Arabic vocabulary
How to say “to appear” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
إذا ثَقُل الطريق، فتذكر أنّ التعب علامة حياة، وأن نور الهداية يظهر في مواضع المقاومة
If the path becomes heavy, remember that fatigue is a sign of life, and that the light of guidance appears in places of resistance.
يَظْهَرُ — it appears. Present-tense verb 'yazhar' = 'it appears, shows'; subject 'it' is built in.
From: Small Daily Habits →في الآخرة يظهر ميزانٌ لا يخطئ ولا يميل،
In the Hereafter, a scale will appear that neither errs nor sways,
يَظْهَرُ — will appear. Present 'appears, comes into view', subject 'a scale' next; verb-first.
From: When Hidden Deeds Are Shown →إياك أن تشتغل بهذا الجدل الذي ظهر بعد انقراض الأكابر من العلماء يشير إلى جدل العميدي فإنه يبعد عن الفقه، ويضيع العمر، ويورث الوحشة والعداوة،
Beware of getting involved in this debate that emerged after the passing of the great scholars (referring to the debate of Al-Amidi), for it distances you from understanding the law, wastes your life, and breeds loneliness and enmity.
ظَهَرَ — it emerged. Past 'appeared, arose', subject 'it' inside — 'which emerged'.
From: Avoiding Scholarly Disputation →وأما من لا يظهر له ذلك فهو معذور
As for one to whom this is not apparent, he is excused.
يَظْهَرُ — it does not appear. 'becomes clear,' negated — does not become clear. Its subject, 'that [meaning],' comes after; the verb-first order holds. The point: the sense simply never surfaced for him.
From: Quran Interpretation and Debate →فإذا ظهر الدليلُ الراجحُ تبِعه، وإن بقي الخلافُ بعد استفراغ الوسع قبِله، لأن اجتماعَ القلوب على العدلِ أرجحُ من انتصارِ لسانٍ على لسان
When the stronger evidence appears, he follows it, and if the disagreement remains after exhausting all efforts, he accepts it, because the unity of hearts upon justice is weightier than the victory of one tongue over another.
ظَهَرَ — appears. 'appeared / became evident,' the case-verb of 'when' — after a conditional the past reads as a general 'whenever it appears.' Its subject, 'the stronger evidence,' follows; verb before subject, as usual.
From: Mercy in Disagreement →فَظَهَرَ أَنَّ مَنْ أَنْكَرَ كَوْنَهُ رَسُولًا نَبِيًّا فَقَدْ قَدَحَ بِاللَّهِ وَنَقَصَهُ وَنَسَبَهُ إِلَى الْجَهْلِ وَالْعَجْزِ وَالسَّفَهِ
It became clear that whoever denies his being a Messenger and Prophet has indeed defamed God, diminished Him, and attributed ignorance, inability, and folly to Him.
فَظَهَرَ — it became clear. This fuses the connector fa- to a plain past-tense verb, 'so it became clear', with a built-in 'it' subject. The fa- draws a conclusion, and the verb introduces what became evident, its subject being the clause that follows.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →وَلَا أُيِّدُوا وَنُصِرُوا وَلَا ظَهَرَتْ عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمُ الْآيَاتُ، وَلَا صَدَّقَهُمُ الرَّبُّ تَعَالَى بِإِقْرَارِهِ وَلَا بِفِعْلِهِ وَلَا بِقَوْلِهِ
They were neither supported nor aided, nor did signs appear by their hands, nor did the Lord, Exalted be He, affirm them by His acknowledgment, action, or speech.
ظَهَرَتْ — did appear. This is a past-tense verb carrying a built-in feminine 'it' subject, 'it appeared', the subject being the 'signs' named later. Under the negation it means no signs appeared; the verb comes before its subject in normal Arabic order.
From: Signs of the Messenger in Medina →ظهر له أن هذا القرآن من عند الله
It became clear to him that this Qur'an is from Allah.
ظَهَرَ — It became clear. Past-tense 'it became clear/appeared', subject 'it' built in, used impersonally for a realization, 'it became clear (to him) that...'. What became clear is spelled out in the clause that follows.
From: Proof in All Creation →بل كيف يليق به أن يؤيده وينصره ويعليه ويظهره ويظفره بأهل الحق
Rather, how can it befit Him to support him, grant him victory, elevate him, make him prevail, and empower him over the people of truth?
وَيُظْهِرَهُ — make him prevail. A further coordinated subjunctive, to make prevail, causative pattern, object 'him' attached. Still under the one 'an', it continues listing the actions whose fittingness is being denied.
From: False Prophets →وظهرت من التخوم كالنجوم الزهر،
And they appeared from the depths like shining stars,
وَظَهَرَتْ — and they appeared. This is a past-tense verb with a built-in 'they' subject, and the ending shows that 'they' is feminine plural, agreeing with the stars described later. Arabic packs the subject pronoun inside the verb, so no separate word for 'they' is needed; the final feminine marker is what tells you the doers are a non-human plural, which Arabic treats grammatically as feminine singular-style agreement.
From: Rain and God's Decree →ظَهَرَ أَصْحَابُكُمْ فَمَا تَنْتَظِرُونَ
Your companions have appeared; what are you waiting for?
ظَهَرَ — they appeared. A past verb meaning 'appeared/showed', its default shape carrying a single male doer that the following plural subject fills out; by Arabic's verb-first rule it stays singular before that subject. It reports the completed appearing.
From: A Companion at Battle →أي تختبر وقال مقاتل تظهر وتبدو وبلوت الشيء إذا اختبرته ليظهر لك باطنه وما خفى منه
Meaning, they will be tested, and Muqatil said: they will appear and be revealed. You say you have tested something to uncover its hidden parts and what was concealed.
تُظْهِرُ — they will appear. A present-tense verb again carrying a future colouring, paired with the previous reported saying. The form names an action of coming into view; its subject is folded inside the verb shape rather than written as a separate word, so the doer is read off the verb's own pattern.
From: Creation Points to Resurrection →أي تختبر وقال مقاتل تظهر وتبدو وبلوت الشيء إذا اختبرته ليظهر لك باطنه وما خفى منه
Meaning, they will be tested, and Muqatil said: they will appear and be revealed. You say you have tested something to uncover its hidden parts and what was concealed.
لِيَظْهَرَ — to uncover. The leading li- here is a purpose marker, not a plain 'to', and it forces the verb after it into its subjunctive shape, the form that expresses an aim or intended result. So the clause reads as 'in order that it become clear', with li- both flagging the goal and bending the verb's ending to match.
From: Creation Points to Resurrection →OpenArabic teaches words like ظَهَرَ through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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