Arabic vocabulary
How to say “like it” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
وَإِن ردّها فلكون مثلهَا لَا يصلح أَن يواجه بِهِ
And if He rejects it, it is because something like it is not fit to be presented to Him.
مِثْلِهَا — something like it. mithl means 'like, similar to'; the ending '-ha' adds 'it' — 'something like it'.
From: Returning to God →ومثلُها بِسمِ الله عند البدء؛
And similarly, "In the name of Allah" at the beginning;
وَمِثْلُهَا — and similar to it. 'and the like of it' — 'mithl' (likeness) with 'it' attached, nominative as a fresh topic. The 'it' reaches back to the previous formula: 'and similar to it is...'.
From: Words That Nourish the Heart →لا يشبهه شئ من كلام الخلق ولا يقدر على مثله الخلق بأسرهم
Nothing from the speech of creation resembles it, nor can the entire creation produce anything like it.
مِثْلِهِ — like it. The thing that ability falls upon — 'its like,' something matching the Quran — in the -i form after the preposition, with 'it' attached. To match it is exactly what no one is able to do.
From: Devotion to the Quran →ومثل هذا لا يقرره الرب ولا يستدل عليه وينبه على منكريه
And such a thing the Lord would not establish, nor use as evidence, nor call attention to those who deny it.
وَمِثْلُ — and such. The wa- at the front is a connector tying this clause to the run of negations that follows. The noun it sits on is the subject being talked about, and naming 'something like this' up front sets the topic that the later verbs all push away from. Arabic often fronts the topic like this and only afterward states what is denied of it.
From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →فقال الرجل أنا أذهب إليه وأخبره أني اشتريت قصرًا في الجنة بعشرين ألفًا، فلعلّه يعطيني مثلها
So the man said: I will go to him and tell him that I have bought a palace in Paradise for twenty thousand, perhaps he will give me the same.
مِثْلَهَا — the same as it. This is 'the like of' fused with the attached -ha 'it', which points back to the earlier sum of money. The -a ending marks the whole as the object of 'give', so it reads 'the like of it' as what is hoped for.
From: The Reward of Giving →فإذا رأيت رجلا لم تر مثله قط رجلا، فذلك هو الحسن
When you see a man, the like of whom you have never seen, that is Al-Hasan.
مِثْلَهُ — like of him. This noun carries an attached 'his', so one word means 'his like', and it is the object of 'you have not seen', hence the object form. The fused 'his' points back to the man just mentioned.
From: The Grandson's Noble Grief →وسكوت هذا الرجل في مثل هذا المقام إِعانة على نفسه وذلك لا يحل،
And this man's silence in such a situation is aiding his own harm, which is not permissible.
مِثْلِ — like. This noun, 'the like', is held in the governed form by the preceding 'in' and heads an 'of' pairing, 'the like of this situation'. As the chain's front it carries no 'the'.
From: Trust in God →فإنه إن صح ذلك فقد يقع مثله اتفاقًا،
For if that is true, then a similar occurrence might happen by coincidence,
مِثْلُهُ — similar to it. A noun, 'a like of it', with the pronoun 'it' attached as possessor, pointing back to the earlier event. The suffix ties this hypothetical look-alike to the specific occurrence already discussed.
From: Trust in God →فَيَرْجِعُونَ بِحَسْرَةٍ وَنَدَامَةٍ مَا رَجَعَ الْأَوَّلُونَ وَالْآخِرُونَ بِمِثْلِهَا
They will return with a regret and remorse the likes of which none of the first or last have ever experienced.
بِمِثْلِهَا — with like of it. A preposition 'with' fused to a noun 'the like of it' carrying 'it' as possessor, the suffix pointing back to the grief. The pair completes the comparison, 'with anything like it', stressing nothing equals it.
From: Turned Away at the Gate →ما تأتي عبرة مثل أن أباك وأمك ماتا،
No lesson is as profound as the fact that your father and mother have passed away,
مِثْلَ — like. This is a comparison word meaning 'like / equal to', in the accusative and heading a possessive pairing with the clause that follows. It sets up 'as profound as the fact that...', linking the lesson to the comparison that completes the thought.
From: Death and Decree →وإن شردت وركبت الإعراض والكسل مثلي ، فواحسرتا علي وعليك
And if you stray and embrace neglect and laziness like me, then alas for both you and me,
مِثْلِي — like me. This noun, 'like, the equal of', carries the attached -i 'me', one word for 'like me'. It works adverbially to liken the addressee's conduct to the speaker's, and the -i names the speaker as the comparison; Arabic folds the simile and its owner into one word.
From: True Devotion →فَقَالَتِ اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلِ ابْنِي مِثْلَهُ فَتَرَكَ ثَدْيَهَا،
She said, "O Allah, make my son like him." Then he left her breast,
مِثْلَهُ — like him. A comparison noun 'like/the equal of' with '-hu' (him) attached, pointing to the rider. It is the second object of 'make' -- make my son the like of HIM -- and the suffix fixes exactly whom he is to resemble.
From: Those Who Spoke in the Cradle →وَأَقْبَلَ عَلَى الرَّاكِبِ فَقَالَ اللَّهُمَّ لَا تَجْعَلْنِي مِثْلَهُ
And he turned toward the rider and said, "O Allah, do not make me like him."
مِثْلَهُ — like him. The comparison noun 'like/the equal of' with '-hu' (him), pointing to the splendid rider. It is the thing he begs NOT to be made into, completing 'do not make me the like of him'.
From: Those Who Spoke in the Cradle →فَقَالَ اللَّهُمَّ اِجْعَلْنِي مِثْلَهَا
Then he said, "O Allah, make me like her."
مِثْلَهَا — like her. The comparison noun 'like/the equal of' with '-ha' (her), pointing to the slandered slave-girl. It is the model he asks to be made into, completing 'make me the like of HER'.
From: Those Who Spoke in the Cradle →فقال إن ربي غضب غضباً لم يغضب قبله مثله، ولا يغضب بعده مثله، وإنه نهاني عن الشجرة، فعصيت، نفسي نفسي نفسي، اذهبوا إلى غيري،
He said: "My Lord has become angry with an anger unlike any anger before or after. He forbade me from the tree, and I disobeyed. Myself, myself, myself! Go to someone else."
مِثْلَهُ — like it. A comparison noun meaning 'its like' with an 'it' pronoun fused on. It says no equal anger existed, and the attached 'it' points back to the anger named earlier, so the phrase measures all other anger against this one.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →فيقول لهم إن ربي غضب اليوم غضباً لم يغضب قبله مثله، ولن يغضب بعده مثله، وإني كنت كذبت ثلاث كذبات، نفسي نفسي نفسي، اذهبوا إلى غيري،
He will say to them: "My Lord has become angry today with an anger like none before or after. Indeed, I told three lies. Myself, myself, myself! Go to someone else."
مِثْلَهُ — like it. 'Like' fused with '-hu' to mean 'its like', the suffix reaching back to that anger; the word draws a comparison and the ending marks it as governed within the negated clause. It stresses the anger had no equal.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →فيقول لهم إن ربي غضب اليوم غضباً لم يغضب قبله مثله، ولن يغضب بعده مثله، وإني كنت كذبت ثلاث كذبات، نفسي نفسي نفسي، اذهبوا إلى غيري،
He will say to them: "My Lord has become angry today with an anger like none before or after. Indeed, I told three lies. Myself, myself, myself! Go to someone else."
مِثْلَهُ — like it. 'Like' plus '-hu' once more for 'its like', repeated to bracket the comparison on the future side; the suffix points back to the same anger. Restating the full word, rather than a lone pronoun, keeps the parallel tight.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →فيقول إن ربي قد غضب اليوم غضباً لم يغضب قبله مثله، ولن يغضب بعده مثله، وإني قد قتلت نفساً لم أومر بقتلها، نفسي نفسي نفسي، اذهبوا إلى غيري،
He will say: "My Lord has become angry today with an anger like none before or after. Indeed, I killed a person whom I was not commanded to kill. Myself, myself, myself! Go to someone else."
مِثْلَهُ — like it. 'Like' fused with '-hu' for 'its like', the suffix reaching back to the anger; the word makes a comparison and its ending shows it governed in the negated clause. It says the anger had no equal.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →فيقول إن ربي قد غضب اليوم غضباً لم يغضب قبله مثله، ولن يغضب بعده مثله، وإني قد قتلت نفساً لم أومر بقتلها، نفسي نفسي نفسي، اذهبوا إلى غيري،
He will say: "My Lord has become angry today with an anger like none before or after. Indeed, I killed a person whom I was not commanded to kill. Myself, myself, myself! Go to someone else."
مِثْلَهُ — like it. 'Like' plus '-hu' once more for 'its like', repeated on the future side to bracket the comparison, the suffix pointing to the same anger. The full word repeats rather than a lone pronoun to keep the parallel tight.
From: The Prophet's Intercession →OpenArabic teaches words like مِثْل through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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