دَلَّ show in Arabic
دَلَّ is how you say “show” in Arabic.
Root د ل ل d-l-l. verb (form I). dalla.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of show in Arabic
- to direct, guide, or show (someone the way) the basic sense, e.g. dalla-hu ʿalayhi, 'he directed/showed him to it'
- to indicate, denote, or signify said of a word: yadullu ʿalā kadhā, 'it denotes such a thing'
- (of a woman) to behave with coquettish boldness and feigned coyness toward her husband
- to embolden, make bold against e.g. mā dallaka ʿalayya, 'what emboldened thee against me?'
Example sentence
فَإِنَّهُ هُوَ الَّذِي دَلَّ عَلَى الإِلَهِ
For it is reason that guided to God.
دَلَّ has guided
Past-tense verb, subject 'it' built in.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
The core construction is dalla ʿalā ('to direct/guide to'), used both for physically showing someone a way and, extended to speech, for a word 'signifying' a meaning. The same root later yields the sense of adducing or seeking evidence (istadalla, form X), while the derived forms IV and V shift toward boldness, presumption, and coquettish behaviour.
Words from the same root
- اِسْتَدَلَّ to seek or adduce evidence; to draw an inference or deduction (form X)
- أَدَلَّ to act with boldness or presumption toward someone; to overpower an adversary in battle (form IV)
- تَدَلَّلَ to behave with coquettish boldness; to act proud or haughty (form V)
- اِنْدَلَّ to be directed or guided; also, to pour out or forth (form VII)
- دَلَالَةٌ guidance, direction, indication (verbal noun)
- دَلٌّ the act of guiding; also, amorous coquetry or bold flirtatious manner (verbal noun)
More example sentences
وَقَدْ دَلَّ الْقُرْآنُ الْعَظِيمُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ كَانَ عَلَيْهِمَا لِبَاسٌ فِي قَوْلِهِ
The Glorious Qur'an indicates that there was clothing on them in the verse:
دَلَّ it indicated
A past verb 'indicated / pointed to', with its subject ('the Qur'an') named just after. It comes before that subject and carries the implicit 'it' in its form; the verb sets up textual evidence for the claim being made.
وَهَذَا الْحَدِيثُ يَدُلُّ عَلَى فِطْنَةِ إِسْمَاعِيلِ أَيْضًا
This hadith also shows Isma'il's astuteness.
يَدُلُّ it shows
A present-tense verb describing an ongoing, general truth: the hadith habitually points to something. Its subject 'it' is folded inside the verb, reaching back to the hadith just named. This verb also sets up a preposition after it to introduce what is being pointed at, so the verb and that following particle work as a pair.
Common questions
- How do you say "show" in Arabic?
- دَلَّ (dalla) — to direct, guide, or show someone the way, as in dalla-hu ʿalayhi, 'he showed/guided him to it'.
- What is the difference between دَلَّ and اِسْتَدَلَّ?
- دَلَّ (dalla) means to guide or show the way; اِسْتَدَلَّ (istadalla), form X of the same root, means to seek out or adduce evidence and draw an inference.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).