يَدٌ hands in Arabic
يَدٌ is how you say “hands” in Arabic.
Root ي د y-d. noun (feminine). yad.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of hands in Arabic
- hand; the arm from the shoulder-joint to the fingertips
- the foreleg of a horse or other animal
- power, authority, agency e.g. على يده 'by his agency, means'; تحت يده 'under his authority'
- a favor or benefit owed; generosity e.g. لفلان عندي يد 'I owe such a one a benefit'
Example sentence
قال جئت لهذا الأسير الذي في أيديكم
He said: I came for this prisoner who is in your hands.
أَيْدِيكُمْ your hands
aydi means 'hands' (plural); the ending '-kum' adds 'your' (a group) — 'your hands'.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
Beyond the literal hand or foreleg, yad is central to many set phrases for power, agency, and obligation — أعطاه عن يد 'gave it in acknowledgement of superiority' (Qur'an 9:29), يدا بيد 'hand to hand', meaning a cash transaction, and بايعته يدا بيد for a deal settled on the spot.
Words from the same root
- يَدٌ hand, arm
- مَيْدِىٌّ a gazelle with its foreleg caught in a snare
More example sentences
احفظ لسانك من الفضول، وعينك من التشتت، ويدك من العبث، فإن الجوارح أبواب القلب، وما يدخلها يستوطن سريرته
Guard your tongue from curiosity, your eyes from distraction, and your hands from trifling, for the senses are gateways to the heart, and what enters them takes root in its core.
وَيَدَكَ your hands
'wa-' = 'and'; 'yad' = 'hand'; '-ka' = 'your', so 'and your hand'.
عند الفتور، بدّل الوسيلة لا الغاية إن عجز لسانك فليذكر قلبك، وإن ثقل قلبك فلتخدم يدك، فالطرق إلى الله بعدد أنفاس الخلائق
When feeling lethargic, change the means, not the goal: if your tongue is too weak, let your heart remember; if your heart is heavy, let your hands serve, for the paths to God are as numerous as the breaths of creation.
يَدُكَ your hand
'yad' = 'hand'; '-ka' = 'your', so 'your hand'. Subject of 'let serve'.
وإن زعم أنه يريد التوفيق بيد الأدلة الشرعية
Even if he claims he wants to reconcile with the religious evidence.
بِيَدِ by the hand
This sets up a 'reconcile BETWEEN X and Y' structure, completed by the 'and between' that opens the next sentence — between the legal evidences and what he calls 'reason'. It governs the genitive noun after it.
كُلُّ يُلْقِي نَاصِيَتَهُ بِيدِهِ فَيُجَزُّهَا،
Each one takes his forelock in his hand and then cuts it off.
بِيدِهِ in his hand
The preposition bi- 'with/in' fused to a noun carrying a 'his' pronoun, all in one word. Bi- marks the instrument here, and it forces the genitive on the noun; the attached 'his' again points to the individual acting.
Common questions
- How do you say "hand" in Arabic?
- يَدٌ (yad).
- Does يَدٌ only mean "hand"?
- No — it also covers the whole arm, an animal's foreleg, and idiomatically power, agency, or a favor owed, as in تحت يده ('under his authority') or لفلان عندي يد ('I owe him a favor').
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).