Arabic vocabulary
هَوَىdesire
How to say “desire” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
وإن غرست شَجَرَة الجهل والهوى كان الثمر مرًّا
If the tree of ignorance and desire is planted, the fruit will be bitter.
وَالْهَوَى — and desire. wa- = 'and'; al- = 'the'; hawa means 'whim, low desire' — joined in the 'of…' phrase.
From: Knowledge, Reverence, Obedience →وَقَاوَمَ الْهَوَى
And it resisted desires.
الْهَوَى — desires. 'al-' = 'the'; object of the verb.
From: Intellect and Faith →فَإِذَا تُرِكَ وَسُلْطَانَهُ أَسَرَ فُضُولَ الْهَوَى
So when it is left to its authority, it captures the excess of desire.
الْهَوَى — desires. 'al-' = 'the'; the 'of' word (genitive).
From: Intellect and Faith →وَلا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُدَالَّ الْهَوَى عَلَيْهِ
And desire should not prevail over it.
الْهَوَى — desire. 'al-' = 'the'; subject here ('be given the upper hand to desire').
From: Intellect and Faith →اعْلَمْ أَنَّ مُطْلَقَ الْهَوَى يَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّذَّةِ الْحَاضِرَةِ مِنْ غَيْرِ فِكْرٍ فِي عَاقِبَةٍ
Know that unchecked desire calls towards immediate pleasure without considering the consequences.
الْهَوَى — desire. The owning noun that finishes the pair ('the unchecked of DESIRE'), so it holds the 'the' for both. Its ending stays unmarked because this word-type carries no surface vowel.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَكَفَى بِهَذَا الْقَدْرِ مَدْحًا لِلْعَقْلِ وَذَمًّا لِلْهَوَى
This alone is sufficient to praise reason and criticize desire.
لِلْهَوَى — for desire. Mirrors the earlier 'for reason': li- pointing the blame at its target, genitive, with the 'the' folded in.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →أَلا تَرَى أَنَّ الطِّفْلَ يُؤْثِرُ مَا يَهْوَى وَإِنْ أَدَّاهُ إِلَى التَّلَفِ
Do you not see that a child prefers what he desires, even if it leads to his ruin?
يَهْوَى — he desires. Present-tense verb with 'he' built in, completing 'what he craves'; its final long vowel belongs to this verb's pattern, not to any ending.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَقَدْ يَقَعُ التَّسَاوِي بَيْنَهُمَا فِي الْمَيْلِ بِالْهَوَى
And there may be equality between them in inclination towards desire.
بِالْهَوَى — by desire. The bi- here marks accompaniment, not direction — the leaning that goes along WITH desire, not 'toward' it. The 'the' is folded into the word.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَإِذَا عَرَفَ الْعَاقِلُ أَنَّ الْهَوَى يَصِيرُ غَالِبًا
If the rational person knows that desire becomes dominant,
الْهَوَى — desire. Subject of the reported clause, but accusative because the 'that' governs the noun right after it. Its ending stays hidden — this word-type carries no surface vowel.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَيَأْمُرُهُ عِنْدَ وُقُوعِ الشُّبْهَةِ بِاسْتِعْمَالِ الأَحْوَطِ فِي كَفِّ الْهَوَى
And it will instruct him, when in doubt, to use the safer option to curb desire.
الْهَوَى — desire. The owner finishing 'in the restraining of desire'; genitive, holding the 'the'. Its ending stays hidden — this word-type takes no surface vowel.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَيَنْبَغِي لِلْعَاقِلِ أَنْ يَتَمَرَّنَ عَلَى دَفْعِ الْهَوَى الْمَأْمُونِ الْعَوَاقِبِ
The rational person should train himself to resist even desire whose consequences are safe.
الْهَوَى — desire. The owner completing 'the fending-off of desire'; genitive, holding the 'the', then described by the words that follow.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَلَوْ زَالَ رَيْنُ الْهَوَى عَنْ بَصَرِ بَصِيرَتِهِ لَرَأَى أَنَّهُ قَدْ شَقِيَ مِنْ حَيْثُ قَدَّرَ السَّعَادَةَ وَاغْتَمَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ ظَنَّ الْفَرَحَ وَأَلِمَ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَرَادَ اللَّذَّةَ
If the veil of desire were lifted from the eyes of his insight, he would see that he is miserable where he thought he was happy, grieved where he thought he was joyous, and in pain where he sought pleasure.
الْهَوَى — of desire. The owner completing 'the film of desire'; genitive, holding the 'the'. Its ending stays hidden — this word-type takes no surface vowel.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →غير مُهْملَة وَلَا مُرْسلَة تَحت حكم الطبيعة والهوى
Not neglected or left uncontrolled under the rule of nature and desire.
وَالْهَوَى — and desire. 'And' plus 'whim / craving', parallel genitive owner — paired with nature. Together they are the rule the disciplined acts escape.
From: Humility Before the Divine →غير أَن زَوْبَعَة الْهوى إِذا ثارت
Except that when the storm of desire rages,
الْهَوَى — of desire. 'Caprice / desire', the owner completing 'the storm of desire', genitive (a weak ending, so unmarked). The gusting whim that blinds.
From: Overcoming Desire →يدْخل عَلَيْك لص الْهوى وَأَنت فِي زَاوِيَة التَّعَبُّد
The thief of desires enters upon you while you are in the corner of worship.
الهَوَى — of desires. 'Caprice / desire', the owner completing 'the thief of desire', genitive (a weak ending, so unmarked). Desire personified as a burglar.
From: The Path to God's Love →قطعُوا بادية الْهوى بأقدام الْجد
They crossed the desert of passion on the feet of earnestness.
الْهَوَى — of passion. 'Caprice / passion', the owner completing 'the desert of passion', genitive (a weak ending, so unmarked). The wasteland of desire they traversed.
From: Stages of the Seeker →ثم قال اللهم إني أسألك كما سألك إبراهيم وإسماعيل، فاجعل أفئدة من الناس تهوي إليهم
Then he said: O Allah, I ask you as Ibrahim and Ismail asked you, so direct the hearts of the people towards them.
تَهْوِي — direct. A present-tense verb 'incline / lean toward', here describing the hearts as a state, 'hearts that incline'; it agrees with the non-human plural 'hearts' in the feminine-singular form.
From: Bedouin Manners →فقيل له إن إبراهيم وإسماعيل دعوا بأن تهوي أفئدة الناس إلى هذا البيت،
He was told: Indeed, Ibrahim and Ismail prayed that the hearts of the people be directed to this house,
تَهْوِيَ — be directed. A present-tense verb 'incline' in the subjunctive because of the 'that' before it; the changed -a ending marks the inclining as the wished-for aim, not a fact, and it agrees with its subject 'hearts' as a non-human plural.
From: Bedouin Manners →وأنت تدعو بأن تهوي إليهم
And you are praying that they be directed to them!
تَهْوِيَ — be directed. A present-tense verb 'incline' in the subjunctive because of the 'that' before it; the changed -a ending marks the inclining as the wished-for goal, agreeing with 'hearts' as a non-human plural.
From: Bedouin Manners →فقال وهل يصلح أن أدعو بأن تهوي إليَّ وأنا لست بشيء؟
He said: Is it appropriate for me to pray that they be directed to me while I am nothing?
تَهْوِيَ — be directed. A present-tense verb 'incline' in the subjunctive after the 'that' before it; the changed -a ending marks the inclining as the wished-for goal, agreeing with the non-human plural subject.
From: Bedouin Manners →غير أنه زينها وطفل الهوى ذو اغترار،
Yet, He adorned it, and the child of desire is prone to deception,
الهَوَى — of the desire. This is the second, owning half of the 'child of desire' pairing, and it sits in the genitive because any noun that owns the one before it takes that ending. Arabic needs no separate word for 'of' here; the ownership is shown purely by the order and the ending, where English would insert 'of'.
From: Preferring the Hereafter →فمن المختارين يوسف النبي صاح الهوى يا زليخا راودي والعبي،
Among the chosen is the prophet Joseph. Desire called out, 'O Zuleikha, entice and play!'
ٱلْهَوَى — the desire. The al- makes this definite, 'the desire', personified here as the one who calls out. It is the subject of the verb just before it and serves as the doer of that verb, the one whose voice the line reports.
From: The Story of Prophet Joseph →غَيْرُ أَنَّهُ زَيْنُهَا وَطِفْلُ الْهَوَى ذُو إِغْتِرَارٍ،
Except that he adorned it, and the one carried away by desire was full of self-deception.
الْهَوَى — the desire. Carries al- ('the') and completes the possessive link begun by 'child of ...', naming what the person is enslaved to — desire. As the owner end of that chain it takes the genitive ending. The definiteness treats desire as a known, named force.
From: This World Is Short →فَيَرُدُّ جَيْشُ الْهَوَى مَغْلُولًا
Then the army of desire is driven back, bound.
الْهَوَى — the desire. This definite noun is the owner in the 'army of desire' pairing and stands in the genitive. The two nouns are joined just by sitting side by side, with no separate 'of', and this second noun supplies the definiteness for the whole phrase.
From: Three States of the Heart →
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