ذَلَّ humble in Arabic
ذَلَّ is how you say “humble” in Arabic.
Root ذ ل ل ḏ-l-l. verb (form I). ḏalla.
Arabic
English
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Meaning of humble in Arabic
- to be or become low, abject, despicable, humbled the opposite of ʿizz (might, glory); covers a range from mere lowliness to outright degradation
- to be or become easy, tractable, submissive, manageable said of a person, or of a riding beast such as a horse
- to lower or submit oneself to someone (with لَهُ)
Example sentence
وَإِنَّ الْحَكِيمَ يُذِّلُّ نَفْسَهُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ حَتَّى تَعْتَرِفَ بِالْحَقِّ
And indeed, the wise humbles his soul with difficulties until it acknowledges the truth.
يُذِلُّ he humbles
Present-tense verb 'yudhillu' = 'he humbles, subdues'; the subject 'he' is built in.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
The root carries two linked ideas: being brought low or humbled, and being made easy or submissive to handle — the same word can describe a humiliated person or a docile riding animal. Related forms appear in the Qur'an, e.g. the grapevine bunches ذُلِّلَتْ ("made easy to reach") for the picker.
Words from the same root
- ذُلٌّ lowness, abasement, humiliation
- ذَلِيلٌ a low, abased, humbled person
- ذَلُولٌ tame, tractable, easy to manage
- ذلّل to tame, subdue, make manageable
- مَذَلَّةٌ abasement, humiliation
More example sentences
وَيُعْطِي وَيمْنَع ويعز ويذل ويخفض وَيرْفَع
And He gives and withholds, honors and humiliates, lowers and raises,
وَيُذِلُّ and humiliates
'And' plus a present-tense causative (form IV) verb 'casts down / abases', subject 'He' inside. The opposite of 'honors'.
Common questions
- How do you say "humble" in Arabic?
- ذَلَّ (ḏalla) — to be or become low, humble, or submissive.
- How is ذَلَّ related to ذَلِيلٌ and ذُلٌّ?
- All three share the root ذ ل ل: ذَلَّ is the verb "to be low/humbled," ذَلِيلٌ is "a humbled person," and ذُلٌّ is the noun "lowness, abasement."
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).