Arabic vocabulary
نَفْسٌsoul
How to say “soul” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
وَالْعَمَلَ سَائِقٌ وَالنَّفْسَ حَرُونٌ
And action is a driver, and the soul is stubborn.
وَالنَّفْسُ — and the soul. 'wa-' = 'and'; 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul, self', so 'and the soul'.
From: Faith as Light →إِنَّ النَّفْسَ إِذَا أُطْمِعَتْ طَمِعَتْ
Indeed, when the soul is given hope of something, it becomes greedy.
النَّفْسَ — the soul. 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul'. The '-a' ending is the object form after 'inna'.
From: Faith as Light →فَاحْذَرْ نَفْسَكَ
Beware of your soul.
نَفْسَكَ — your soul. 'nafs' = 'soul, self'; '-ka' = 'your' (to one man), so 'your soul'. Object of the command.
From: Faith as Light →وَإِنَّ الْحَكِيمَ يُذِّلُّ نَفْسَهُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ حَتَّى تَعْتَرِفَ بِالْحَقِّ
And indeed, the wise humbles his soul with difficulties until it acknowledges the truth.
نَفْسَهُ — his soul. 'nafs' = 'soul'; '-hu' = 'his', so 'his soul'.
From: Faith as Light →وَإِنَّ الأَحْمَقَ يُخَيِّرُ نَفْسَهُ فِي الأَخْلاقِ فَمَا أَحَبَّتْ مِنْهَا أَحَبَّ وَمَا كَرِهَتْ مِنْهَا كَرِهَ
And indeed, the foolish lets his soul choose in matters of conduct, so what it likes, he likes, and what it dislikes, he dislikes.
نَفْسَهُ — his soul. 'nafs' = 'soul'; '-hu' = 'his', so 'his soul'.
From: Faith as Light →ينبع الطريق إلى تهذيب النفس من ملاحظة اللحظة الصغيرة التي تمر بين شهيق وزفير
The path to refining the soul springs from noticing the small moment that passes between inhalation and exhalation.
النَّفْسِ — the soul. 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul'; the 'of' word, so 'of the soul'.
From: Small Daily Habits →فالنفس كالدابة، إن أحسنت عِلفها ومَشْيها وصلت بك إلى المرعى، وإن أطلقت لها العِنان أوردتك مورد الهلكة
For the soul is like a beast; if you nurture and guide it well, it will lead you to pasture, but if you give it free rein, it will bring you to destruction.
فَالنَّفْسُ — so the soul. 'fa-' = 'for, so'; 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul', so 'so the soul'.
From: Small Daily Habits →النفس تُروَّض بالصدق مع اللحظة لا بالشعارات
The soul is tamed through honesty with the moment, not through slogans.
النَّفْسُ — the soul. 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul, self'. Subject of the sentence.
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.
النَّفْسُ — the soul. 'al-' = 'the'; 'nafs' = 'soul'. Subject, 'the soul'.
From: On Sincerity →فهو الظالم لنفسه، وهو من أهل الوعيد؛
he is wronging himself, and he is among those warned;
لِنَفْسِهِ — for his self. 'against himself' — 'li' plus 'nafs' plus 'his'; the participle 'wronging' governs 'li' for the wronged party — and the one he wrongs is his own soul.
From: Judging by Revelation →تُبنى الأحكامُ على حفظِ خمسةٍ تُعَدُّ أُسَّ النظام الدِّينِ، والنَّفسِ، والعقلِ، والنَّسلِ، والمالِ
Judgments are based on the preservation of five essential values: religion, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth.
والنَّفْسِ — and the life. 'and life / the soul,' the second essential, joined by 'and' in the -i form. The run of five protected values continues — life after religion.
From: Five Objectives of Islamic Law →والحق منه فكامن في النفوس الزكية بعبارات غريبة،
The truth of it lies hidden in pure souls with strange expressions.
النُّفُوسِ — souls. A broken plural, 'the souls / selves,' in the -i form after 'in.' Qualified by 'pure' next: it is in PURE souls that logic's truths already lie — making the formal study redundant.
From: Revelation Over Philosophy →كان فيمن كان قبلكم رجل قتل تسعة وتسعين نفساً،
There was among those before you a man who killed ninety-nine people.
نَفْسًا — people. This is the counted noun after the number, and a fixed rule applies: after 11 through 99 the thing counted comes SINGULAR and in the accusative — so it is literally 'ninety-nine soul', not 'souls'. The singular accusative here is grammar, not a sign of just one.
From: Righteous Company →فأتاه فقال إنه قتل تسعه وتسعين نفساً، فهل له من توبة؟
So he came to him and said, 'He has killed ninety-nine people, is there repentance for him?'
نَفْسًا — people. The counted noun after 'ninety-nine', and by the fixed rule for 11-99 it comes SINGULAR and accusative — 'ninety-nine soul'. The singular accusative is grammatical here, not a claim that only one was meant.
From: Righteous Company →فدل على رجل عالم فقال إنه قتل مائة نفس فهل له من توبة؟
He was directed to a scholar and said, 'He has killed a hundred people; is there repentance for him?'
نَفْسٍ — people. This is the counted noun after 'a hundred', and the rule flips from the earlier numbers: after 'hundred' the thing counted comes SINGULAR and GENITIVE — 'a hundred of soul'. Contrast 'ninety-nine SOUL' (accusative) earlier: the case is set by which number governs.
From: Righteous Company →ولكن تصده عن الحق شهوات النفس، ووساوس الشيطان، ومجالسة الأشرار، وطول الأمل، وحب الدنيا
But desires of the self, whispers of Satan, keeping company with the wicked, long hopes, and love of the world divert it from the truth.
النَّفْسِ — the self. The completing half of 'desires of the self', so it carries the possessive case and the 'the' that defines the phrase. Set beside the first noun with no word for 'of', it names whose desires divert the heart.
From: A Sound Heart Knows →فالمؤمن مكلف بأن يقوم بحق الله، وحق نفسه، وحق الخلق
So, the believer is tasked with fulfilling the rights of Allah, his self, and the creation.
نَفْسِهِ — his self. The owner closing 'the right of his self', a noun with the possessor attached as a suffix pointing back to the believer. As the owning member it takes the genitive ending, naming the duties one owes oneself.
From: Facing God's Tests →وهذا التكليف يشق على النفوس، لأنها مجبولة على حب الراحة والاستسلام للشهوات
And this obligation is burdensome on the souls because they are inclined to love comfort and surrender to desires.
النُّفُوسِ — the souls. The bearers named after 'on', 'the souls', a plural in the genitive because the preposition governs it. Its 'the' marks the definite human selves in general.
From: Facing God's Tests →فإذا اكتفى بدون الشبع، حسن اغتذاء بدنه، وصلح حال نفسه وقلبه
If he is content with less than satiety, his body is well-nourished, and his soul and heart are in good condition.
وَقَلْبِهِ — and his heart. The 'wa-' adds 'his heart' alongside 'his soul' as a second owner sharing the same 'state of', and the attached 'his' keeps pointing to the same person. As a coordinated item it stays in the genitive matching 'soul'.
From: Eating in Moderation →ومن تملى من الطعام شيئا، غذا بدنه، وأشرت نفسه، وقسا قلبه
Whoever fills himself with food nourishes his body but makes his soul arrogant and hardens his heart.
وَقَسَا — and it hardened. The 'wa-' adds the final effect, and the word is a past-tense verb 'became hard'; its subject 'his heart' follows. The verb ends in a long vowel typical of this root, with no visible suffix.
From: Eating in Moderation →مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَمَا فِي وَجْهِي ثُمَّ قَالَ
"What is in my heart and on my face," he then said.
نَفْسِي — my self. A noun for 'self/soul' with 'my' attached at the end, one word for 'my self', here standing for the heart or inner state. It is governed by the 'in' before it. The attached pronoun shows possession with no separate 'my'.
From: Generosity to the Poor →فَإِنْ إِلْتَفَتَ إِلَيْهِ أَطْمَعَهُ فِي نَفْسِهِ،
If he turned to it, it made him covet his self.
نَفْسِهِ — his self. This noun 'self' carries -hi ('his') and is governed into the genitive by the preceding 'in', so it means 'in his own self'. The attached possessor reaches back to the man, tracking whose self is meant. One Arabic word gives 'his self'.
From: Choosing Good Companions →فَلِمَاذَا أَخْرَجْتِنَا وَنَفْسَكِ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ؟
Then why did you bring us and your self out of Paradise?
وَنَفْسَكِ — and your self. This joins the linking wa- to a noun, 'self', with a tail, 'your', making 'and your self'. As a second object of the bringing-out, it extends the charge to include the addressee himself, the suffix binding the possessor onto the noun.
From: Patience Under Decree →وأيضاً فنوع الثناء أضافه الرب إلى نفسه، ونوع السؤال أضافه إلى عبده
Also, the type of praise was attributed by the Lord to Himself, and the type of request was attributed to His servant.
نَفْسِهِ — Himself. This is a reflexive noun, 'self', with an attached '-His' on its end, and together they point back to God as the subject, meaning 'Himself'. Arabic builds the reflexive from this 'self' noun plus a matching possessive suffix, and the genitive shape here is governed by the preceding 'to'.
From: Praise and Supplication in Prayer →
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