Arabic vocabulary
حِجْرٌenclosure in Arabic
حِجْرٌ is how you say “enclosure” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ح ج ر (ḥ-j-r)noun (also used adjectivally)Pronounced ḥijr
Meaning of enclosure in Arabic
- an enclosed or walled space — e.g. the sacred enclosure beside the Kaʿbah
- forbidden, unlawful, inviolable, sacred — the sense given for this word in Qur'anic readings
The root's core sense of restraining or forbidding also produces the idea of marking off protected ground. Ḥijr occurs in this "forbidden/sacred" sense in Qur'anic readings (e.g. 6:139), and pre-Islamic Arabs would call out ḥijran to claim a truce or protection during a sacred month.
Words from the same root
- حَجَرَto forbid, restrain, prohibit
- حُجْرَةٌa room or enclosure
- تحجّرto make something strait, unlawful
- احتجرto mark off land as one's own
- حَنْجَرَةٌthe throat
Common questions
- How do you say "enclosure" in Arabic?
- حِجْر (ḥijr) — an enclosed or walled space, as in the sacred enclosure beside the Kaʿbah.
- What else can ḥijr mean besides "enclosure"?
- It can also mean "forbidden, unlawful, inviolable, or sacred" — the sense used in Qur'anic readings and in the old plea ḥijran for a truce.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
قال بلى، قعدت أنت وصفوان في الحجر
He said: Yes, you and Safwan sat in the stone enclosure.
الْحِجْرِ — the stone enclosure. al- = 'the'; hijr means 'the stone enclosure (by the Kaaba)' — the noun after 'fi'.
From: Early Converts to Islam →
Related words
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