Brief Introduction to Arabic Roots
|
| kataba | he wrote |
| katabū | they wrote |
| katabat | she wrote |
| katabnā | we wrote |
Similarly, there are simple and predictable rules for present (imperfect) and imperative forms of the basic root, such as:
yaktubu he writes yaktabunā they write taktubu you write naktubu we write 'uktub write!
And then the vastness really begins to be seen as additional forms such as verbal nouns are created from the same simple root k-t-b to describe things such as:
katīb writer kitāba the act of writing kitāb some writing, book kutub books kutubī bookdealer kutayyib booklet maktūb letter maktab school, office maktaba library, literature maktabī individual office miktāb typewriter mukātaba correspondence iktitāb registration istiktāb dictation
.... and on and on. This is only a limited sample of the immense variety of words that can be formed by simple and predictable usage of the basic root which was only the three consonants k-t-b.
A Brief List of some Arabic Roots:
The following list of roots is sorted according to the English alphabet, ignoring any diacritical marks.
Examples of typical usage of the root are shown in parenthesis.
| a-b | 2 | to be a father, ancestor, forefather
(ab, abū) |
| 'a-b-d | 685 | to serve, worship, be
devoted to, show veneration ('abd, 'ibāda, ma'būd) |
| 'a-d-l | 696 | to act justly, equitably
or to make straight, set in order ('adl, a'dāla, ta'dīl) |
| 'a-d-m | 698 | to be non-existent, disappeared,
destroyed, devoid of ('adam, 'adīm) |
| 'a-f-w | 731 | to be obliterated, effaced,
eliminated (al-'afūw, 'afwīya, 'afā', isit'fā', 'āfin, mu'fan) |
| a-ḥ-d | 7 | to unify, be one (al-aḥad, aḥadīya, uḥādī) |
| a-kh-r | 9 | to postpone, defer, be
last, final, ultimate (al-ākhir, ākhar, ukhrā, ta'khīr, mu'akhkhara) |
| a-l-h | 30 | to adore, deify, turn
to another with intense feeling (ilāh, ilāhī) |
| 'a-l-m | 743 | to know, have knowledge,
be informed, teach, notify (al-'alīm, 'ilm, 'ilmiya, 'allam, u'lūma) |
| a-m-l | 35 | to hope, to look attentively,
meditate, consider (amal, āmāl, āmil, muta'ammil) |
| a-n-s | 38 | to be familiar, friendly,
sociable (uns, insī, ins, anīs) |
| 'a-q-d | 734 | to tie, knit, make a knot,
put together, join ('aqd, 'aqīda) |
| 'a-q-l | 737 | to have the faculty of
reasoning, comprehension ('aql, 'aqlī) |
| 'a-r-f | 708 | to know, to perceive,
discover, to announce ('arīf, 'irfān, ma'rīfa, ta'rīf, ma'rūf) |
| 'a-ṣ-m | 722 | to hold back, restrain,
preserve, to take refuge, guard ( 'aṣama, 'iṣāmī) |
| 'a-ẓ-m | 729 | to be great, powerful,
mighty (a'ẓam, al-'aẓīm, 'iẓāmī, 'aẓīma) |
| 'a-y-d | 774 | to celebrate, to feast
('īd ul adhā, mu'āyada) |
| 'a-z-z | 712 | to be strong, powerful,
respected, to fortify, strengthen (al-'azīz, 'izz, ta'zīz, ma'azza) |
| b-d-' | 57 | to introduce, originate,
start, do for the first time (al mubdi', bdi', badī'a, abda', ibtidā') |
| b-q-y | 84 | to remain, continue, endure,
be ever-lasting ( al- baqī', baqā', abqā, bāqin) |
| d-a'-ā | 326 | to call, summon, appeal
to, invite, invoke (du'ā, da'wa) |
| dh-k-r | 358 | to remember, recollect,
bear in mind (dhikr, tadhkār, dhākira) |
| d-w-n | 350 | to record, write down,
enter, collect (dīwān) |
| d-y-n | 352 | to be obedient, submissive,
to be indebted, to owe (dīn, diyāna) |
| f-l-q | 851 | to split open, cleave,
tear asunder, burst (falq, falaq) |
| f-n-y | 854 | to wane, dwindle, recede,
come to an end, cease to exist (fanā', fānin) |
| f-q-h | 847 | to understand, comprehend
or to teach, instruct (fiqh) |
| f-t-ḥ | 811 | to open, unlock, reveal,
conquer ( fattāḥ, mifatāḥ, miftāḥī, al-fātiḥa) |
| f-ṭ-m | to wean, relinquish, disengage,
abstain, cut-off (Fātima) |
|
| gh-f-r | 793 | to cover, hide, forgive,
guard, protect (al-ghafūr, 'astaghfirullāh) |
| gh-n-y | 803 | to be rich, wealthy, free
or to sing praises, extol (ghanā', istighnā' ) |
| gh-s-l | 788 | to wash, clean, cleanse,
purge (ghusl) |
| ḥ-ā-l | 251 | to change, be transformed,
become, to be transferred (ḥāla, taḥwīl, iḥāla) |
| ḥ-a-t | 249 | to guard, protect, encircle,
encompass, surround (iḥāṭa, muḥīṭ) |
| ḥ-b-b | 179 | to love, to endear, to
make dear, to like, to prefer (ḥubb, ḥabīb, maḥbūb) |
| ḥ-b-l | 182 | to catch, ensnare, or
to be pregnant (ḥabīl, ḥabila, ḥublā) |
| ḥ-f-ẓ | 220 | to protect, guard, preserve,
take care of (ḥafīẓ, taḥfīẓ) |
| ḥ-m-d | 238 | to praise, commend, laud,
extol (ḥamīd, maḥmūd, muḥammad, al-ḥamdulillāh) |
| h-m-l | 240 | to carry, bear, lift,
take along, transport, convert, bring around (ḥamīla, ḥaml) |
| ḥ-m-s | 239 | to be zealous, ardent,
enthusiastic, excited (ḥamās, taḥammus) |
| ḥ-q-q | 224 | to be true, right, correct
(al-ḥaqq, ḥaqīq, taḥqīq) |
| ḥ-s-d | 207 | to envy, to be envious
( ḥāsid) |
| ḥ-s-n | 208 | to be beautiful, lovely.
fine, proper (ḥusnā, ḥasan) |
| ḥ-ṣ-n | 214 | to fortify, be accessible,
to be chaste, pure (ihsān ḥaṣāna) |
| ḥ-y-y | 256 | to live, to exist
(al-ḥayy, taḥīya, iḥyā', ḥayāh, ḥayya) |
| j-ā-' | 177 | to come, to get to, reach,
arrive, set forth, set out to do (jai'a, majī', jā'iāt) |
| j-ā-d | 172 | to be good, to improve,
to be skilled, proficient (jūd, tajwīd, jayyid) |
| j-ā-l | 176 | to roam, wander, move
freely, circulate (jawwāl, tajwāl, majāl) |
| j-h-d | 168 | to struggle, endeavor,
strive, labor, strain, fight (jihād, majhūd, ijtihād) |
| j-n-n | 164 | to hide, conceal, put
under cover (janna, junna, junūn, jinn, jinnī) |
| j-w-d | 173 | to be good, be better,
to grant generously, liberally (jūd, jayyid, jawād, tajwīd) |
| k-b-r | 947 | to be older, esteemed,
big, great, large, famous, admired (kabīr, 'akbar, takbīr) |
| k-f-ā | 977 | to be enough, sufficient,
to meet all needs (kifāya, iktifā', mukāfāh) |
| k-l-m | 981 | to speak, talk, converse,
express (kalima, kalām) |
| k-m-l | 984 | to be whole, complete,
perfect, finished (kamāl, kāmil, kamāla, takmīl, ikmā, istikmāll) |
| k-s-b | 966 | to earn, acquire, win,
gather, attain (kāsib, iktisāb) |
| k-w-n | 993 | to be, exist, happen,
take place or make, create, bring forth (yakūn, kiyān, kaun) |
| kh-l-f | 297 | to be a successor, take
the place of, substitute or to differ, argue (khalīfa) |
| kh-l-s | 294 | to be pure, refined, purged,
free, liberated, redeemed, sincere (ikhlāṣ, takhlīṣ) |
| kh-l-q | 299 | to create, make, form,
mold, pattern (khulq, khulqī, khalīq, al-khāliq, akhlāqī) |
| l-h-b | 1032 | to flame, burn, blaze,
kindle, excite (iltihb, lahab) |
| l-ṭ-f | 1018 | to be kind, friendly,
amicable, benevolent (laṭīf) |
| m-l-k | 1081 | to possess, rule, own,
have dominion over (mālik, malīk) |
| m-r-' | 1058 | to be wholesome, healthy,
manly (imra', marī') |
| m-s-ḥ | 1064 | anoint, rub, wipe off,
stroke with hand (masīḥī) |
| m-w-l | 1093 | the have wealth, to become
rich, finance something (māl, amwāl) |
| n-ḍ-r | 1118 | to dedicate, consecrate,
vow, notify, warn (naḍīr, inḍār, manḍūr) |
| n-f-k | 1152 | to blow, puff, breathe,
inflate (nafk, manfūk) |
| n-ṣ-r | 1138 | to help, aid, assist,
defend, protect (naṣīr, manṣūr) |
| n-s-y | 1130 | to forget, neglect, omit
(nasy, mansīy) |
| n-w-r | 1182 | to illuminate, light,
enlighten, to clarify, be revealed, disclosed (nārī, nūr, munīr, munawwar) |
| n-z-l | 1122 | to come down, descend,
reveal (tanzīl, nazīl) |
| n-ẓ-m | 1147 | to arrange, put in order,
determine the details of something (niẓām, munazzam) |
| q-ā-m | 934 | to rise up, get up, ascend,
to begin, to remain, to exist (al-qayyūm, qiyām, maqām, qā'im) |
| r-ā-d | 425 | to walk about, prowl,
search, seek (irāda, murīd) |
| r-b-b | 370 | to bring up, to foster,
to nourish, a master, lord, owner (rabb) |
| r-ḥ-m | 384 | womb, kinship, mercy,
compassion (al-raḥmān, al-raḥīm) |
| r-sh-d | 395 | to be on the right track,
rightly guided (murshid, irshād, rashād, rashīd) |
| r-z-q | 389 | to provide, supply, grant
means of subsistence (al-razzāq, rizq, marzūq, murtazak) |
| s-b-ḥ | 457 | to glorify, praise, to
be swimming in (subḥan allāh, tasbīḥ) |
| ṣ-b-r | 585 | to be patient, to make
durable (al-ṣabūr, ṣabbār, aṣbar, muṣābara, istibār) |
| s-l-m | 495 | to be safe, secure, protected,
to surrender, to submit (al-salām, islām, salīm, muslim) |
| ṣ-l-w | 611 | to pray, worship, bless
(ṣalāt, muṣallā, ṣalawātun) |
| ṣ-m-d | 613 | to be unaffected, or turn
to someone or to resist, oppose (al-ṣamad) |
| s-m-' | 501 | to hear, to listen, pay
attention, be told, hear about (al-samī', samā') |
| ṣ-w-m | 621 | to abstain, to refrain,
a particular form of abstinence e.g. fast (ṣaum, ṣā'im, ṣiyām) |
| sh-k-r | 563 | to thank, to be grateful,
laud, offer thanks (al-shakūr) |
| sh-r-k | 547 | to share, become a partner,
participant (shirk) |
| sh-r-q | 546 | to radiate, shine, beam,
to rise like the sun (sharq) |
| sh-r-r | 539 | to be evil, bad, wicked
(sharr, sharīr) |
| t-b-b | 108 | to perish, be destroyed,
stabilized (tabban lahā) |
| t-w-b | 119 | to turn toward, to repent,
renounce (al-tawwāb) |
| w-b-l | 1226 | to be unwholesome, unhealthy,
noxious, heavy rain (wabāl) |
| w-ḥ-d | 1236 | to be one, unique, without
equal (waḥīd, wāḥid) |
| w-k-l | 1283 | to entrust, assign, commission,
empower (wakil, tawakkul) |
| w-l-d | 1285 | to give birth, make, create
(walid, maulūd) |
| w-l-y | 1288 | to be near, close, friend,
servant, defender, supporter, protector
(walīy, wālī, maulānā) |
| w-s-w-s | 1254 | to whisper, to temp, to
awaken doubts (waswās) |
| y-d | 1295 | hand, handle, control,
power (yad) |
| y-q-n | 1298 | to be certain, convinced,
certitude (yaqan, yaqīn, mūqin) |
| ẓ-h-r | 682 | to be visible, perceptible,
manifest, distinct (al-ẓāhir) |
| ẓ-l-m | 681 | to do wrong, treat unjustly
or to grow dark, gloomy (ẓulm, ẓalām) |
References:
An Arabic-English Lexicon, Edward W. Lane... an eight volume masterpiece of classical Arabic which includes plentiful examples of classical usage and the meanings of the words during the time period that the Qur'ān was revealed. Indexed by Arabic roots, with definitions in English.
Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, edited by J.M. Cowan.
Dictionary of the Holy Qur'ān, Abdul Mannān Omar... truly
a precious gift to those who speak English, this magnificent dictionary
translates every Arabic word used used in the Qur'ān into English,
giving the Arabic root word followed by English translations of
every form of that root which appears in the Qur'ān. This dictionary
is easy to use, is relatively inexpensive and is based on classical
Arabic as used in the Qur'ān.
Diacritical marks:
In Arabic, just as in English, many words have similar sounds and similar spelling, so the proper use and interpretation of the diacritical marks is often very important.
Consider for example the following three words which might all be found written simply damma in some English texts:
| ḍamma | 636 | to bring together, join, combine, gather, embrace |
| damma | 336 | to coat, dye, smear |
| dhamma | 360 | to blame, criticize |