Arabic vocabulary
قَصَّrecount in Arabic
قَصَّ is how you say “recount” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root ق ص ص (q-ṣ-ṣ)verb (form I)Pronounced qaṣṣa
Meaning of recount in Arabic
- to relate, narrate, recount (news, a story, a dream) — used with عَلَى + person; to tell it fully, in its proper sequence
- to follow, trace, or pursue a track or footprints
- to cut, clip, or shear off (hair, wool, a fingernail)
This verb covers relating a story fully and in sequence, as well as tracking footprints; Lane's notes that the narrating sense grew out of the tracking one, as though the speaker were retracing the course of events. The same tracking idea, applied to exact matching, gives the legal term قِصَاص for retaliation in kind.
Words from the same root
- قِصَّةٌa story, an account
- قَصَصٌa narrative, storytelling
- قِصَاصٌretaliation, just retribution
- مُقَاصَّةٌa settling of accounts, offsetting a debt
Common questions
- How do you say "recount" in Arabic?
- قَصَّ (qaṣṣa) — to relate or recount a piece of news, a story, or a dream to someone.
- What is the difference between قِصَّة and قَصَص?
- قِصَّة (qiṣṣa) means 'a story'; قَصَص (qaṣaṣ) is the related noun for narrative or storytelling, as in the Qur'anic phrase describing 'the best of narratives.'
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وقص له ما قالا
And he recounted to him what they said.
وَقَصَّ — and he recounted. wa- = 'and'; past-tense verb 'narrated, told', 'he' form.
From: Early Converts to Islam →فَقص عَلَيْهِ الْقِصَّة
So he told him the story.
فَقَصَّ — so he told. 'fa-' = 'so'; past-tense verb, subject 'he' built in.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →
Related words
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