Arabic vocabulary
How to say “return” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
ثم أقسم سبحانه ب ﴿وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ وَالأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ﴾
Then God swore by the heavens with their return and the earth with its cleaving.
الرَّجْعِ — return. A verbal noun made definite by al-, the owned second noun of 'possessor of the return', so it carries the genitive ending. It names the returning (the rain cycle) as the quality the sky possesses.
From: Preparing for Judgment Day →فأقسم بالسماء ورجعها بالمطر والأرض وصدعها بالنبات
So He swore by the heavens returning with rain and the earth splitting with plants.
وَرَجْعِهَا — returning with. wa- (and) on a noun carrying -ha (its), 'and its returning', heading a possessive pairing where -ha (the sky) is the owner. The attached pronoun ties the return to the sky; the noun names that cyclic return as a thing.
From: Preparing for Judgment Day →وأقسم سبحانه ب ﴿وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ وَالأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ﴾
And He, Glory be to Him, swore by 'the sky with its returning rain and the earth with its cracks.'
الرَّجْعِ — returning. The quality attributed to the sky through the preceding 'owner of', so 'the sky possessing the returning'. As the owned term of that pairing it sits in the genitive ending and carries its own 'the'.
From: Oaths of Provision →فأقسم بالسماء ورجعها بالمطر والأرض وصدعها بالنبات
So He swore by the sky and its returning rain, and by the earth and its splitting for plants.
وَرَجْعِهَا — and its returning. A verbal noun 'its returning' with an attached 'its' ending pointing back to the sky as the owner of that act. The leading 'and' coordinates it with the sky as a further object of the oath, in the genitive.
From: Oaths of Provision →وقال أبو إسحاق الرجع المطر لأنه يجيء ويرجع ويتكرر
Abu Ishaq said: The returning is the rain because it comes and returns repeatedly.
الرَّجْعُ — the returning. A noun 'the returning', here the subject of an equation 'the returning is the rain'. It takes the nominative ending and its own 'the', and the bare noun-plus-noun structure does the work English handles with 'is'.
From: Oaths of Provision →ورجع السماء هو إعطاء الخير الذي يكون من جهتها حالًا بعد حال على مرور الأزمان
The returning of the sky is the provision of good that comes from it from time to time over the ages.
وَرَجْعُ — and returning of. A verbal noun 'the returning of', the action named as a noun, opening an 'of' chain with the next word; the leading 'and' ties it to the passage. As the head of the pairing it drops its own 'the' and the whole phrase is the sentence's subject.
From: Oaths of Provision →ترجعه رجعًا أي تعطيه مرة بعد مرة
It returns repeatedly, meaning it grants it time after time.
رَجْعًا — repeatedly. A verbal noun in the accusative used as an inner object that reinforces its own verb, an Arabic pattern with no real English match: 'returns it a returning' simply intensifies 'returns'. The accusative ending is what marks this reinforcing role.
From: Oaths of Provision →فسر الرجع به ومقابلته بصدع الأرض عن النبات
Thus, 'returning' was interpreted as rain, and its counterpart was the earth splitting for plants.
الرَّجْعَ — the returning. The thing interpreted, 'the returning', as the grammatical object of the passive verb in the accusative ending, with its own 'the'. Even though it is rendered as a subject in English, Arabic treats it as the object that was acted upon.
From: Oaths of Provision →ثم أقسم سبحانه ب ﴿وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ وَالأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ﴾
Then He, the Exalted, swore by "the sky with its returning rain and the earth with its splitting growth."
الرَّجْعِ — returning rain. The quality attributed to the sky, 'the returning', as the owned term of the pairing, so in the genitive ending with its own 'the'.
From: Signs of Resurrection →فأقسم بالسماء ورجعها بالمطر والأرض وصدعها بالنبات
So He swore by the sky and its rain, and by the earth and its plants.
وَرَجْعِهَا — and its rain. A verbal noun 'its returning' with an attached 'its' ending pointing back to the sky, joined by the leading 'and' as a further sworn object, in the genitive. The pronoun names the sky as owner of the act.
From: Signs of Resurrection →وقال أبو إسحاق الرجع المطر لأنه يجيء ويرجع ويتكرر
Abu Ishaq said that 'returning' is rain because it comes and returns and repeats.
الرَّجْعُ — 'returning'. A noun 'the returning', the subject of the equation 'the returning is the rain', in the nominative with its own 'the'. The bare noun-plus-noun structure carries the 'is'.
From: Signs of Resurrection →ورجع السماء هو إعطاء الخير الذي يكون من جهتها حالًا بعد حال على مرور الأزمان ترجعه رجعًا أي تعطيه مرة بعد مرة
And the sky's return is the provision of good which comes from it continuously over time, returning repeatedly, meaning it gives repeatedly over and over.
وَرَجْعُ — and return. A verbal noun 'the returning of', opening an 'of' chain with the next word; the leading 'and' ties it to the passage. As the head it drops its own 'the' and the whole phrase is the subject.
From: Signs of Resurrection →ورجع السماء هو إعطاء الخير الذي يكون من جهتها حالًا بعد حال على مرور الأزمان ترجعه رجعًا أي تعطيه مرة بعد مرة
And the sky's return is the provision of good which comes from it continuously over time, returning repeatedly, meaning it gives repeatedly over and over.
رَجْعًا — repeatedly. A verbal noun in the accusative used as an inner object reinforcing its own verb: 'returns it a returning' simply intensifies 'returns'. The accusative ending marks this reinforcing role with no real English match.
From: Signs of Resurrection →والخير كله من قبل السماء يجي لما كان أظهر الخير المشهود بالعيان المطر فسر الرجع به ومقابلته بصدع الأرض عن النبات
And all good comes from the sky, and since the most evident visible blessing is rain, the 'return' is interpreted as such, contrasted with the earth's splitting for plant growth.
الرَّجْعُ — the 'return'. The thing interpreted, 'the returning', as the passive verb's subject in form but the acted-upon item in sense, with its own 'the'. English renders it as the subject of 'was interpreted'.
From: Signs of Resurrection →ثم أقسم سبحانه ب ﴿وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الرَّجْعِ وَالأَرْضِ ذَاتِ الصَّدْعِ﴾
Then Allah, the Exalted, swore by 'the sky which returns' and 'the earth which cleaves open.'
الرَّجْعِ — returns. This noun is the quality owned in 'one having the return', so it sits in the genitive of the possessive pair. Its 'the' makes the feature definite, the specific cyclical return meant. The possessive pairing is what binds this attribute to the sky.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →فأقسم بالسماء ورجعها بالمطر والأرض وصدعها بالنبات
He swore by the sky and its returning of rain, and the earth and its cleaving with plants.
وَرَجْعِهَا — and its returning. This packs 'and' plus the noun 'return' plus an attached 'its'. The attached owner points back to the sky, so it means 'and its return'. It is joined by 'and' into the oath, sharing the sworn-by status; the pronoun is the ownership tie to the sky.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →وقال أبو إسحاق الرجع المطر لأنه يجيء ويرجع ويتكرر
Abu Ishaq said the return is rain because it comes and goes repeatedly.
الرَّجْعُ — the return. This noun 'the return' is the topic of an equational sentence, 'the return is rain', and stands first as the subject. It is definite with 'the' and in the plain subject ending. The sentence has no verb 'is'; juxtaposition alone equates the two nouns.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →ورجع السماء هو إعطاء الخير الذي يكون من جهتها حالًا بعد حال على مرور الأزمان ترجعه رجعًا أي تعطيه مرة بعد مرة
The return of the sky is the giving of good that comes from it, time after time, as it keeps returning — meaning it gives again and again.
وَرَجْعُ — the return of. This joins 'and' to the noun 'return', the front of an 'of' pair, 'the return of the sky'. It stands as the subject of an equational sentence and drops its own 'the', taking definiteness from the owner noun that follows it.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →ورجع السماء هو إعطاء الخير الذي يكون من جهتها حالًا بعد حال على مرور الأزمان ترجعه رجعًا أي تعطيه مرة بعد مرة
The return of the sky is the giving of good that comes from it, time after time, as it keeps returning — meaning it gives again and again.
رَجْعًا — returning. This noun in the object-style ending is a cognate object: it repeats the meaning of the verb 'returns' as a noun to intensify it, 'returns it a returning'. Arabic uses this paired noun-after-its-own-verb to emphasize the action itself, where English would say 'returns it again and again'.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →فسر الرجع به ومقابلته بصدع الأرض عن النبات
The return is interpreted as rain and its counterpart is the earth cleaving with plants.
الرَّجْعُ — the return. This noun 'the return' is the subject of the passive verb, the thing being interpreted. It comes after its verb in normal order and is definite with 'the'. With a passive verb, what would be the object becomes the subject, and that is this word.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →فلو قال قائل على رجعه إلى الفرج الذي صب فيه لم يكن فرق بينه وبين هذا القول ولم يكن أولى منه
So if someone were to say regarding his return to the outlet into which it was poured, there would be no difference between this and that statement, and it would not be more appropriate than it.
رَجْعِهِ — his return. This pairs the verbal noun 'return/bringing-back' with an attached 'his', genitive after the preposition. It names the action; the attached pronoun is the one returned, 'his return'.
From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →ثم نبه بقوله ﴿إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ﴾ على بعثه لجزائه على العمل الذي حفظ وأحصى عليه
Then He emphasized by saying, 'Indeed, He is Able to bring him back,' referring to His ability to resurrect him for recompense for the deeds that were preserved and accounted for.
رَجْعِهِ — to bring him back. This verbal noun names the act of bringing back, with an attached pronoun pointing to the person resurrected, governed by the preposition before it. Arabic packs 'returning him' into a single derived noun, the pronoun tracking the man.
From: Ten Proofs of Resurrection →ثم ذكر الأمر المستدل عليه والمعاد بقوله ﴿إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ﴾
Then He mentioned the subject of inference and the Resurrection by saying, 'Indeed, He is able to bring him back.'
رَجْعِهِ — to bring him back. A verbal-noun (the act of 'returning' frozen into a noun) fused with '-hi' for 'returning him', the '-hi' pointing to man; it sits in the form the preceding preposition governs. The noun-form lets the action be the object of the ability.
From: Creation Points to Resurrection →أي على رجعه إليه يوم القيامة كما هو قادر على خلقه من ماء هذا شأنه هذا هو الصحيح في معنى الآية
Meaning, He is capable of returning him to Him on the Day of Resurrection just as He is capable of creating him from water. This is the correct interpretation of the verse.
رَجْعِهِ — returning him. A verbal-noun (the act of 'returning' frozen into a noun) fused with '-hi' for 'returning him', the '-hi' pointing to man; it sits in the form the preceding preposition governs. The noun-form lets the action be the object of the ability.
From: Creation Points to Resurrection →OpenArabic teaches words like رَجْع through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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