Arabic vocabulary
شاغلdistractor in Arabic
شاغل is how you say “distractor” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ش غ ل (sh-gh-l)noun/adjective (active participle)Pronounced shāghil
Meaning of distractor in Arabic
- that which busies, occupies, or distracts — active participle of شَغَلَ; applied to a person or to an affair
- a distraction, preoccupying concern — seen in the intensive phrase شُغْلٌ شَاغِلٌ, 'a truly absorbing business'
شاغل is the active participle of شَغَلَ ('to busy or occupy, so as to divert from something'), so it describes a person or thing that pulls attention away from something else — hence its use for 'distractor'. Lane also gives the fixed pair شُغْلٌ شَاغِلٌ, where the participle intensifies the noun, much like لَيْلٌ لَائِلٌ.
Words from the same root
- شَغَلَto busy, occupy, or distract someone
- شُغْلٌbusiness, occupation, work
- اِشْتَغَلَto be busy, occupied with something
- مَشْغُولٌbusy, occupied
- مُشْتَغِلٌone who is busy, working
Common questions
- How do you say "distractor" in Arabic?
- شاغل (shāghil) — something or someone that busies or distracts you from another matter.
- What does the root ش غ ل mean?
- It carries the sense of being busy, occupied, or employed, often specifically to the point of being diverted from something else.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وَلَيْسَ بِشَاغِلٍ يَشْغَلُكَ عَنِ اللَّهِ كَنَفْسِكَ الَّتِي هِيَ بَيْنَ جَنْبَيْكَ
And nothing can distract you from Allah like your own self between your sides.
بِشَاغِلٍ — with a distraction. 'bi-' here is an emphasis tag after 'laysa'; 'shaghil' = 'a distracter', so 'there is no distracter'.
From: Taming the Lower Self →
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