بُنَيَّ my son in Arabic
بُنَيَّ is how you say “my son” in Arabic.
Root ب ن ى b-n-y. noun (diminutive, with 1st-person possessive suffix). bunayya.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of my son in Arabic
- my son affectionate address from a parent (or elder) to a boy or young man
- my dear little son the literal force of combining the diminutive pattern with 'my'
Example sentence
يَا بُنَيَّ إِنَّ الإِيمَانَ قَائِدٌ
O my son, faith is a guide.
بُنَيَّ my son
A tender small-form of 'ibn' (son); the ending '-ya' = 'my', so 'my dear little son'.
The English is machine-translated.
Practise this word in the app
One tap gives you the meaning, a grammar note and audio.
Add the words you don’t know. Practise them with spaced repetition.
Free. No ads. No subscription.
An account is needed in the app.
How it is used
بُنَيَّ combines the diminutive pattern of ابن ('son') with the possessive suffix 'my', so it works as a warm, affectionate term of address rather than a plain statement of size. Lane's places it alongside بِنْتٌ, بَنَاتٌ, بَنُونَ and بُنُوَّةٌ as part of the 'offspring' branch of this root, separate from the root's core sense of 'building.'
Words from the same root
- بَنَى to build, construct
- بِنَآءٌ building, construction
- بَنُونَ sons
- بِنْتٌ daughter, girl
- بَنَّآءٌ a builder, mason
More example sentences
وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ يَا بُنَيَّ اِعْقِلْ عَنْ اللَّهِ
And Luqman said to his son, "O my son, be mindful of God."
بُنَيَّ my son
This is a noun in its called-upon (vocative) form with an attached '-my', a diminutive of affection, 'my dear son'. The vocative shape is what marks it as the one being addressed. The '-my' ties the son to the speaker.
يَا بُنَيَّ مَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بِشَيْءٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْعَقْلِ
O my son, no one has worshipped God by anything better than the intellect.
بُنَيَّ my son
A shrunk, affectionate version of the word for 'son', the diminutive adding warmth, like 'dear boy'. It carries a 'my' attached at the end, so possessor and noun ride in one word. Standing after the call-particle, it is the person being addressed, which is why it takes the special vocative shape.
وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ يَا بُنَيَّ
And Luqman said to his son, "O my son."
بُنَيَّ my son
An affectionate diminutive of 'son' with a 'my' fused at the end, so the warmth and the possessor sit in one word. Following the call-particle it is the one being addressed, which is why it wears its special vocative ending. The shrunk form adds tenderness, like 'dear boy'.
وَقَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ يَا بُنَيَّ
And Luqman said to his son, "O my son."
بُنَيَّ my son
An affectionate diminutive of 'son' with a 'my' fused on, so warmth and possessor ride in one word, and it wears the special vocative shape because it is the one addressed. The shrunk form softens it to 'dear boy'. Standing after the call-particle, it is the person being called.
Common questions
- How do you say "my son" in Arabic?
- بُنَيَّ (bunayya) — the diminutive of ابن ('son') plus 'my', used as a warm, affectionate address, often at the start of a sentence of advice.
- Is بُنَيَّ related to بَنَى ('to build')?
- Yes — Lane's lists it under the same root ب ن ي, alongside بِنْتٌ, بَنَاتٌ and بَنُونَ, as part of the 'offspring' branch of a root whose core verb means 'to build, construct.'
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).