Arabic vocabulary
How to say “to” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
وَأَبَان من نَص الْكتاب معنى دق عَن حَدِيد الإلحاظ
And he clarified from the text of the Book a meaning too subtle for sharp eyes.
عَن — to. Preposition here 'for / beyond [the reach of]'; it governs the genitive. With 'was too fine' it means 'too subtle for'.
From: The Prophet's Refuge in the Cave →فضائله جليلة وَهِي خليّة عَن اللّبْس
His virtues are magnificent, and they are free from ambiguity.
عَنِ — from. Paired with 'free', this preposition carries the sense 'away from / clear of', and it bends the following noun into the after-preposition ending. Its own vowel has shifted to '-i' only to glide smoothly into the 'the' that follows.
From: The Prophet's Refuge in the Cave →وإذا رآه في أثناء صلاةٍ لا تُغني عن القضاء كصلاةِ حاضرٍ، بطلت على الأصح
If one sees water during a prayer that does not exempt from making it up, like the prayer of a resident, the prayer is invalid according to the more correct opinion.
عَنِ — for. The verb 'suffice' takes 'from' to mark what it would do away with — Arabic 'dispenses FROM' a thing. It points to 'the making-up': the prayer that does not remove the need to repeat it.
From: When Earth Replaces Water →فسر الرجع به ومقابلته بصدع الأرض عن النبات
Thus, 'returning' was interpreted as rain, and its counterpart was the earth splitting for plants.
عَنِ — for. A preposition 'about/for' marking what the splitting is for, the bringing out of plants. It forces the following noun into the genitive ending and links the splitting to its purpose.
From: Oaths of Provision →فسر الرجع به ومقابلته بصدع الأرض عن النبات
The return is interpreted as rain and its counterpart is the earth cleaving with plants.
عَنِ — with. This preposition basically means 'away from/about', and governs the noun after it in the genitive. Here it links the cleaving to what emerges through it, the plants; the preposition's case-government on the noun is its grammatical job.
From: Oaths That Seal the Truth →وبيان ذلك أن الله قد خلق للآدمي آلة يدافع بها عن نفسه الضرر وآلة يجتلب بها النفع،
And the explanation for this is that Allah has created for humans tools to defend themselves from harm and tools to bring about benefit,
عَن — from. This preposition marks defending 'away from' and governs the following noun. It ties the warding to whom it protects. The noun it governs also carries an attached 'his'.
From: Trust in God →لأنه قد دُلّ على طريق السلامة فإذا تقاعد عنها أعان على نفسه،
Because he has been shown the path of safety, so if he turns away from it, he aids in his own harm,
عَنْهَا — from it. This is a preposition with a feminine 'it' fused on, governing that pronoun, meaning 'from it'. It marks what he turned away from, pointing back to the path of safety.
From: Trust in God →حدثنا مُطَرِف بن مازن عن الثوري قال
Mutarrif bin Mazin narrated to us from Al-Thawri, saying,
عَنِ — from. A preposition that pulls the following name into the 'from' relationship and, in a chain of narration, marks the earlier authority a report was taken from. It governs the next noun, giving it the ending a preposition forces, and connects the act of narrating to its upstream source.
From: Trust in God →وقال عليه الصلاة والسلام إن لله عبادا يضن بهم عن القتل والسقم،
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Indeed, God has servants who He spares from killing and illness.
عَنِ — from. A preposition meaning 'from', forcing the next noun into the (genitive) form and marking what they are kept away from. It binds the sparing to the harms named.
From: Health as a Blessing →جل عن صاحبة وولد وكذب القس،
Exalted is He above having a wife and child, and the priest lied.
عَنْ — above. This preposition marks what He is exalted 'above / free from', linking the verb to 'a wife'. It governs the following noun into the post-preposition form and sets up the relationship of being free of such a thing.
From: God's Attributes →فالحب الخلي عَن ذل والذل الخلي عَن حب لَا يكون عبَادَة
For love devoid of humility and humility devoid of love is not worship.
عَن — of. A preposition meaning 'free of/away from' that puts the noun after it into the genitive case. It sets up the idea of being stripped of something, linking the love to the quality it lacks.
From: Worship and Repentance →فالحب الخلي عَن ذل والذل الخلي عَن حب لَا يكون عبَادَة
For love devoid of humility and humility devoid of love is not worship.
عَن — from. A preposition meaning 'free of/away from' governing the genitive case on the noun after it. It mirrors the earlier one, this time stripping the humility of love, completing the parallel structure.
From: Worship and Repentance →OpenArabic teaches words like عَن through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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