Arabic vocabulary
أَحْمَقfoolish in Arabic
أَحْمَق is how you say “foolish” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ح م ق (ḥ-m-q)adjective (aḥmaq/aʿfal pattern, denoting a defect — used substantively as "a fool")Pronounced aḥmaq
Meaning of foolish in Arabic
- foolish, stupid — unsound in intellect or understanding; having little or no reason
- dull-witted, mentally deficient — described in Lane as 'stagnant, or dull' in understanding, i.e. deficient or defective in intellect rather than merely mistaken
أَحْمَق is the standard word for a person lacking sound understanding — foolish or stupid outright, not merely mistaken in one instance. Lane also records the wonder-expression مَا أَحْمَقَهُ, "how foolish he is!", built directly on this word.
Words from the same root
- حَمُقَto be or become foolish, stupid (verb, form I)
- حُمْقfoolishness, stupidity; unsoundness of intellect
- حَمَاقَةfoolishness, stupidity (verbal noun/substantive)
- حمّقto call or brand someone a fool (verb, form II)
- استحمقto consider or deem someone a fool (verb, form X)
- تحامقto feign or affect foolishness (verb, form VI)
- حُمَاقsmallpox, or a similar eruptive disease (figurative extension of the root)
Common questions
- How do you say "foolish" in Arabic?
- أَحْمَق (aḥmaq).
- What is the root of أَحْمَق and what does it convey?
- It comes from the root ح م ق (ḥ-m-q), which centers on foolishness or stupidity — unsoundness or dullness of intellect.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
كان الجصاص تاجرًا أحمق، فدخل على ابن الفرات الوزير،
Al-Jassas was a foolish merchant who entered upon the minister Ibn Al-Furat.
أَحْمَقَ — foolish. A describing word, 'foolish', trailing 'merchant' as a further description. In Arabic the adjective follows its noun and matches it, so it shares the object ending and the indefinite, no-'the' state of 'merchant'.
From: The Reward of Giving →
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