Arabic vocabulary
جعلmake in Arabic
جعل is how you say “make” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root ج ع ل (j-ʿ-l)verb (form I)Pronounced jaʿala
Meaning of make in Arabic
- make, produce, fashion (a thing) — given as synonymous with صَنَعَ, but said to be broader in scope than both فَعَلَ and صَنَعَ
- create, bring into being — used of God's acts of creation, e.g. creating the darknesses and the light, or all living things from water
- make (something) to be, appoint, constitute — doubly transitive: 'He made me a prophet', 'He made the earth a bed', 'made the moon a light'
- put, place, insert; also to call/name, or to judge, pronounce, or think a thing to be so — e.g. inserting fingers into the ears; calling the angels 'females'; pronouncing the prayers to be five
جَعَلَ is one of the Qur'an's most frequent and flexible verbs, covering everything from physical making and creating to appointing, naming, and pronouncing something to be a certain way. Its exact sense (make, create, appoint, call, judge) is fixed by context and by whether it takes one or two objects.
Words from the same root
- جَعْلٌact of making; the verbal noun of جَعَلَ
- جُعْلٌact of making (variant verbal-noun form of جَعَلَ)
- جَعَالَةٌact of making (variant verbal-noun form of جَعَلَ)
- جِعَالَةٌact of making (variant verbal-noun form of جَعَلَ)
- جَاعِلٌone who makes; maker (active participle of جَعَلَ)
Common questions
- How do you say "make" in Arabic?
- جَعَلَ (jaʿala).
- Does جَعَلَ only mean 'make'?
- No — depending on context it can also mean create, appoint/constitute, put/place, or call/judge something to be a certain way.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
اجعل ذِكرَك جُمَلًا تامّة تقود قصدك
Make your remembrance complete sentences that guide your intention.
اجْعَلْ — make!. A command, 'make, render!', its bare clipped form is the imperative. 'ja'ala' here takes two objects — make X into Y — so expect both a thing and what it becomes.
From: Turning Daily Words into Worship →حين تقول بِسمِ الله، فالمعنى أبدأ عملي مُستعينًا بالله، وأجعل نتيجته لوجهه
When you say, 'In the name of Allah,' the meaning is: I begin my work seeking assistance from Allah, and I dedicate its outcome for His sake.
وَأَجْعَلُ — and I dedicate. 'and I make, assign', present with 'I' inside, joined by 'wa'. Like the earlier 'make', it sets up 'turn X toward Y'.
From: Turning Daily Words into Worship →فقال
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