Arabic vocabulary
How to say “meaning” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
ووسمت كتابي ب ذمّ الْهَوَى لِذَلِكَ الْمَعْنَى
And I titled my book 'The Condemnation of Desires' for this reason.
الْمَعْنَى — reason. Pairs under the previous 'that' to name the exact point being pointed at. It sits in the genitive (the 'of/that' relationship), though its ending stays invisible because this word-type doesn't take the usual surface vowel marks.
From: When Desire Exceeds Its Bounds →إذا أردتَ ذِكرًا يغيِّرُ يومَك فلا تكتفِ بصوتٍ بلا معنى
If you want a remembrance that transforms your day, do not settle for a sound without meaning.
مَعْنًى — meaning. 'meaning', genitive after 'bila' though its weak ending shows differently. The point of the warning: sound stripped of sense.
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.
فَالْمَعْنَى — so the meaning. 'so the meaning is' — 'fa' of result, 'al-' the, 'ma'na' meaning. It launches the unpacking; the long final vowel of 'ma'na' stays put regardless of case.
From: Turning Daily Words into Worship →وحين تزلُّ قدمُك فتقول أستغفرُ الله، فالمعنى أطلبُ سترَ الذنب ومحوَ أثره، وأتبعه بإصلاحٍ عمليٍّ يُثبتُ صدق الطلب
And when your foot slips and you say, 'I seek forgiveness from Allah,' the meaning is: I ask for the covering of the sin and the erasure of its effect, and follow it with practical correction proving the sincerity of the request.
فَالْمَعْنَى — the meaning is. 'so the meaning is' — 'fa' plus 'the meaning', opening the paraphrase. The final long vowel of 'ma'na' is case-proof, never changing ending.
From: Turning Daily Words into Worship →وَقسم سِيبَوَيْهٍ الْكَلَام إِلَى اسْم وَفعل وحرف جَاءَ لِمَعْنى لَيْسَ باسم وَلَا فعل،
And Sibawayh divided speech into noun, verb, and letter that comes for meaning, not as a noun or a verb.
لِمَعْنًى — for meaning. 'for a meaning' — 'li' of purpose plus an indefinite genitive. It states why the particle exists: it carries a grammatical sense rather than naming a thing. Its weak ending shows the genitive in this noun's own way.
From: The Declaration of Faith →لَكِن خَاصَّة الثَّالِث أَنه حرف جَاءَ لِمَعْنى لَيْسَ باسم
But specifically the third, it is a letter that comes for meaning, not as a noun.
لِمَعْنًى — for meaning. 'for a meaning' — 'li' of purpose plus an indefinite genitive. The particle's whole reason for being: to carry a sense.
From: The Declaration of Faith →هذا هو الصحيح في معنى الآية
This is the correct interpretation of the verse.
مَعْنَى — interpretation. A noun 'meaning' that opens an 'of' chain with the next word: the meaning of the verse. As the possessed head it carries no 'the' of its own and sits in the genitive after the preceding preposition.
From: Creating Life from Nothing →OpenArabic teaches words like معنى through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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