How do you say "draw close" in Arabic?

تَوَدَّدَ (tawaddada) — literally to show affection or endear oneself, often used as تودّد إليه, 'he drew close to / ingratiated himself with him.'

What is the difference between تودّدهُ and تودّد إليه?

تودّدهُ (with a direct object) means he won or attracted that person's love; تودّد إليه (with إلى) means he showed or displayed affection toward that person.

تَوَدَّدَ draw close in Arabic

تَوَدَّدَ is how you say “draw close” in Arabic.

Root و د د w-d-d. verb (form V). tawaddada.

Arabic

English

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Meaning of draw close in Arabic

to show affection, endear oneself, ingratiate oneself (with someone) used with the preposition إلى: تودّد إليه, 'he showed love/affection to him'
to win over, attract someone's love or affection used transitively with a direct object: تودّدهُ, 'he drew that person's affection to himself'

Example sentence

وَإِذا تعرفوا إِلَى مُلُوكهمْ وكبرائهم وتقربوا إِلَيْهِم لينالوا بهم الْعِزَّة والرفعة فتعرف أَنْت إِلَى الله وتودد إِلَيْهِ

And if they seek to know their kings and leaders and draw close to them to obtain honor and elevation through them, you seek to know God and draw close to Him.

وَتَوَدَّدْ and you draw close

A command in the Form V pattern built on 'love': 'make yourself dear, draw near in affection'. The doubling-with-ta shape turns loving into something you actively do toward God.

From Contentment with What God Wills

The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used

Form V of the root و-د-د, built on وَدَّ 'to love.' It most often appears with إلى (تودّد إليه) meaning to show affection toward someone or work to be liked by them — 'draw close' in the sense of winning someone's goodwill. Less commonly it takes a direct object (تودّدهُ), meaning to attract that person's love to oneself.

Words from the same root

وَدَّ to love, cherish, hold dear (form I); also 'to wish that'
وِدٌّ love, affection; also a beloved one, a friend
وَدُودٌ loving, affectionate; used as a divine epithet, 'the Loving'
مَوَدَّةٌ love, affection
وادَّ to love and be loved by one another (form III)
تَوَادَّ to love one another mutually (form VI)

Common questions

How do you say "draw close" in Arabic?: تَوَدَّدَ (tawaddada) — literally to show affection or endear oneself, often used as تودّد إليه, 'he drew close to / ingratiated himself with him.'
What is the difference between تودّدهُ and تودّد إليه?: تودّدهُ (with a direct object) means he won or attracted that person's love; تودّد إليه (with إلى) means he showed or displayed affection toward that person.

Related words

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