Arabic vocabulary
أَوْor
How to say “or” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
هناك، في المسافة الخفية، تُعرَض عليك اختياراتك الأولى أن تستجيب لوطأة العادة، أو أن تؤثر ما يرفعك درجةً في البصيرة
There, in the hidden distance, your first choices are presented to you: to respond to the pressure of habit, or to prefer what elevates you a degree in insight.
أَوْ — or. 'aw' = 'or', offering an alternative.
From: Small Daily Habits →راقب خاطرًا يمرّ كطيف، فإن وجدت فيه رياءً أو رغبةً عمياء، فاغسله بالاستغفار والعمل الهادئ
Observe a thought passing like a phantom; if you find hypocrisy or blind desire in it, cleanse it with repentance and calm action.
أَوْ — or. 'aw' = 'or'.
From: Small Daily Habits →إذا داهمك خاطرٌ يجرّك إلى رياءٍ أو عُجب، اسأله بهدوء هل يزيدني قربًا أم يصنع لي تمثالًا من دخان
If a thought comes to you that leads you to vanity or conceit, ask it calmly: does it bring me closer, or does it create a statue of smoke?
أَوْ — or. 'aw' = 'or'.
From: On Sincerity →فلعب يَوْمًا بالنرد على أَن من قمر صَاحبه شرب المَاء الَّذِي فِي النَّهر كُله أَو افتدي مِنْهُ
One day, he played dice on the condition that whoever lost to his companion would drink all the water in the river or ransom themselves from it.
أَوِ — or. 'aw' = 'or'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →قَالَ عَيْنَيْك أفقؤهما أَو جَمِيع مَا تملك
He said, 'Your eyes, gouge them out, or everything you own.'
أَوْ — or. 'aw' = 'or'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →فَقل لَهُ اشرب مَا بَين ضفتي النَّهر أَو الْمَدّ
Then say to him, 'Drink what is between the banks of the river or the tide.'
أَوِ — or. 'aw' = 'or'.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →إِذا لم يكن فِيهِ تَشْبِيه الْخَالِق بالمخلوق أَو الْمَخْلُوق بالخالق
If there is no likening of the Creator to the creation or the creation to the Creator.
أَوْ — or. 'or', branching to the mirror-image case; it links the two parallel comparisons without altering their grammar.
From: Worship God Alone →وعلى الضدّ من ذلك مَن لم تبقَ له حسنةٌ معتبرة وقد قضاها على الباطل فلا يقوم له وزن؛ أعماله كالسراب أو الرماد في يومٍ عاصف
And on the contrary: whoever has no significant good deeds left—having wasted them on falsehood—has no weight; his deeds are like a mirage or ashes on a stormy day.
أَوِ — or. 'or' — offering an alternative image; it links two comparisons without changing case.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →أو لتعديه حدود الله بسلوك السبل التي نهى عنها،
or by transgressing the limits of Allah by pursuing forbidden paths,
أَوْ — or. 'or', alternative.
From: Judging by Revelation →أو لاتباع هواه بغير هدى من الله،
or by following his desires without guidance from Allah,
أَوْ — or. 'or', alternative.
From: Judging by Revelation →وذلك من فِعْل غالط أو مغالط للمجادلة،
This is the work of someone mistaken or deliberately misleading in debate.
أَوْ — or. 'or', alternative.
From: Misguided Methodology →أَو يسمع مِنْهُ مَا يكره
Or hears from him what He dislikes.
أَوْ — Or. A conjunction 'or', offering an alternative to the previous clause; here it continues under the same 'that' and subjunctive. It adds a second thing he is ashamed of.
From: Humility Before the Divine →أَو يخفي فِي سَرِيرَته مَا يمقته عَلَيْهِ
Or conceals in his heart what He would despise in him.
أَوْ — Or. A conjunction 'or', a third alternative under the same 'that' and subjunctive. It adds what he hides within.
From: Humility Before the Divine →ويكفي إيصالُ الترابِ إلى الوجهِ واليدينِ بأيِّ وسيلةٍ ممكنةٍ؛ باليدِ أو بخرقةٍ أو خشبةٍ
It is sufficient to apply the dust to the face and hands by any means possible, whether by hand, cloth, or wood.
أَوْ — or. 'or' — offering an alternative instrument. It strings together the options ('by the hand OR by a cloth OR a stick'), showing the method truly is free.
From: The Practice of Earth Cleansing →ويكفي إيصالُ الترابِ إلى الوجهِ واليدينِ بأيِّ وسيلةٍ ممكنةٍ؛ باليدِ أو بخرقةٍ أو خشبةٍ
It is sufficient to apply the dust to the face and hands by any means possible, whether by hand, cloth, or wood.
أَوْ — or. 'or' once more, adding a third option. The repeated 'or' underlines that any of these will serve to convey the dust.
From: The Practice of Earth Cleansing →يخرج الدجال في أمتى فيمكث أربعين لا أدري يوماً أو أربعين شهراً، أو أربعين عاماً،
The Dajjal will appear in my nation and will remain for forty—I do not know whether days or months or years.
أَوْ — or. This is 'or', offering an alternative — the speaker is unsure, so 'days OR...'. It links the guessed units of time.
From: The Return of Jesus →يخرج الدجال في أمتى فيمكث أربعين لا أدري يوماً أو أربعين شهراً، أو أربعين عاماً،
The Dajjal will appear in my nation and will remain for forty—I do not know whether days or months or years.
أَوْ — or. Another 'or', adding the third alternative. It links to the last guessed unit of the forty.
From: The Return of Jesus →فلا يبقى على وجه الأرض أحد في قلبه مثقال ذرة من خير أو إيمان إلا قبضته،
No one will remain on the face of the earth with an atom's weight of goodness or faith in their heart except that the wind will take their soul.
أَوْ — or. This is 'or', offering an alternative — 'goodness OR faith'. Either, in the smallest measure, marks one out to be taken.
From: The Return of Jesus →ثم يرسل الله أو قال ينزل الله مطرا كأنه الطل أو الظل،
Then Allah will send—or he said: Allah will send down—rain like dew or shade,
أَوْ — or. This is 'or', here marking a narrator's hesitation between two wordings — 'will send, OR [he said] will send down'. It flags an alternative reported phrasing, not a real choice in the events.
From: The Return of Jesus →ثم يرسل الله أو قال ينزل الله مطرا كأنه الطل أو الظل،
Then Allah will send—or he said: Allah will send down—rain like dew or shade,
أَوْ — or. This is 'or', offering an alternative likeness — 'like dew OR shade'. It links the two comparisons for the gentle, reviving rain.
From: The Return of Jesus →أو أرجعه إلى منزله الذي خرج منه بما نال من أجر،
or bringing him back to his home from which he departed with what he has gained of reward,
أَوْ — or. This particle 'or' offers an alternative to the previous outcome, 'or...'. Its job is to set the two possible rewards side by side; it links coordinate options without ranking them.
From: Paradise for Those Who Strive →أو غنيمة،
or spoils of war.
أَوْ — or. This particle 'or' offers a final alternative reward, 'or spoils'. It links one more coordinate option onto the list of possible outcomes.
From: Paradise for Those Who Strive →فإن العبد إذا وقع في شدة فإما أن يدفعها بقوته أو قوة من ينصره
For when a servant falls into hardship, he either repels it with his own strength or the strength of someone who helps him.
أَوْ — or. A connector 'or', opening the second branch of the 'either...or', offering the alternative means. It simply sets the two options side by side.
From: Preparing for Judgment Day →وهو الناصر فإن العبد إذا وقع في شدة فإما أن يدفعها بقوته أو قوة من ينصره وكلاهما معدوم في حقه
He is the helper, for when the servant falls into distress, he may either repel it with his own strength or with the strength of someone who helps him; both of these are absent in his case.
أَوْ — or. This is the choice conjunction 'or', linking the second alternative to the first. It governs nothing grammatically but structures the sentence, presenting an equally weighted option after the 'either' set up earlier.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →
Learn Arabic vocabulary in context
OpenArabic teaches words like أَوْ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
Get the app