Arabic vocabulary
تَوَاضُعٌhumility in Arabic
تَوَاضُعٌ is how you say “humility” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root و ض ع (w-ḍ-ʿ)noun (verbal noun / maṣdar, form VI)Pronounced tawāḍuʿ
Meaning of humility in Arabic
- humility, lowliness — the state of making oneself low or humble; voluntary self-abasement rather than being abased by another
- modesty, submissiveness
تَوَاضُعٌ is the verbal noun of the form VI verb تَوَاضَعَ, 'to lower or humble oneself.' The root وضع at its core means to put or lay something down, and this form VI branch carries that idea over to a person's own rank or bearing — voluntarily bringing oneself low, i.e. humility as a virtue, distinct from وَضِيعٌ, which describes someone who simply is low in rank or esteem.
Words from the same root
- وَضَعَto put, lay, or set down (form I; the base sense of the root)
- تَوَاضَعَto humble oneself, become lowly (form VI verb behind تَوَاضُعٌ)
- وَضِيعٌlow, ignoble, of no rank or standing
- مُتَوَاضِعَةٌhumble, low (e.g. said of a low hill)
- مَوْضِعٌplace, location; the proper place of a thing
- مَوْضُوعٌsubject, topic (as opposed to a predicate)
Common questions
- How do you say "humility" in Arabic?
- تَوَاضُعٌ (tawāḍuʿ).
- What is the root of تَوَاضُعٌ and what does it literally mean?
- It comes from the root و ض ع (w-ḍ-ʿ), whose base verb وَضَعَ means 'to put or lay down.' تَوَاضُعٌ is the form VI verbal noun, literally the act of 'lowering oneself' — hence humility.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
ردّه إلى طين التواضع، واغسله بعملٍ لا يراه أحد
Return it to the clay of humility, and wash it with a deed seen by no one.
التَّوَاضُعِ — of humility. 'al-' = 'the'; 'tawadu'' = 'humility'; the 'of' word, so 'of humility'.
From: On Sincerity →
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