Arabic vocabulary
لِيfor me
How to say “for me” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
إذا داهمك خاطرٌ يجرّك إلى رياءٍ أو عُجب، اسأله بهدوء هل يزيدني قربًا أم يصنع لي تمثالًا من دخان
If a thought comes to you that leads you to vanity or conceit, ask it calmly: does it bring me closer, or does it create a statue of smoke?
لِي — for me. 'li-' = 'for' + '-i' = 'me', so 'for me'.
From: On Sincerity →فَلَمَّا جلس إِلَيْهِ قَالَ لسَيِّده مَا لي أَرَاك كئيبًا حَزينًا فاعرض عَنهُ
So when he sat down with him, he said to his master, 'Why do I see you sad and sorrowful?' But he turned away from him.
لِي — do I. 'li-' = 'to/for' + '-i' = 'me'; literally 'what is it to me', an idiom for 'why...'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →والنبي وليس معه أحد إذ رفع لي سواد عظيم فظننت أنهم أمتي،
and a prophet with nobody with him until a vast multitude was raised for me, and I thought it was my nation,
لِي — for me. This is 'for / to' fused with 'me' — 'raised FOR me'. The 'li-' marks the one for whom the throng was displayed. The pronoun is the Prophet, the beholder of the vision.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →فقيل لى هذا موسى وقومه،
but it was said to me: This is Moses and his people,
لِي — to me. This is 'to' fused with 'me' — 'said TO me'. The 'li-' marks the addressee of the unspoken speaker. The pronoun is the Prophet receiving the correction.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →فقيل لى، انظر إلى الأفق الآخر، فإذا سواد عظيم،
Then it was said to me: Look to the other horizon, and there I saw a vast multitude.
لِي — to me. This is 'to' fused with 'me' — the addressee of the unnamed speaker. The 'li-' marks who the speech is directed at, and the pronoun is the Prophet receiving it.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →فقيل لي هذه أمتك، ومعهم سبعون ألفاً يدخلون الجنة بغير حساب ولا عذاب
And it was said to me: This is your nation, and with them are seventy thousand who will enter Paradise without account or punishment.
لِي — to me. 'To me' — the preposition fused with the pronoun, naming the Prophet as the one addressed by the unnamed voice.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →قائلًا إن الله أمرني بذلك وأباحه لي
Saying that Allah commanded me to do this and permitted it for me.
لِي — for me. The preposition 'li-' here marks the beneficiary, the one for whom the thing is made lawful, taking the genitive, with 'me' as the attached pronoun. It sets up the 'for me' relationship of advantage rather than meaning simple direction.
From: False Prophets →فقرأ في صلاة الصبح قل هو الله أحد حتى بلغ ولم يكن له كفوا أحد فقال اللهم إن كان في الأرض أحد فاجعله كفوا لي
He recited in the morning prayer 'Say, He is Allah, the One,' until he reached 'and there is none equal to Him,' then said: O Allah, if there is anyone on earth, make him my equal.
لِي — for me. This fuses li- 'for' with the attached -i 'me', marking for whose benefit the equal is sought.
From: Bedouin Manners →قال لي أبي
My father said to me
لِي — to me. This is the preposition 'to, for' fused with the attached pronoun 'me'. The preposition marks the person spoken to, and the merged pronoun is its object. One short Arabic word carries the whole English phrase 'to me', the direction the speech was aimed.
From: Stories That Soften the Heart →فقال الأعرابي ليس لي حمار
The Bedouin said: I do not have a donkey.
لِي — I have. This is the preposition 'to, for' carrying the attached 'me'. Paired with the negating verb it builds 'there is not to me...', Arabic's standard way of expressing 'I do not have'. The suffix marks the speaker as the one lacking.
From: Justice in the Field →وأقر بالعجز فخلا لي المعترك،
And they acknowledged their inability, so the battlefield was left to me.
لِيَ — to me. This is the small word li- meaning 'to / for' with the speaker 'me' attached, marking the one the arena was left to. The preposition governs that pronoun and sets up a relationship of belonging or entitlement, all carried in a single short word.
From: Victory Belongs to God →وكلما نصب إبليس لي شركًا خرقت ذلك الشرك،
Every time Satan set a trap for me, I destroyed that trap.
لِي — for me. This is li- 'for' with 'me' attached, naming the person the trap was set against. The preposition governs the pronoun and frames the harm as aimed at the speaker, a directional 'to my disadvantage' compressed into one word.
From: Victory Belongs to God →وما أبقى حيلة لي في مكائده ولا ترك،
He left me no option in his schemes nor did he abstain.
لِي — for me. This is li- 'for' with 'me' attached, marking the person affected. The preposition governs the pronoun and frames the lack of options as falling specifically on the speaker, packed into one short word.
From: Victory Belongs to God →قل لي هل يكون طالب من خدام السنة يتهاون بالصلوات ،
Tell me, can a seeker among the servants of the Sunnah be negligent in prayers,
لِي — to me. This is the preposition li- 'to, for' carrying the attached -i 'me', one word for 'to me'. The li- marks the speaker as the one to be addressed; the preposition fixes the pronoun into its governed form, completing 'tell me'.
From: True Devotion →يَقُول الله يَا ابْن آدم إِنَّمَا هِيَ ارْبَعْ وَاحِدَة لي وَوَاحِدَة لَك وَوَاحِدَة بيني وَبَيْنك وَوَاحِدَة بَيْنك وَبَين خلقي
Allah says, 'O son of Adam, there are four things: one for Me, one for you, one between Me and you, and one between you and My creation.'
لِي — for Me. The 'for/to' prefix is fused onto the pronoun 'me', held in the genitive by the preposition. It assigns the first share to God, the speaker, setting up the 'one for Me' of the list.
From: Worship and Repentance →فَأَما الَّتِي لي فتعبدني لَا تشرك بِي شَيْئا
As for the one that is for Me, it is that you worship Me, associating nothing with Me.
لِي — is for Me. The 'for/to' prefix is fused onto the pronoun 'me', held in the genitive by the preposition. It marks this share as God's own, the 'one that is for Me' being singled out.
From: Worship and Repentance →وقال الربيع رحمه الله تعالى قال لي الشافعي يا ربيع
And al‑Rabīʿ, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'Al‑Shāfiʿī said to me, "O Rabīʿ..."'
لِي — to me. A preposition 'to' with 'me' attached, 'to me', marking the one addressed. It is the indirect object of 'said', identifying the reporter al-Rabi' as the listener.
From: The Pilgrim's Conduct →هُمْ يَنْتَظِرُونَكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ ضَعُوا لِي مَاءً فِي الْمِخْضَبِ
They were waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah, so he said, "Put water for me in the basin."
لِيَّ — for me. A 'for me' preposition with the first-person attached in a doubled, emphatic shape, weighting 'for me'. It marks the speaker as the beneficiary of the command.
From: Prayer During Illness →اللَّهُمَّ كَانَ لِي أَبَوَانِ شَيْخَانِ كَبِيرَانِ،
O Allah, I had two elderly parents.
لِي — for me. A preposition fused with a first-person 'me' pronoun, 'for me'. Working with the 'to be' verb before it, the preposition is what creates the ownership, casting the speaker as the one to whom the following thing belonged.
From: Trapped and Delivered →فَقَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، مَا فَعَلَ أَسِيرُكَ
The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to me, O Abu Huraira, what has your captive done?
لِّيَّ — to me. A preposition 'to/for' fused to a 'me' pronoun, two words in one, marking the speaker as the one spoken to. It attaches to the 'said' before it to show the direction of the address, 'said to me'.
From: The Verse of the Throne →فَقَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَا فَعَلَ أَسِيرُكَ الْبَارِحَةَ
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah send blessings and grant him peace, said to me, "What did your captive do last night?"
لِي — to me. This is the preposition li- ('to/for') fused with the 'me' ending; Arabic builds such a phrase as one written word where English needs two. The preposition forces the attached pronoun into the object slot, marking the speaker as the person the saying was directed at.
From: The Verse of the Throne →قَالَ مَا هِيَ قُلْتُ قَالَ لِي إِذَا أَوَيْتَ إِلَى فِرَاشِكَ
He said, "What is it?" I said, "He said to me: When you lie down on your bed."
لِي — to me. Preposition li- ('to') merged with the 'me' ending into one word, marking the speaker as the person addressed by the saying. The preposition governs the attached pronoun, pinning the direction of the speech onto the first person.
From: The Verse of the Throne →وَقَالَ لِي لَنْ يَزَالَ عَلَيْكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَافِظٌ وَلَا يَقْرَبَكَ شَيْطَانٌ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَ،
He said to me, "A guardian from God will not cease to be upon you, and no devil will come near you until morning."
لِّيَّ — to me. Preposition li- ('to') with the 'me' ending fused on, marking the speaker as the one addressed; the doubled tail is a heavier spelling of the same 'to me'. The preposition governs the attached pronoun, fixing the direction of the speech.
From: The Verse of the Throne →فَسَأَلْنَاهَا فَقَالَتْ مَا قَالَ لِي شَيْئًا،
So we asked her, and she said he had not said anything to me.
لِي — to me. Preposition li- ('to') fused with the 'me' ending, marking the speaker as the one the saying was aimed at; one word for English's two. The preposition governs the attached pronoun, fixing the first person as addressee.
From: Wives of the Prophet →
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