Arabic vocabulary
فَقْرٌneed in Arabic
فَقْرٌ is how you say “need” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root ف ق ر (f-q-r)noun (verbal noun / maṣdar)Pronounced faqr
Meaning of need in Arabic
- poverty, need, neediness — the common abstract sense, the state opposite of sufficiency/wealth; tied to فَقِير 'a poor, needy person'.
- the act of digging (the ground, or a well) — an older concrete sense recorded as the verbal noun of فَقَرَ 'he dug'.
- boring or perforating, as of beads for stringing — also recorded for this same verbal noun.
فَقْرٌ is the standard abstract noun for poverty or lack, standing opposite غِنًى 'wealth' and closely tied to فَقِير 'poor, needy' (from أَفْقَرَ 'he rendered him فَقِير'). The same verbal noun also carries older, concrete senses recorded by the lexicographers — digging, boring, or making an incision — actions of breaking or opening something, echoed in related words like فَاقِرَةٌ 'a back-breaking calamity' and فَقَارٌ 'vertebrae'.
Words from the same root
- فَقِيرٌa poor, needy person
- فَقَارٌthe vertebrae, the backbone
- فَاقِرَةٌa crushing calamity (lit. one that 'breaks the vertebrae')
- أَفْقَرَto render someone poor, needy (also: to lend one's mount for riding)
- تَفَاقَرَto feign the lowliness of poverty, to act humbly before others
- اِفْتَقَرَto cleave, slit, or rend; to open
Common questions
- How do you say "need" in Arabic?
- فَقْرٌ (faqr).
- What is the root of فَقْرٌ and what other words come from it?
- It comes from the triliteral root ف ق ر (f-q-r), which also gives فَقِير 'poor, needy person' and فَقَار 'vertebrae, backbone'.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
فَيرى فِي ذَلِك فقره إِلَى ربّه، وظلمه فِي نَفسه
Thus, he sees in that his need for his Lord, and his injustice to himself.
فَقْرَهُ — his need. faqr means 'poverty, need'; the ending '-hu' adds 'his' — 'his need'; the object of 'sees'.
From: Returning to God →وَلَا يمل من خدمته مع حاجته وفقره إِلَيْهِ،
And that he does not tire of serving Him, despite his need and poverty before Him,
وَفَقْرِهِ — and poverty. wa- = 'and'; faqr means 'poverty'; the ending '-hi' adds 'his' — 'and his poverty'.
From: Seeds and Streams of Deeds →وغناك قبل فقرك،
And your wealth before your poverty.
Related words
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