Arabic vocabulary
فَتَقَopen in Arabic
فَتَقَ is how you say “open” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ف ت ق (f-t-q)verb (form I)Pronounced fataqa
Meaning of open in Arabic
- to slit, rend, tear open, or split lengthwise; to disjoin, or to unstitch/undo sewing — the direct opposite of رَتَقَ 'to sew up, mend, close'
- (figurative) to cause discord and dissension within a community, provoking war or strife among them
- (figurative) to dissolve a compact or covenant
- to heighten a fragrance (musk, perfume, oil) by mixing in another substance; or to put leaven into dough
فتق is the standard contrary of رتق ('to sew up, close'). The verb appears in Qur'an 21:31 describing the heavens and earth as once رَتْقًا ('closed up') before being split apart (فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا). Beyond literal tearing or splitting, it extends figuratively to breaking apart human bonds — sowing discord, provoking war, or dissolving an agreement — and to intensifying a scent by mixing.
Words from the same root
- فَتْقٌa slit, rent, or opening; (fig.) a rift, discord, or outbreak of war within a community
- فَتَّقَto rend or split thoroughly / repeatedly; (fig.) to refine or clarify one's speech
- انْفَتَقَto become slit, rent open, or disunited (passive of fataqa)
- تَفَتَّقَto become swollen or inflated in the flanks from fatness; (fig.) to be diffuse in speech
- فِتَاقٌleaven put into dough to make it rise
- فَتَقٌabundance of herbage in a year, as in ʿāmu-l-fataq, 'the year of abundance'
Common questions
- How do you say "open" in Arabic?
- فَتَقَ (fataqa) is a verb meaning to slit, rend, or split something open lengthwise — the direct opposite of رَتَقَ, 'to sew up or close'.
- What is the difference between فَتَقَ and رَتَقَ?
- فَتَقَ means to tear or split apart, while رَتَقَ means to sew up, mend, or close — Lane's Lexicon treats them as direct opposites.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وفتق معاه للقوت فتقوى،
And opened his means for sustenance so he may gain strength.
فَتَقَ — he opened. A past-tense verb carrying its own 'he' subject, reporting a completed act of opening. The doer is God from context, and the singular masculine form agrees with that understood subject held inside the verb.
From: All Creation Praises Him →
Related words
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