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كَذَبَ deny in Arabic

كَذَبَ is how you say “deny” in Arabic.

Root ك ذ ب k-dh-b. verb (form I). kadhaba.

Arabic

English

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Meaning of deny in Arabic

  1. to lie, speak falsely the core sense, covering a deliberate lie as well as an honest, unintentional error
  2. to deny, declare untrue e.g. 'mā kadhaba l-fuʾādu mā raʾā' — the mind did not deny what it saw (Qur'an 53:11)
  3. to prove false, fail to come true said of a hope, a dream, or lightning that promises rain but gives none

Example sentence

قد كنا يا رسول الله نكذبك بما تأتينا به من خبر السماء،

We used to deny you, O Messenger of Allah, concerning what you brought us from the news of the heavens,

نُكَذِّبُكَ we deny you

Present-tense verb 'call a liar, deny', 'we' form (the 'nu-' = we); the ending '-ka' adds 'you' — 'we used to deny you'.

From Early Converts to Islam

The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used

Common in the Qur'an, including of hopes, dreams, and omens that turn out false, not just human speech. Also used figuratively of the eye or judgment 'lying', i.e. deceiving someone.

Words from the same root

More example sentences

كَذَبَت عادُ فكيفَ كانَ عَذابِي وَنُذُرِ

'Aad denied, so how was My punishment and My warnings?

كَذَبَتْ it denied

A past-tense verb with a built-in feminine-singular 'it/she' subject, agreeing with the tribe-name that follows, which Arabic treats as feminine. The internal subject means no separate pronoun is written, and the feminine ending ties the denying to that named people.

From Rain and God's Decree

محدث يكذب في حديثه ، ويختلق الفشارات ،

A narrator lies in his narration and fabricates falsehoods,

يَكْذِبُ he lies

This is a present-tense verb, 'he lies', with its subject built in, describing the narrator. The whole clause works like an adjective attached to the indefinite noun before it; the doer is carried within the verb's form.

From True Devotion

قَالَ أَمَّا إِنَّهُ قَدْ كَذَبَكَ وَسَيَعُودُ

He said, "As for him, he has indeed lied to you and he will return."

كَذَبَكَ lied to you

A past-tense verb with its 'he' subject built in and an attached 'you' pronoun as the one lied to. This verb takes its target directly, with no linking preposition, so 'lied to you' is one word holding act, doer, and the person deceived.

From The Verse of the Throne

كَذَبْتَ وَاللَّهِ يَا عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ،

By God, you have lied, O enemy of God.

كَذَبْتَ you have lied

A past verb with a '-ta' tail fixing the doer as a single male 'you'; the addressee-subject is built into the verb. It hurls a completed 'you have lied' straight at the listener.

From A Companion at Battle

فَقَالَ كَذَبَ سَعْدٌ، وَلَكِنْ هَذَا يَوْمٌ يُعَظِّمُ اللَّهُ فِيهِ الْكَعْبَةَ،

He said, "Sa'd lied; but this is a day on which God magnifies the Kaaba."

كَذَبَ he lied

A past-tense verb 'he lied / spoke falsely', its doer named next. It is the blunt main statement of the reply, with the subject 'Sa'd' following in the regular verb-then-subject order.

From Conquest of Mecca Account

فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَذَبَ مَنْ قَالَهُ،

So the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever said that lied."

كَذَبَ he lied

A plain past verb stating the main point of the Prophet's reply: someone lied. It carries its subject from the 'whoever' clause that follows, and stands as the predicate the quotation drives at.

From The Martyr's Reward

وَكَذَبَ فِيمَا ادَّعَاهُ،

And he lied about what he claimed.

وَكَذِبٌ and he lied

This joins a linking 'and' to a past verb 'lied' carrying its own 'he' subject. The 'and' chains the action on, and the verb states the falsehood as a completed past act.

From An Exiled Scholar's Trials

وَيْلًا لِلَّذِي يُحَدِّثُ النَّاسَ فَيَكْذِبُ لِيَضْحَكَ النَّاسُ

Woe to the one who tells people things and lies to make them laugh.

فَيَكْذِبُ and lies

Front fa- chains this onto the prior verb with a 'and so / consequently' sense; the rest is a present-tense verb with its 'he' subject built in. The fa- ties the lying to the telling as its next step, 'and then lies'.

From Permissible Laughter and Conduct

فيقول لهم إن ربي غضب اليوم غضباً لم يغضب قبله مثله، ولن يغضب بعده مثله، وإني كنت كذبت ثلاث كذبات، نفسي نفسي نفسي، اذهبوا إلى غيري،

He will say to them: "My Lord has become angry today with an anger like none before or after. Indeed, I told three lies. Myself, myself, myself! Go to someone else."

كَذَبْتُ told lies

A past verb with the '-tu' ending naming 'I' as the doer; it slots after the 'I was' helper to form a layered past, the speaker's admission of having lied. The doer is marked by the ending, not a separate word.

From The Prophet's Intercession

أعلم أن من استخف بالقرآن أو المصحف أو بشئ منه أو سبهما أو جحد حرفا منه أو كذب بشئ مما صرح به

He knew that whoever belittled the Qur'an or the mus'haf, or any part of it, or insulted both of them, or denied a letter of it, or lied about what it clearly states.

كَذَبَ he lied

A past-tense verb 'lied' continuing the list, its 'he' doer built in. It names the offence of asserting falsehood about the text. Like its siblings it waits on the shared verdict later in the passage.

From Honoring the Quran

قال قاتلت فيك حتى اسُتشهدت، قال كذبت، ولكنك قاتلت لأن يقال جريء، فقد قيل، ثم أمر به، فسحب على وجهه حتى ألقي في النار

He will say: 'I fought for You until I was martyred.' He will say: 'You lie. You fought so that it would be said you are brave; and so it was said.' Then it will be commanded that he be dragged on his face until he is cast into the Fire.

كَذَبْتَ You lie

This is a past-tense verb with 'you' in the ending, 'you lied', addressed straight to the man. It is God's flat rebuttal, setting his claim in completed past time as a falsehood before the true motive is exposed.

From Intentions on Judgment Day

قال تعلمت العلم وعلمته وقرأت فيك القرآن قال كذبت، ولكنك تعلمت ليقال عالم وقرأت القرآن ليقال هو قارئ،

He said, "I learned the knowledge, I taught it, and I recited the Quran in your presence." He said, "You lied. Rather, you learned so that people would call you a scholar, and you recited the Quran so that they would say he is a reciter."

كَذَبْتَ you lied

This is a past-tense verb with 'you' in the ending, 'you lied', addressed straight to the man. It is God's flat rebuttal, setting the claim in completed past time as false before the real motive is named.

From Intentions on Judgment Day

Common questions

How do you say "deny" in Arabic?
كَذَبَ (kadhaba).
Does كَذَبَ always mean a deliberate lie?
No — it also covers an unintentional false statement, a mistaken judgment, or a hope that simply fails to come true.

Related words

Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).