Arabic vocabulary
بُنَيَّmy son in Arabic
بُنَيَّ is how you say “my son” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ا ب ن (ʾ-b-n)noun (diminutive of اِبْن "son", with attached 1st-person possessive suffix)Pronounced bunayya
Meaning of my son in Arabic
- my dear son — an affectionate vocative used when addressing one's son; softer and warmer than plain اِبْنِي ("my son")
- little son — literal sense of the diminutive pattern of اِبْن before the possessive suffix is added
بُنَيَّ is not a separate root-word but اِبْن ("son") reshaped as a diminutive and fitted with the 1st-person possessive suffix; the effect in speech is tender and affectionate rather than merely diminishing in size — it is how a father addresses a son with warmth.
Words from the same root
- اِبْنٌson (the base word بُنَيَّ is diminutivized from)
- اِبْنَةٌdaughter
- أُبْنَةٌa knot or fault (in wood, speech, etc.); also rancour or malice
- مَأْبُونٌone made an object of imputation or suspicion (of evil)
- مُؤَبِّنٌone who eulogizes and recounts the good deeds of the dead
- إِبَّانٌthe time or season proper to a thing
- آبِنُوسٌebony (an arabicized loanword)
Common questions
- How do you say "my son" in Arabic?
- بُنَيَّ (bunayya) — a diminutive of اِبْن (ibn, "son") plus the possessive suffix "my", used as a warm, affectionate way to address one's son. (A plain, non-affectionate "my son" is اِبْنِي, ibnī.)
- What root does بُنَيَّ come from?
- It is built on the root ا ب ن, the same root behind اِبْنٌ ("son") and اِبْنَةٌ ("daughter").
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وَكُنْتُ أَقُولُ لَهُ يَا بُنَيَّ،
And I would say to him, "My son,"
بُنَيَّ — my son. This is the small-and-affectionate (diminutive) form of 'son' with a first-person 'my' folded into its ending, so one word means 'my dear little son'. The diminutive here is not about size but tenderness, a softened, intimate way to address the child. Standing after the call-particle, it is the person being directly addressed.
From: Mothers and the Companions →
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