Arabic vocabulary
رَجُلٌman
How to say “man” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
وَكَانَ لرجل من بني إِسْرَائِيل اشْتَرَاهُ بِثَلَاثِينَ مِثْقَالا ونش يعْنى نصف مِثْقَال
And he was bought by a man from the Children of Israel for thirty mithqals and a half mithqal.
لِرَجُلٍ — for a man. 'li-' = 'for, to'; 'rajul' = 'man', so 'to a man' — i.e. he belonged to a man.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →قَالَ إِذا أَتَاك الرجل فَقَالَ لَك اشرب مَا فِي النَّهر
He said, 'When the man comes to you and says, "Drink what is in the river,"'
الرَّجُلُ — the man. 'al-' = 'the'; subject (nominative).
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →رجل تعلم العلم وعلمه وقرأ القرآن وأقرأه ليقول الناس هو عالم وقارئ،
A man who learned knowledge, taught it, and recited the Quran, but did so for people's praise, saying: He is a scholar and a reciter,
رَجُلٌ — A man. An indefinite noun (the tanwin) naming the first of the three; indefinite here because he is one unnamed example of a type. It stands as the topic that the following verbs describe.
From: Deeds for God Alone →ورجل قاتل وجاهد ليقول الناس هو شجاع وجريء،
And a man who fought and struggled for people to say: He is brave and bold,
وَرَجُلٌ — And a man. 'And' plus an indefinite 'man', introducing the second example in the same frame as the first; the tanwin marks him as one unnamed instance. He is the new topic the verbs will describe.
From: Deeds for God Alone →ورجل تصدق وأعطى ليقول الناس جواد سخي
And a man who gave charity and donated for people to say: He is generous and charitable,"
وَرَجُلٌ — And a man. 'And' plus indefinite 'man', the third example, set up just like the first two. The tanwin marks him as one more unnamed type.
From: Deeds for God Alone →وقد يثاب الرجل على تعليمها بالنية إن شاء الله تعالى
A person may be rewarded for teaching it with the right intention, if Allah wills.
الرَّجُلُ — a person. This is the stand-in subject of the passive — the one on the receiving end of the reward — in the nominative: 'the man [is rewarded]'. In a passive, the thing acted upon steps into the subject slot and takes its nominative ending.
From: Intention in Islam →وهو صنعة ومعيشة ينال بها الرجل السعادة والدنيا،
It is a craft and a livelihood through which a person attains happiness and worldly success.
الرَّجُلُ — a person. This is the subject of 'attains', arriving after the verb in Arabic's verb-first order — 'the man / a person'. Its nominative ending marks it as the doer. It is the one who profits from the craft.
From: Intention in Islam →كان فيمن كان قبلكم رجل قتل تسعة وتسعين نفساً،
There was among those before you a man who killed ninety-nine people.
رَجُلٌ — a man. This is the delayed subject of the opening 'there was' — 'a man', in the nominative. Arabic's 'there was' lets its subject come after the framing phrases like this. Being indefinite, it is a new character entering the story.
From: Righteous Company →فدل على رجل عالم فقال إنه قتل مائة نفس فهل له من توبة؟
He was directed to a scholar and said, 'He has killed a hundred people; is there repentance for him?'
رَجُلٍ — a man. Genitive after the preposition, this is 'a man' — the person he is sent to this time, a scholar rather than a monk. The adjective next will mark him as learned. Its ending follows from the preposition.
From: Righteous Company →والنبي ومعه الرجل والرجلان،
and a prophet with one or two men with him,
ٱلرَّجُلُ — the man. This is the delayed subject of 'with him [was]...' — 'the [one] man', in the nominative. It pairs with the dual coming next to mean 'a man or two'. So this prophet had only one or two followers.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →فأدبر الرجل وهو يقول والله لا أزيد على هذا ولا أنقص منه،
The man departed saying: 'By Allah, I will not add to or decrease from this.'
الرَّجُلُ — the man. This is the subject of 'departed', 'the man', in the nominative, landing after its verb. A circumstantial clause describing what he did as he left follows.
From: Prayer, Fasting, Charity →وعن الزهري، قال كان رجل يجالس أصحاب رسول الله ويحدثهم
Al-Zuhri said, 'There was a man who used to sit with the companions of the Messenger of Allah and talk to them.'
رَجُلٌ — a man. The subject of 'there was', so it takes the -u ending, and with no al' it is indefinite, 'a man'. It is the someone the background frame introduces.
From: Reviving the Heart →أن رجلاً اشترى دبسًا عسل التمر من السوق،
A man bought date molasses from the market,
رَجُلًا — a man. Indefinite (no al') and in the accusative -an because the 'that' particle grips it as its subject, so 'a certain man' is who the fact is about.
From: Heedless Choices →ففعل الرجل ذلك،
The man did this,
الرَّجُلُ — the man. Definite by al' and carrying the -u subject ending, naming the doer of 'did', the delayed subject of the verb before it.
From: Heedless Choices →قال رجل يا رسول الله، أي الناس أحق مني بحسن الصحبة؟
A man said, 'O Messenger of Allah, which of the people is most deserving of my good companionship?'
رجل — a man. Indefinite noun, 'a man', the subject of 'said', following the verb. The indefinite marking keeps him unnamed, just some man; verb-first order places the subject after.
From: Honoring Your Mother →قَالَ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ،
He said, "A man came to the Prophet,"
رَجُلٌ — a man. An indefinite noun, 'a man', and it is the subject of the verb before it, the one who came. Its plain subject (nominative) ending marks it as the doer, and the lack of 'the' plus the tanwin ending give the 'a certain, unspecified man' sense. It fills the subject slot the preceding verb left open.
From: A Mother's Forgiveness →وَرَأَى عُمَرُ رَجُلًا يَحْمِلُ أُمَّهُ،
And Umar saw a man carrying his mother,
رجلًا — a man. This noun has no al- and carries an open -an tanwin ending, marking it as indefinite, 'a man', while its object-style -a vowel flags it as what Umar saw. So the ending shows both indefiniteness and its object role. It introduces an anonymous man carrying his mother.
From: Honoring Parents →وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرِ
And a man said to Abdullah ibn Umar.
رَجُلٌ — a man. This is the doer of 'said' — the subject of the verb just before it. It carries no 'the', so it stays general, just 'a man', someone unnamed entering the scene. The verb came first and this naming of who acted follows it, which is the normal Arabic order where the action is stated before its agent.
From: Honoring Parents →فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ
Then one of them said.
رَجُلٌ — a man. An indefinite noun acting as the subject of the 'said' verb. With no 'the', it presents the speaker as one unspecified member of the group, picked out only as the next phrase narrows him down.
From: Trapped and Delivered →لَمْ يَأْتِ رَجُلٌ بِمَا جِئْتَ بِهِ إِلَّا أُوذِيَ،
No man came with what you brought except that he was harmed.
رَجُلٌ — a man. The doer of 'came', arriving after its verb; the -un ending marks it as both nominative (the actor) and indefinite ('a' man, anyone). That indefiniteness is the point: the clause sets up a sweeping 'no one ever came ... except', so it speaks of any man at all.
From: The Night of Revelation and Consolation →وَكَانَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ
And there was a man from among the Helpers.
رَجُلٌ — a man. An indefinite noun 'a man' that is the delayed doer of 'there was'; its plain subject ending and the indefinite tanwin mark him as someone newly introduced and unnamed.
From: Umar and the Prophet's Wives →فَجَعَلْتُ أُعْطِيهِ الرَّجُلَ فَيَشْرَبُ حَتَّى يَرْوَى،
So I gave it to the man, and he drank until he was satisfied.
الرَّجُلَ — the man. The noun 'the man' made definite by 'the', here the recipient, in the object form as the one given to. The definiteness points to a specific man in line. Arabic marks the recipient with the object-form ending here.
From: Generosity to the Poor →فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ لِعَامِرِ بْنِ الأَكْوَعِ
Then a man from the people said to Amir ibn al-Akwa.
رَجُلٌ — a man. An indefinite noun, 'a man', and its -un ending marks it as both unspecified (some man, newly introduced) and the doer of the saying. The ending carries 'a, some' and subject-hood at once, with no separate article needed.
From: The Martyr's Reward →فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ وَجَبَتْ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ،
Then a man from the people said, "It has become necessary, O Prophet of God,"
رَجُلٌ — a man. An indefinite noun, 'a man', its -un ending marking it as both unspecified, newly introduced, and the doer of the saying. The ending carries 'a, some' and subject-hood at once.
From: The Martyr's Reward →
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