Arabic vocabulary
يَنْظُرlook in Arabic
يَنْظُر is how you say “look” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root ع ط ف (ʿ-ṭ-f)verb (form I, imperfect)Pronounced yaʿṭifu
Meaning of look in Arabic
- to incline, bend, or turn (toward something) — The base, literal sense; used of a person or a thing bending or leaning.
- to be favorably inclined, affectionate, or compassionate toward someone (ʿaṭafa ʿalayhi) — A figurative extension of the literal sense — mercy or compassion is pictured as an inclining toward its object.
- to turn back against someone; to charge or attack, then turn on them (in battle)
- to turn away or be averse/unkind toward someone (ʿaṭafa ʿanhu) — The contrary of the compassionate sense, used with ʿan instead of ʿalā.
The literal sense is physical — bending or inclining an object (a stick, a pillow, the head). Lane's marks the "favorably inclined / compassionate" sense as a tropical (figurative) extension of this: showing mercy or affection is pictured as an inclining of the heart toward its object, and it takes the preposition ʿalā (عَلَيْهِ), while the opposite, unfavorable sense takes ʿan (عَنْهُ).
Words from the same root
- عَطَفَhe inclined, bent; (figuratively) he was favorably disposed, affectionate, or compassionate
- عَطَّفَhe bent/inclined (something) much, or repeatedly; also, he draped a garment on someone as a cloak
- تَعَطَّفَhe became inclined or bent; also, he clad himself with a cloak (ʿiṭāf)
- إِنْعَطَفَit/he inclined or turned (toward something); quasi-passive of ʿaṭafa
- عَطْفٌverbal noun: inclining, bending, turning
- عِطَافٌa cloak or mantle worn draped over the shoulders
Common questions
- How do you say "incline" in Arabic?
- يَعْطِفُ (yaʿṭifu), from the root ع ط ف (ʿ-ṭ-f) — the imperfect of عَطَفَ (ʿaṭafa), "he inclined or bent."
- What does ʿaṭafa ʿalayhi (عَطَفَ عَلَيْهِ) mean?
- To be favorably inclined, affectionate, or compassionate toward someone — literally "to incline toward" them, extended figuratively to mercy and kindness.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
إن الله لا ينظر إلى أجسادكم، ولا إلى صوركم، ولكن ينظر إلى قلوبكم وأعمالكم
Indeed, Allah does not look at your bodies, nor at your appearances, but He looks at your hearts and deeds.
يَنْظُرُ — He looks. A present-tense verb, 'he looks', with the 'he' subject built into its shape and referring to God. The plain present form here states a general truth about what God does and does not regard.
From: Avoid Envy and Suspicion →إن الله لا ينظر إلى أجسادكم، ولا إلى صوركم، ولكن ينظر إلى قلوبكم وأعمالكم
Indeed, Allah does not look at your bodies, nor at your appearances, but He looks at your hearts and deeds.
يَنْظُرُ — He looks. A present-tense verb, 'he looks', repeated to mark the positive side of the contrast, with the 'he' subject inside the form referring to God. The repetition mirrors the earlier denied looking, now affirmed toward different objects.
Related words
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