge as superior, declare the winner — in the passive خُيِّر, said of a contest or dispute
خيّر is causative: it means to offer or give someone a choice, not to choose oneself (that is اختار). Hadith reports use it this way, e.g. giving someone a choice between two houses; the passive خُيِّر can also mean a person was judged the winner of a dispute.
Words from the same root
- خَيْرٌgood, good things; wealth
- اختارto choose, select, or prefer
- استخارto seek God's guidance in choosing
- خَايَرَto compete in goodness and surpass
Common questions
- How do you say "choose" in Arabic?
- خَيَّرَ (khayyara) means to give someone a choice between options; to choose something yourself is اختار (ikhtāra), from the same root.
- What does the root خ-ي-ر mean?
- It centers on goodness and choosing the better of two things, the opposite of شرّ (evil); خَيْرٌ is the noun for "good" itself.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وَإِنَّ الأَحْمَقَ يُخَيِّرُ نَفْسَهُ فِي الأَخْلاقِ فَمَا أَحَبَّتْ مِنْهَا أَحَبَّ وَمَا كَرِهَتْ مِنْهَا كَرِهَ
And indeed, the foolish lets his soul choose in matters of conduct, so what it likes, he likes, and what it dislikes, he dislikes.
يُخَيِّرُ — lets choose. Present-tense verb 'yukhayyiru' = 'he gives a choice to'; subject 'he' is built in.
From: Faith as Light →
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