Arabic vocabulary
How to say “father” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ
Narrated by Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him:
أَبِي — Abu. 'Father of', the first part of a 'father-of' nickname, heading an 'of' pairing with the name. It belongs to a small set of nouns that show their case with a long vowel, here the '-i' of the genitive after 'from'.
From: Brotherhood in Islam →وقال علي بن أبي طالب روحوا القلوب واطلبوا لها طرف الحكمة فإنها تمل كما تمل الأبدان
Ali ibn Abi Talib said, 'Refresh the hearts and seek for them a portion of wisdom, for they get weary as bodies get weary.'
أَبِي — Abi. The owned, following name in the 'son of...' pairing, so it takes the genitive ending; this is the father's name in the lineage.
From: Reviving the Heart →قال لي أبي
My father said to me
أَبِي — my father. This is 'father' carrying the attached possessive 'my' on its end. It is the delayed subject of 'said', arriving after the verb and the indirect object, which is the normal Arabic order. The possessive ending is what makes it specifically 'my father' rather than just a father.
From: Stories That Soften the Heart →مثل ما روي عن أبي حمزة الصوفي أنه وقع في بئر فجاء رجلان فَطمّاها،
Like the story narrated about Abu Hamza al-Sufi, who fell into a well, and then two men came and filled it up.
أَبِي — Abu. This is the front of a courtesy-name ('father of...'), held in the governed form by the preceding 'about', and it heads an 'of' pairing with the name after it. So the honorific stacks a possessive inside it.
From: Trust in God →قلت ولا التفات إلى أبي حمزة في حكايته فجاء أسد فأخرجني ،
I said, there is no attention to Abu Hamza in his story where a lion came and rescued me,
أَبِي — Abu. The 'father of' element opening a teknonym; it is grammatically incomplete on its own and forms a possessive pair with the name after it to mean 'father of so-and-so'. The earlier preposition has bent its ending into the 'to' form.
From: Trust in God →وَعَن أبي هُرَيْرَة قَالَ الْقلب ملك والأعضاء جُنُوده
And concerning Abu Huraira, he said, 'The heart is a king and the limbs are its soldiers.'
أَبِي — Abu. First part of a kunya (a 'father of' nickname), held in the owned form because the preposition before it governs it. It pairs with the next name as a single unit identifying the person.
From: Patience in Hard Times →عن أبي هريرة ، قال
Narrated Abu Hurayrah, he said:
أبي — Abu (of). A kunya element, 'father-of', held in the owned form because the preposition before it governs it. It pairs with the next name as a single unit identifying the transmitter.
From: Honoring Your Mother →فَأَرْسَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ بِأَنْ يُصَلِّيَ بِالنَّاسِ،
So the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, sent to Abu Bakr asking him to lead the people in prayer.
أَبِي — Abu. The 'father of' word that opens a kunya-style name, set as the front term of a pairing with the following name and taking the case the preceding 'to' assigns. It heads the two-word name.
From: Prayer During Illness →أَحَدُهُمَا الْعَبَّاسُ لِصَلَاةِ الظُّهْرِ، وَأَبِي بَكْرٍ يُصَلِّي بِالنَّاسِ،
One of them, Al-Abbas, performed the noon prayer, and Abu Bakr led the people in prayer.
وَأَبِي — and Abu. The wa- here opens a circumstance/contrast clause, 'while/and', juxtaposing a second scene against the first; it then heads the front term of an 'Abu Bakr' name. It links two simultaneous states rather than simply listing.
From: Prayer During Illness →وَالنَّاسُ بِصَلَاةِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، وَالنَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَاعِدٌ
The people were praying behind Abu Bakr, and the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was sitting.
أَبِي — Abu. The 'father of' word opening the kunya, front term of a pairing with the following name and in the genitive as the owning element of the prayer-pairing. It heads the name.
From: Prayer During Illness →عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ـ قَالَ
Narrated Abu Hurayrah, may God be pleased with him, said:
أَبِي — Abu. Part of the by-name 'father of...', here in the genitive because the 'from' before it governs it. It heads a possessive pairing with the following name to form the kunya; this case-bearing shape is how Arabic shows it sits after a preposition.
From: The Verse of the Throne →وَقَالَتْ إِنَّ نِسَاءَكَ يَنْشُدْنَكَ اللَّهَ الْعَدْلَ فِي بِنْتِ ابْنِ أَبِي قُحَافَةِ،
She said, "Your wives are urging you to ask Allah for justice for the daughter of the son of Abu Quhafa."
أَبِي — Abu. The 'father-of' element of a by-name in its genitive shape, standing as owner within the chain; it heads the nickname and links to the part after it. As possessor inside the sequence it carries the genitive that binds the chain.
From: Wives of the Prophet →جَاءَ أَبُو بَكْرِ ـ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ـ إِلَى أَبِي فِي مَنْزِلِهِ،
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, came to my father in his house.
أَبِي — my father. A noun with the pronoun '-i' (my) fused onto it, packing 'my father' into one word. Because it follows the 'to' preposition, it takes the 'of'-style ending that the preposition demands. The attached '-i' is how Arabic marks a first-person possessor.
From: A Night with the Prophet →فَأَقْبَلْتُ حَتَّى قُلْتُ لِأَبِي بَكْرِ أُدْخُلْ،
So I came forward until I said to Abu Bakr, 'Come in.'
لأَبِي — to my father. A 'to/for' preposition fused to the start of the name that follows, marking Abu Bakr as the one spoken to. The little prefixed 'to' attaches directly to the name.
From: Three Companions Promised Paradise →ثُمَّ رَجَعَ إِلَى أَبِي ذَرٍّ،
Then he returned to Abu Dharr.
أَبِي — Abu. The 'father of…' piece of a teknonym, heading a tight pairing with the name behind it. Standing after a preposition, its form shifts to the case that preposition assigns, and it reads with the next word as one name.
From: A Stranger Finds the Prophet →أَمَا وَاللَّهِ لَوْلَا أَنَّكَ مَعَ أَبِي صَفْوَانِ مَا رَجَعْتَ إِلَى أَهْلِكَ سَالِمًا
By God, had you not been with Abu Sufyan, you would not have returned safely to your family.
أَبِي — Abu. A 'father of' name-word in the 'of' (genitive) shape because the preceding 'with' governs it; here its genitive form shows as 'Abi'. It heads an 'of' pairing with the name next.
From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →عَلَى أَبِي الْحَكَمِ سَيِّدِ أَهْلِ الْوَادِيِ
By Abu al-Hakam, the chief of the people of the valley.
أَبِي — father of. A 'father of' name-word in the 'of' (genitive) shape (shown as 'Abi') because the oath-word before it governs it. It heads an 'of' pairing with the name next to build the full byname.
From: Warning Before the Battle of Badr →فَلَمَّا مَرَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِأَبِي سُفْيَانَ
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by Abu Sufyan.
بِأَبِي — by Abu. The preposition bi- ('by') attaching to the kunya, the second half of the verb-plus-bi pattern 'passed BY'. It marks who the Messenger passed, and it forces the name it attaches to into the genitive, here Abu Sufyan.
From: Conquest of Mecca Account →فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ هَذَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُقْبِلًا مُتَقَنِّعًا،
A speaker said to Abu Bakr, "This is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, coming toward us, veiled."
لِأَبِي — to Abu. A preposition 'to' fused onto the front of the name, marking the one spoken to; it pulls the name into the genitive. So it flags Abu Bakr as the addressee, the person the speaker directs his report to.
From: The Secret Migration →قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فِدًى لَهُ بِأَبِي وَأُمِّي،
Abu Bakr said, "May my father and mother be ransomed for him."
بِأَبِي — with my father. A preposition 'with / by' carrying 'my' (the speaker's) father as a fused possessor; it names what is pledged as ransom, 'with my father'. The attached possessor takes the genitive after the preposition, and the phrase voices the devoted oath.
From: The Secret Migration →فَقَالَ حِينَ دَخَلَ لِأَبِي بَكْرِ أَخْرِجْ مَنْ عِنْدَكَ
When he entered, the Prophet said to Abu Bakr, "Bring out whoever is with you."
لِأَبِي — to Abu Bakr. A preposition 'to' fused onto the front of the name, marking the one addressed; it pulls the name into the genitive. It flags Abu Bakr as the person the command is directed at, even though the name spreads across this and the next word.
From: The Secret Migration →قَالَ فَالْصُّحْبَةُ بِأَبِي أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ
He said, "Then the companionship is yours, by my father, O Messenger of Allah."
بِأَبِي — by my father. A preposition 'by' carrying 'my' (the speaker's) father as a fused possessor; it heads the devoted oath 'by my father'. The attached possessor takes the genitive after the preposition, a warm interjection breaking into the request.
From: The Secret Migration →قَالَ فَخُذْ بِأَبِي أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِحْدَى رَاحِلَتَيَّ هَاتَيْنِ
He said, "By my father, O Messenger of Allah, take one of my two mounts."
بِأَبِي — by my father. A preposition 'by' carrying 'my' (the speaker's) father as a fused possessor; it heads the devoted oath 'by my father', a warm interjection set before the request. The attached possessor takes the genitive after the preposition.
From: The Secret Migration →فَقَطَعَتْ أَسْمَاءُ بِنْتُ أَبِي بَكْرِ قِطْعَةً مِنْ نِطَاقِهَا،
So Asma bint Abi Bakr cut off a piece from her belt.
أَبِي — Abu. The lead half of the father's two-part name, 'father of ...', here in its construct shape because it is owned by 'daughter' before it; that construct role is why it shows the genitive. It joins onto the next word to complete the father's name.
From: The Secret Migration →OpenArabic teaches words like أَبِي through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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