Arabic vocabulary
رَأَىsee
How to say “see” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
فَإِن آخذه بذنوبه رأى عدله،
So if He takes him to account for his sins, he sees His justice,
رَأَى — he sees. Past-tense verb 'saw, perceived', 'he' form.
From: Returning to God →وَإِن لم يؤاخذه بهَا رأى فَضله
And if He does not take him to account for it, he sees His grace.
رَأَى — he sees. Past-tense verb 'saw, perceived', 'he' form.
From: Returning to God →وَإِن عمل حَسَنَة رَآهَا من منّته وصدقته عَلَيْهِ،
And if he performs a good deed, he sees it as from His favor and charity upon him,
رَآهَا — he sees it. Past-tense verb 'saw', 'he' form; the ending '-ha' adds 'it' (the deed) — 'he saw it'.
From: Returning to God →وَإِن عمل سيّئة رَآهَا من تخلّيه عَنهُ وخذلانه لَهُ،
And if he commits a bad deed, he sees it as resulting from His abandonment of him and His forsaking him,
رَآهَا — he sees it. Past-tense verb 'saw', 'he' form; the ending '-ha' adds 'it' (the deed) — 'he saw it'.
From: Returning to God →فَيرى فِي ذَلِك فقره إِلَى ربّه، وظلمه فِي نَفسه
Thus, he sees in that his need for his Lord, and his injustice to himself.
فَيَرَى — thus, he sees. fa- = 'so, thus'; present-tense verb 'sees', 'he' form.
From: Returning to God →ونكتة الْمَسْأَلَة أَنَّهُ لَا يرى ربه إِلَّا محسنا، وَلَا يرى نَفسه إِلَّا مسيئا
And the essence of the matter is that he sees his Lord as nothing but good, and himself as nothing but wrong.
يَرَى — he sees. Present-tense verb 'sees', 'he' form (negated by 'la' = 'does not see').
From: Returning to God →ونكتة الْمَسْأَلَة أَنَّهُ لَا يرى ربه إِلَّا محسنا، وَلَا يرى نَفسه إِلَّا مسيئا
And the essence of the matter is that he sees his Lord as nothing but good, and himself as nothing but wrong.
يَرَى — he sees. Present-tense verb 'sees', 'he' form (negated — 'does not see').
From: Returning to God →فَيرى كل مَا يسرّه من فضل الله، وكل مَا يسوءه من ذنوبه وَعدل الله فِيهِ
Thus, he sees everything that pleases him as from the grace of Allah, and everything that displeases him as from his sins and the justice of Allah upon him.
فَيَرَى — thus, he sees. fa- = 'so, thus'; present-tense verb 'sees', 'he' form.
From: Returning to God →ردّه إلى طين التواضع، واغسله بعملٍ لا يراه أحد
Return it to the clay of humility, and wash it with a deed seen by no one.
يَرَاهُ — sees it. Present-tense verb 'yara' = 'he sees'; '-hu' = 'it', so 'sees it'; with 'la': 'does not see it'.
From: On Sincerity →هذه الزيادات الصغيرة هي السلّم الخفي الذي يصعد بك حين لا يراك أحد، حتى تصير النفس مطمئنة، والعمل سهلًا، والطريق مضيئًا من الداخل
These small increments are the hidden ladder that lifts you when no one sees, until the soul becomes content, the work easy, and the path illuminated from within.
يَرَاكَ — he sees you. Present-tense verb 'yara' = 'he sees'; '-ka' = 'you', so 'sees you'; with 'la': 'does not see you'.
From: On Sincerity →وَكَانَ سَيّده إِذا رَآهُ عَبث بِهِ وَيسمع مِنْهُ الْكَلِمَة الحكيمة فيعجب مِنْهُ
And his master, when he saw him, would ridicule him and hear the wise word from him, and be amazed by it.
رَآهُ — he saw him. Past-tense verb, subject 'he' built in; '-hu' = 'him' object.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →فَلَمَّا جلس إِلَيْهِ قَالَ لسَيِّده مَا لي أَرَاك كئيبًا حَزينًا فاعرض عَنهُ
So when he sat down with him, he said to his master, 'Why do I see you sad and sorrowful?' But he turned away from him.
أَرَاكَ — see you. Present-tense verb, subject 'I' built in; '-ka' = 'you' object.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →أَلا تَرَى أَنَّ الطِّفْلَ يُؤْثِرُ مَا يَهْوَى وَإِنْ أَدَّاهُ إِلَى التَّلَفِ
Do you not see that a child prefers what he desires, even if it leads to his ruin?
تَرَى — you see. Present-tense verb with 'you' built in; here 'see' means 'notice, realize', not literal eyesight. No separate 'you' word is needed.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَلِهَذَا تَرَى مُدْمِنَ الْخَمْرِ وَالْجِمَاعِ لَا يَلْتَذُّ بِذَلِكَ عُشْرَ الْتِذَاذِ مَنْ لَمْ يُدْمِنْ
This is why you see that the addict to wine and intimacy does not enjoy it even a tenth as much as one who is not addicted.
تَرَى — you see. Present-tense verb with 'you' built in; 'see' here means 'observe, notice'. No separate 'you' word.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →وَلَوْ زَالَ رَيْنُ الْهَوَى عَنْ بَصَرِ بَصِيرَتِهِ لَرَأَى أَنَّهُ قَدْ شَقِيَ مِنْ حَيْثُ قَدَّرَ السَّعَادَةَ وَاغْتَمَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ ظَنَّ الْفَرَحَ وَأَلِمَ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَرَادَ اللَّذَّةَ
If the veil of desire were lifted from the eyes of his insight, he would see that he is miserable where he thought he was happy, grieved where he thought he was joyous, and in pain where he sought pleasure.
لَرَأَى — then he would see. The la- on the front is the 'then' that an unreal 'if' calls for; the verb is past in form but reads as 'he would then see'. Subject ('he') built in.
From: The Discipline of Foresight →لا تُرى سريعًا، لكن المحصّلة خفّةٌ مقلقة
it's not seen quickly, but the result is a disturbing lightness.
تُرَى — is seen. PASSIVE present — 'is seen', not 'sees'. The inner-vowel shape marks the passive; the damage 'is not seen'.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →أرى فقهاء هذا العصر طُرًّا أضاعوا العلم واشتغلوا بلِمْ لِمْ
I see all the jurists of this era have neglected knowledge and are busy with 'why, why.'
أَرَى — I see. Present 'I see, regard', with 'I' inside; it takes two objects (see X [as] Y).
From: Avoiding Scholarly Disputation →يرى من فَوق سبع
He sees from above the seven heavens,
يَرَى — He sees. A present-tense verb 'sees', subject 'He' inside, weak final root. It opens the clause of His seeing from on high.
From: God's Majesty →فَمنهمْ من رأى الْحَبْس
Some of them proposed imprisonment.
رَأَى — he saw. A past-tense verb 'saw / was of the opinion', subject 'he' inside, a weak final root. Here 'saw' means held the view.
From: The Night of the Migration →وَمِنْهُم من رأى النَّفْي
And some of them suggested exile.
رَأَى — he saw. A past-tense verb 'held the view', subject 'he' inside. The opinion-verb again.
From: The Night of the Migration →لما رأى الرَّسُول حزنه قد اشْتَدَّ
When the Messenger saw that his sorrow had intensified.
رَأَى — he saw. A past-tense verb 'saw / perceived', its subject coming next, weak final root. The Prophet's noticing.
From: The Night of the Migration →أَتَرَى لم يسمع الروافض الكفّار
Do you think the disbelieving rejectors haven't heard?
أَتَرَى — do you think. The interrogative 'a-' (do…?) fused with 'tara' (you see / think) — a rhetorical 'do you suppose…?'. It frames the incredulous question.
From: Abu Bakr: First Champion of Islam →وأما إذا رأيناه يتعلم فهل يمنع فيه وجهان
As for if we see him learning, should we prevent him? There are two views.
رَأَيْنَاهُ — we see him. Two pronouns on one verb: '-na' is 'we,' '-hu' is 'him.' 'We see him' — under 'when,' it reads as a present case. The verb of seeing then takes a second piece, what he is doing, next.
From: Teaching the Quran to Non-Muslims →فإذا رأيت الواعظ راغبا في الدنيا قليل الدين،
If you see the preacher desiring worldly life and lacking religious commitment,
رَأَيْتَ — you see. This past-tense verb has 'you' (masculine singular) folded into its ending, so no separate 'you' is needed. Inside an 'if/when' frame like this, the past form is read as a present 'see'. It also sets up what follows as the seen person's state.
From: Sincere Preaching →
Learn Arabic vocabulary in context
OpenArabic teaches words like رَأَى through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
Get the app