Arabic vocabulary
How to say “except” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
غير أَن زَوْبَعَة الْهوى إِذا ثارت
Except that when the storm of desire rages,
غَيْرَ — other than. A noun 'other than', here heading 'ghayra anna' = 'except that', a way to make an exception or qualification; in the accusative. It pivots: except that…
From: Overcoming Desire →غيرَ أنّ مسحَ العضو النجس لا يصحّ حتى تُزالَ نجاسته
However, wiping the impure limb is not valid until its impurity is removed.
غَيْرَ — however. 'however / save that' — this word in the -a form, paired with the 'that' next to mean 'except that.' It adds a qualification to the previous ruling: the tayammum holds, EXCEPT that wiping an impure limb still will not pass.
From: The Practice of Earth Cleansing →غير أنه زينها وطفل الهوى ذو اغترار،
Yet, He adorned it, and the child of desire is prone to deception,
غَيْرَ — Other than. This is an exception particle that flips the direction of the sentence, setting up a 'but/yet' turn against what came before. It is fixed in the accusative shape here, and it leans on the clause that follows it to complete the thought, so expect a contrasting statement right after it rather than a finished idea.
From: Preferring the Hereafter →هو منهم بلا شك غير أنه في المسلمين يندس،
He is among them, without a doubt, yet he infiltrates the Muslims.
غَيْرَ — yet. This word means 'except / other than', here marking a turn to a contrasting fact, 'yet'. It introduces what stands apart from the prior claim and governs the clause that follows about his hidden infiltration.
From: God's Attributes →غَيْرَ نَاظِرَيْنِ إِلَى حَقِيقَةِ أَمْرِهِ وَنَهْيِهِ
Not paying attention to the reality of His command and His prohibition.
غَيْرَ — not. A noun used here as a negating exclusion word, 'not / without', that strips the following description from the subject. It sits in the object-style ending as a circumstantial marker, framing how the people act, 'without looking...'. It opens a 'not doing X' background phrase.
From: Trust and Piety →وَلَمْ يَرْضَهَا لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ فَبَنَى لَهُمْ غَيْرَ هَذِهِ الدَّارِ،
And He did not approve the world for His close ones, so He built for them another home.
غَيْرَ — other than. A noun meaning 'other than / not this', used to set up a contrast — it heads a possessive link with the demonstrative after it ('other than this'). It takes the object form as it stands in the built-thing slot and forces the following words into the genitive. Its role is to mark exclusion: a home that is not the worldly one.
From: This World Is Short →غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ أَسَمَّتْ لَكَ ٱلرَّجُلَ الَّذِي كَانَ مَعَ الْعَبَّاسِ
However, he said, 'Did she name for you the man who was with al‑Abbas?'
غَيْرَ — however. A particle setting up an exception or contrast, 'except that / however', steering the sentence away from the prior statement; it governs what follows and signals the one qualification. Its job is the turn, not a content word.
From: Prayer During Illness →فَأَنَا كَفِيلٌ لَكَ بِأَنَّهُ مَا يَسْمَعُ غَيْرَ ثَنَا قَالَ ثَنَا،
So I guarantee to you that he hears nothing except "narrated to us, he said, narrated to us."
غَيْرَ — except. An exception word 'other than / except', here working after the negation to carve out the one thing he does hear. It governs the following noun into the 'of'-style ending and delivers the 'nothing but' restriction.
From: Humility Over Fame →لَا يُرِيدُ غَيْرَهَا،
He wants nothing else.
غَيْرَهَا — other than it. This is the 'other than' word carrying -ha ('it', feminine), referring back to the prayer (a feminine noun). It sits in the object form as what the man does not want, so 'he wants nothing other than it'. The attached pronoun, feminine to match 'prayer', tracks exactly what he is set on.
From: Choosing Good Companions →OpenArabic teaches words like غَيْرَ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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