هَوَى desire in Arabic
هَوَى is how you say “desire” in Arabic.
Root ه و ي h-w-y. noun (verbal noun / maṣdar). hawā.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of desire in Arabic
- love, passionate attachment
- inclination of the soul toward something, especially an unlawful or excessive appetite the sense Lane singles out as usually unpraiseworthy, as in the phrase اتّبع هواه, 'he followed his low desire'
- a beloved; an object of love the verbal noun standing for its own object
- an opinion that swerves from the truth (mainly in the plural أَهْوَاء) cf. أهل الأهواء, 'people of misguided opinions'
Example sentence
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.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
هَوَى/الهَوَى most often carries a cautionary shade — the soul's pull toward something, frequently an unlawful or unchecked appetite — rather than neutral wanting; Lane cross-references it with حُبّ for love in the more general sense.
Words from the same root
- أَهْوَى to reach out or stretch forth the hand toward something (form IV)
- هُوَّةٌ a deep pit or hollow in the ground
- هَوَآءٌ open air; an empty, vacant space
- هَاوِيَةٌ an abyss; a bottomless depth
- مَهْوَاةٌ a pit, or the space between two mountains
- هَاوَنٌ a mortar, for pounding
More example sentences
وَقَاوَمَ الْهَوَى
And it resisted desires.
الْهَوَى desires
'al-' = 'the'; object of the verb.
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).
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').
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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'.
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.
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.
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.
Common questions
- How do you say "desire" in Arabic?
- هَوَى (hawā) — the verbal noun for the soul's inclination toward something, often love, but frequently an unlawful or excessive craving.
- What is the difference between هَوَى and حُبّ?
- Both mean love or attachment, but هَوَى usually stresses an unchecked or blameworthy inclination (as in اتّبع هواه, "he followed his own desire"), while حُبّ is the more general word for love.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).