Arabic vocabulary
How to say “enemy” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
اعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا كَانَ جِهَادُ النَّفْسِ أَكْبَرَ مِنْ جِهَادِ الأَعْدَاءِ
Know that the struggle against one's self is indeed greater than the struggle against enemies.
الأَعْدَاءِ — the enemies. al- = 'the'; ada means 'enemies' (plural) — the 'of…' word: 'of the enemies'.
From: Resisting Temptation →فَإِنَّ الطِّبَاعَ تَحْمِلُ عَلَى خُصُومَةِ الأَعْدَاءِ
For nature inclines towards opposing enemies.
الأَعْدَاءِ — the enemies. al- = 'the'; ada means 'enemies' (plural) — the 'of…' word: 'of the enemies'.
From: Resisting Temptation →وإلا فالدولة لعدوه عليه، ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله العليّ العظيم
Otherwise, the upper hand belongs to his enemy over him, and there is no power or strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Great.
لِعَدُوِّهِ — for his enemy. 'Li-' (for/to) fused with 'enemy' plus '-hi' (his) attached, genitive — 'belongs to his enemy'. The 'li-' of ownership assigns the upper hand to the foe.
From: How Satan Exploits Weakness →فإذا أَذِنَ العبدُ لعدوه، وفتح له باب بيته، وأدخله عليه، ومَكَّنه من السلاح يقاتله به، فهو المَلُوم
If the servant permits his enemy, opens the door of his house for him, lets him in, and enables him with weaponry to fight him, then he is to blame.
لِعَدُوِّهِ — his enemy. 'Li-' (to) fused with 'enemy' plus '-hi' (his) attached, genitive — 'gave leave to his enemy'. The 'li-' marks the one permitted.
From: How Satan Exploits Weakness →وصبر فِي مدَّته من مدى العدى على وَقع الشبا
He endured during his time the sharpness of enemies' blades.
الْعِدَى — enemies. A broken plural 'the enemies', the owner completing 'the edges of the enemies', genitive (a weak ending, so unmarked). The foes whose blades he bore.
From: Abu Bakr: First Champion of Islam →ثم بين سبحانه كذب أعدائه وبهتهم في نسبة كلامه تعالى إلى غيره
Then Allah made clear the lies of His enemies and their falsehood in attributing His speech to others.
أَعْدَائِهِ — His enemies. 'His enemies' as the owning noun, built from 'enemies' plus a 'his' ending and standing in the owner form of the chain. The form gives the 'of' link and the suffix points the enemies back to God.
From: God's Eternal Word →ودجالا أفاكا كافرا عند أعدائه،
And a deceitful, lying disbeliever in the view of his enemies.
أَعْدَائِهِ — his enemies. This noun, his enemies, is in the genitive after the viewpoint preposition, with the possessor attached pointing back to him. The suffix tracks whose enemies, anchoring the harsh verdict to them.
From: Unity Over Partisanship →فمجاهدتها أشق من مجاهدة العدو الظاهر؛ لأن العدو الظاهر يمكن الفرار منه أو قهره، وأما النفس فملازمة للإنسان لا تفارقه
So struggling against it is harder than struggling against a visible enemy; for a visible enemy can be escaped or conquered, but the self is ever-present with the person and does not leave him.
العَدُوِّ — enemy. The completing half of 'struggle against the enemy', so it carries the possessive case and the 'the' that defines the phrase. The two nouns sit directly together with no word for 'of'; this names the thing struggled against in the comparison.
From: Struggling Against the Self →فمجاهدتها أشق من مجاهدة العدو الظاهر؛ لأن العدو الظاهر يمكن الفرار منه أو قهره، وأما النفس فملازمة للإنسان لا تفارقه
So struggling against it is harder than struggling against a visible enemy; for a visible enemy can be escaped or conquered, but the self is ever-present with the person and does not leave him.
العَدُوَّ — the enemy. This is the subject of the 'because indeed' clause but it stands in the object case because the emphatic particle governs it that way. With 'the' it is definite, 'the enemy', the visible foe being discussed.
From: Struggling Against the Self →وقد قال بعض العارفين نفسك التي بين جنبيك هي عدوك الأكبر، فإذا غلبتها فقد غلبت كل شيء
And some of the knowers have said: 'Your self, which is between your sides, is your greatest enemy, and if you conquer it, you have conquered everything.'
عَدُوُّكَ — your enemy. This is the predicate of the verbless sentence, with -ka 'your' attached, 'your enemy'. It stands in the subject-style case to match the subject 'your self'; the noun and 'your' form an 'of' link naming what the self is to you.
From: Struggling Against the Self →فأحرى أَن يسلم المستعيذ بِرَبّ الْعَالمين من الشَّيْطَان الْعَدو اللعين
Then it is more likely that the one who seeks refuge with the Lord of the worlds will be safe from the accursed enemy, Satan.
العَدُوِّ — the enemy. This noun renames the previous one, identifying that adversary as the enemy, so it copies its (genitive) ending to show they refer to the same being. Arabic links such restatements by matching their endings.
From: Ten Daily Supplications →فَمَنْ اِعْتَادَ الصَّبْرَ هَابَهُ عَدُوُّهُ
So whoever becomes accustomed to patience, his enemy fears him.
عَدُوُّهُ — his enemy. A noun carrying the owner ending '-hu' (his), the subject of the fearing verb placed after it: his enemy. The suffix points back to the patient person, so the enemy fears that very man.
From: Staying Firm in Faith →OpenArabic teaches words like عَدُوّ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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