قُذَّةِpiece

Example sentences

• حَذْوُ الْقُذَّةِ بِالْقُذَّةِ،

  Like for like.

  الْقُذَّةِ — the piece. A definite noun (here an idiomatic 'matched piece') owned by 'likeness' before it, closing the pairing. As the owner term it takes the genitive ending. The al- gives 'the' without a separate word, and the phrase pictures two identical halves.

  From: The Bridge to Paradise →

• حَذْوُ الْقُذَّةِ بِالْقُذَّةِ،

  Like for like.

  بِالْقُذَّةِ — with the piece. The preposition bi- ('with') fused to the definite noun ('the matched piece'), giving 'with the piece', the second half of the 'X matched with X' proverb. The bi- marks the thing paired against the first. The al- blends in sound into the next consonant, a normal assimilation not shown in writing.

  From: The Bridge to Paradise →