Arabic vocabulary
How to say “such” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
فَيَقُولُ قُلْتُ كَذَا وَكَذَا،
so he says: 'I said such and such',
كَذَا — such. This is a placeholder word meaning 'such', standing in for unspecified content. Arabic uses it the way English uses 'so-and-so' or 'such', avoiding naming the exact words; it pairs with the next word for 'such and such'.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →فَيَقُولُ قُلْتُ كَذَا وَكَذَا،
so he says: 'I said such and such',
وَكَذَا — and such. The wa- joins the matching placeholder, 'and such', completing the set phrase 'such and such'. Coordinated with the first, the pair stands for unspecified content the speaker need not spell out.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →وَالْمُرْسِلُ يَقُولُ لِلرَّسُولِ قُلْ لَهُمْ كَذَا وَكَذَا،
and the one who sends says to the messenger: 'Say to them such and such',
كَذَا — such. This is a placeholder word meaning 'such', standing in for unspecified content. Arabic uses it the way English uses 'so-and-so', avoiding the exact words; it pairs with the next word for 'such and such'.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →وَالْمُرْسِلُ يَقُولُ لِلرَّسُولِ قُلْ لَهُمْ كَذَا وَكَذَا،
and the one who sends says to the messenger: 'Say to them such and such',
وَكَذَا — and such. The wa- joins the matching placeholder, 'and such', completing the set phrase 'such and such'. Coordinated with the first, the pair stands for unspecified content the sender need not spell out.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →فَإِذَا بَلَّغَ الرَّسُولُ ذَلِكَ صَحَّ أَنْ يُقَالَ قَالَ الرَّسُولُ كَذَا، وَهَذَا قَوْلُ الرَّسُولِ،
Therefore, when the Messenger conveyed this, it is correct to say: 'The Messenger said such', and this is the Messenger's word,
كَذَا — such. A stand-in word, 'such-and-such', used to represent unspecified content without naming it. It is a fixed filler that lets the speaker refer to 'whatever was said' generically, much like English 'so-and-so'.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →وَلَا يَجِيءُ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ تَكَلَّمَ لَهُمْ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا،
And it is not fitting in any of that to say: 'He spoke to them with such and such',
بِكَذَا — with such. A 'with/by' prefix attached to the filler word 'such-and-such'. The prefix marks the instrument or content of the speaking, 'spoke with such-and-such', and the filler stands in for unspecified wording, much like English 'so-and-so'.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →وَلَا يَجِيءُ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ تَكَلَّمَ لَهُمْ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا،
And it is not fitting in any of that to say: 'He spoke to them with such and such',
وَكَذَا — and such. An 'and' joined to the same filler word, continuing the 'such-and-such' phrasing. It simply extends the placeholder, keeping the referenced content deliberately vague.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →وَلَا تَكَلَّمَ الرَّسُولُ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا،
Nor did the Messenger speak with such and such,
بِكَذَا — with such. A 'with/by' prefix on the filler 'such-and-such', marking the content of the speech that supposedly occurred. The prefix sets up the instrument-or-content relationship and the filler keeps the wording unspecified.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →وَلَا تَكَلَّمَ الرَّسُولُ بِكَذَا وَكَذَا،
Nor did the Messenger speak with such and such,
وَكَذَا — and such. An 'and' attached to the filler word, extending the 'such-and-such' phrase to a second, equally unspecified item.
From: The Messenger as Conveyor of Revelation →OpenArabic teaches words like كذا through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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