Arabic vocabulary
مَثَلُ is how you say “example” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
وَقَدْ جُعِلَ لَهَا مَثَلُ الْحَوِيَّةِ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ،
And indeed something like a small pouch was placed on his back for her.
مَثَلُ — something like. This noun, 'a likeness / something like', is the thing the passive verb is about, what was placed, and it wears the subject-style -u ending marking it as the placed item. Because the verb is passive, this is the receiver of the placing. It opens an owner-and-owned pairing with the pouch-word after it.
From: Honoring Parents →الْمَثَلُ الثَّانِيُ الظَّبْيُ أَشَدُّ سَعْيًا مِنَ الْكَلْبِ،
The second example: the gazelle exerts itself more than the dog.
الْمَثَلُ — the example. A definite noun 'the example', heading the second illustration like a section title standing on its own. Its al- marks the specific example about to be told. It opens a label-then-explanation structure rather than a full sentence.
From: Choosing Good Companions →وَمَثَلُ الأَوَّلِ كَرَجُلٍ صَارَعَ رَجُلًا شَدِيدًا فَلَا يُقْهَرُ إِلَّا بِتَعَبٍ وَمِشْقَةٍ
And the example of the first is like a man who wrestled a very strong man; he is not overcome except by fatigue and hardship.
وَمَثَلُ — and the example. The 'wa-' connects this into the passage, and the noun heads an 'of' pairing with 'the first' that follows: 'the example of the first'. The owner comes next and supplies the definiteness.
From: Staying Firm in Faith →وَمَثَلُ هَذِهِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ لَا تَفْرِقُ بَيْنَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَأَهْلِ النَّارِ
And the example of this servitude does not distinguish between the people of Paradise and the people of Hell.
وَمَثَلُ — and the example. The 'wa-' connects this into the passage, and the noun heads an 'of' pairing built from 'this servitude' that follows: 'the example of this servitude'. It is the subject of the coming verb.
From: What Worship Really Means →OpenArabic teaches words like مَثَلُ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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