Arabic vocabulary
غَمٌّsorrow in Arabic
غَمٌّ is how you say “sorrow” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root غ م م (ġ-m-m)noun (verbal noun / maṣdar of Form I ġamma)Pronounced ġamm
Meaning of sorrow in Arabic
- grief, sorrow, distress, sadness — the common sense; given in Lane as synonymous with ḥuzn — the feeling that weighs on or 'covers' the heart
- covering, veiling, concealment — the root's primary, literal sense, e.g. clouds veiling the new moon so it cannot be sighted
- oppressive, sultry heat that tightens the breath — said of a day so hot, or so close with cloud, that it is hard to breathe
Ġamm is the maṣdar of ġamma, whose core meaning is 'to cover or conceal' — used, for instance, of clouds veiling the new moon so it cannot be sighted (as in the hadith on completing Shaʿbān to thirty days when the crescent is obscured). From this covering sense it extends to grief or sorrow that weighs on the heart (a synonym of ḥuzn), and even to the oppressive, breath-tightening heat of a sultry day.
Words from the same root
- غَمَّهُhe covered, veiled, or concealed it; also, it grieved or saddened him
- غَامَمْتُهُwe grieved one another (I grieved him and he grieved me)
- اغتمّhe was grieved or saddened; also, of a plant, it grew tall and luxuriant
- انغمّit became covered, veiled, or concealed
- تغامّhe made a show of grief without truly feeling it
- غَمَمٌa low hairline, where hair covers down over the forehead and nape
- غَمْغَمَhe spoke indistinctly, or muttered; also, a bull bellowing in fright
Common questions
- How do you say "sorrow" in Arabic?
- غَمّ (ġamm).
- What is the root meaning behind غَمّ?
- The root ġ-m-m means 'to cover, veil, or conceal'; ġamm (grief) is an extension of that sense, as grief is felt to 'cover' the heart.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وَطول الْهم وَالْغَم وضنك الْمَعيشَة وكسف البال
And prolonged anxiety, sorrow, harshness of living, and worry of the mind.
وَالْغَمِّ — and sorrow. wa- = 'and'; al- = 'the'; ghamm means 'grief, sorrow'.
From: Returning to God →
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