Arabic vocabulary
How to say “place” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
ضع نيةً محددة كإبرة بوصلتك، ثم اجعل أعمالك الصغيرة تدور حولها وضوء حاضر، نظرة مصروفة عن فضول، كلمة مكفوفة عن إيذاء، ابتسامة تُثبِّت قلبًا واهيًا
Set a specific intention as your compass needle, then let your small deeds revolve around it: a mindful ablution, a glance turned away from curiosity, a restrained word from harm, a smile that steadies a weak heart.
ضَعْ — set!. Command 'da'' = 'put!, place!'; 'you' is built in.
From: On Sincerity →ثمَّ وضع مَا مَعَه
Then he put down what he had with him.
وَضَعَ — he put down. Past-tense verb, subject 'he' built in.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →وفي السجود سبحانَ ربّي الأعلى فتضعُ النفسَ موضعَها عبدٌ يقتربُ بسجوده لا بصورةٍ يُنشِرها
In prostration: 'Glory be to my Lord, the Most High,' you place the self in its position: a servant who draws near through prostration, not through an image to be shared.
فَتَضَعُ — you place. 'and you place' — 'fa' of result plus present 'you set down', subject 'you' inside. It governs an object next.
From: Remembrance That Reshapes the Heart →لذلك وُضِعَتِ التسميةُ في مواضعَ ثابتة على الطعام، وعند الدخول والخروج، وعلى السكين والقلم ولوحة المفاتيح؛ لتتعلّم أنّ العملَ يبدأ بالله وينتهي إليه
Thus, naming was placed in fixed locations: over food, when entering and exiting, over the knife, pen, and keyboard; to teach that every action begins with Allah and ends with Him.
وُضِعَتِ — was placed. PASSIVE past — 'was placed, set down', not 'placed'. The inner-vowel pattern marks the passive (the placer is left unnamed), and the -at agrees with the feminine subject 'the naming' that follows.
From: Remembrance That Reshapes the Heart →تُوضَع بطاقةٌ فيها كلمة التوحيد في كفّة، وتُقابِلها سجلاّتٌ من الذنوب في الكفّة الأخرى، فتغلب البطاقةُ بما فيها من حقٍّ خالص
A card with the word of monotheism is placed on one side, and records of sins on the other side; the card outweighs them with its pure truth.
تُوضَعُ — is placed. PASSIVE present — 'is placed, set down', not 'places'. The inner-vowel shape marks the passive (the placer unnamed), and its feminine form looks ahead to 'a card'.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →غير أنهم وضعوها في غير مواضعها المستحقَّة لها،
However, they placed them outside their proper contexts.
وَضَعُوهَا — they placed them. Past 'they put them', the -u marking 'they', 'them' (feminine) attached as object — the predicate of 'anna'.
From: Misguided Methodology →قال العطار لأنك وضعت الدواء في عينه، وكان ينبغي أن تجعله في فمه
The herbalist said, 'Because you put the medicine in its eye, and you were supposed to put it in its mouth.'
وَضَعْتَ — you put. A past-tense verb, 'put', carrying a 'you' subject in its ending. It states the mistaken action directly to Joha.
From: Reflections on Literal Obedience →فقال جحا لو كنت تعلم أن الدواء يوضع في الفم ما أعطيتني إياه لعين
Joha said, 'If you knew that the medicine should go in the mouth, why did you give it to me for the eye!'
يُوضَعُ — should go. A passive present-tense verb, 'is placed', carrying its own 'it' subject, the medicine. The passive shows the medicine as receiving the action with no named doer; Arabic marks this by the verb's inner vowels, not a helper word.
From: Reflections on Literal Obedience →وَضَعْنَا لَهُمَا سُفْرَةً فِي جِرَابٍ،
We placed a meal spread for the two of them in a pouch.
وَضَعْنَا — and we placed. A past verb with the 'we' (first-person plural) shown by its -na ending, so subject and verb are one word. It opens a fresh action in Aisha's account, 'we placed', the -na fixing the doers as the women of the household.
From: The Secret Migration →فَأَخَذَ الْقَدَحَ فَوَضَعَهُ عَلَى يَدِهِ فَنَظَرَ إِلَيَّ فَتَبَسَّمَ
Then he took the cup, placed it on his hand, looked at me, and smiled.
فَوَضَعَهُ — then placed it. Begins with the connector 'then'; a past verb 'placed' with 'he' built in and 'it' attached as object, so 'then he placed it'. The connector ties the placing to the taking. The 'it' is the cup.
From: Generosity to the Poor →فَسَلَّمَ عَلَى سَيِّدِهِ ثُمَّ وَضَعَ مَا مَعَهُ وَرَجَعَ إِلَى سَيِّدِهِ
He greeted his master, then put down what he had and returned to his master.
وَضَعَ — he put down. A past verb, 'put down', with the 'he' subject built in, taking the relative phrase after it as its object. It is the middle action in the sequence the surrounding connectors are stringing together. The doer stays inside the verb.
From: Luqman's Wisdom and Trial →فَأَسْنَدَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ إلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ، وَوَضَعَ كَفَّيْهِ عَلَى فَخِذَيْهِ، وَقَالَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ الْإِسْلَامِ
He rested his knees against his knees and placed his hands on his thighs, and said: 'O Muhammad, tell me about Islam.'
وَوَضَعَ — and placed. The wa- joins a second action, and the past-tense verb 'placed' it carries continues the description; the 'he' subject stays the stranger. It moves from the knees to the hands.
From: When Gabriel Came to Teach →OpenArabic teaches words like وَضَعَ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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