Similar Arabic Words – Meanings and Nuances #

Below are groups of similar or confusing Arabic words, with short explanations, examples, and English translations.

Coming and Arriving #

جاء – أتى – وصل #

• جَاءَ
  Meaning: he came (general coming, often toward the speaker).
  Example:
  جَاءَ الطَّالِبُ إِلَى المَدْرَسَةِ.
  The student came to the school.

• أَتَى
  Meaning: he came / he brought / he performed (more formal, often Qur’anic).
  Example:
  أَتَى الرَّجُلُ مِنَ البَيْتِ.
  The man came from the house.

  أَتَى بِالكِتَابِ.
  He brought the book.

• وَصَلَ
  Meaning: he arrived (focus on reaching the destination).
  Example:
  وَصَلَ القِطَارُ مُتَأَخِّرًا.
  The train arrived late.

Movement and Travel #

يسّر – سار – سرى #

• يَسَّرَ
  يُيَسِّرُ – تَيْسِير
  Meaning: to make easy, to facilitate.
  يَسَّرَ اللهُ أُمُورَكَ.
  May Allah make your affairs easy.

• سَارَ
  يَسِيرُ – سَيْر
  Meaning: to walk / to move forward.
  سَارَ الرَّجُلُ فِي الطَّرِيقِ.
  The man walked on the road.

• سَرَى
  يَسْرِي – سَرًى / سُرًى
  Meaning: to travel at night / to flow or spread.
  سَرَى المُسَافِرُ لَيْلًا.
  The traveller journeyed at night.

سقط – تساقط – يساقط #

• سَقَطَ – يَسْقُطُ – سُقُوط
  Meaning: to fall (one-time falling).
  سَقَطَ الكِتَابُ مِنَ الطَّاوِلَةِ.
  The book fell from the table.

• تَسَاقَطَ – يَتَسَاقَطُ – تَسَاقُط
  Meaning: to fall repeatedly or gradually (many things, one after another).
  تَسَاقَطَتْ أَوْرَاقُ الشَّجَرِ فِي الخَرِيفِ.
  The leaves fell (one after another) in autumn.

• سَاقَطَ / يُساقِطُ (less common)
  Meaning: to cause things to fall repeatedly.

حَرُكَ – تحرّك #

• حَرُكَ – يَحْرُكُ – حَرَكَة
  Meaning: to move / to be in motion (general movement).
  حَرُكَ المَاءُ فِي النَّهْرِ.
  The water moved in the river.

• تَحَرَّكَ – يَتَحَرَّكُ – تَحَرُّك
  Meaning: to move oneself / to start moving (more deliberate).
  تَحَرَّكَ الجَيْشُ نَحْوَ الجَبَهَةِ.
  The army moved towards the front.

ركب – قاد #

• رَكِبَ – يَرْكَبُ – رُكُوب
  Meaning: to ride / to get on (bus, horse, bike…).
  رَكِبْتُ الحَافِلَةَ.
  I got on the bus.

• قَادَ – يَقُودُ – قِيَادَة
  Meaning: to drive / to lead (car, group, army).
  قَادَ السَّيَّارَةَ بِمَهَارَةٍ.
  He drove the car skillfully.

تتمشّى – تمشّى #

• تَمَشَّى – يَتَمَشَّى – تَمَشٍّ
  Meaning: to go for a walk / to stroll.
  تَمَشَّى الرَّجُلُ فِي الحَدِيقَةِ.
  The man took a walk in the park.

• تَتَمَشَّى
  Meaning: present tense form (she / you-fem) of the same verb.
  هِيَ تَتَمَشَّى كُلَّ مَسَاءٍ.
  She takes a walk every evening.

Feelings and Emotions #

قلق – هَمّ #

• قَلَق
  Meaning: anxiety, nervousness, restlessness (often short-term).
  يُعَانِي مِنَ القَلَقِ قَبْلَ الاِمْتِحَانِ.
  He suffers from anxiety before the exam.

• هَمّ
  Meaning: worry, sorrow, a heavy concern (deeper, longer-term).
  يَحْمِلُ فِي قَلْبِهِ هَمًّا كَبِيرًا.
  He carries a great worry in his heart.

اِشْتَاقَ – افتقد – فات – هرب #

• اِشْتَاقَ – يَشْتَاقُ – اشْتِيَاق
  Meaning: to long for / to deeply miss.
  اِشْتَقْتُ إِلَى وَطَنِي.
  I longed for my homeland.

• اِفْتَقَدَ – يَفْتَقِدُ – اِفْتِقَاد
  Meaning: to miss / to notice the absence of.
  اِفْتَقَدْتُ أَصْدِقَائِي.
  I missed my friends.

• فَاتَ – يَفُوتُ – فَوَات
  Meaning: to miss (an opportunity / event / train).
  فَاتَنِي القِطَارُ.
  I missed the train.

• هَرَبَ – يَهْرُبُ – هُرُوب
  Meaning: to flee / to escape.
  هَرَبَ السَّجِينُ مِنَ السِّجْنِ.
  The prisoner escaped from prison.

Intention and Purpose #

قصد – نية #

• قَصْد
  Meaning: aim, purpose, goal.
  مَا قَصْدُكَ مِنْ هَذَا الكَلَامِ؟
  What is your purpose in this speech?

• نِيَّة
  Meaning: intention (inner, spiritual/moral).
  الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ.
  Actions are by intentions.

Study and Teaching #

دَرَسَ – دَرَّسَ – دُرِّسَ #

• دَرَسَ – يَدْرُسُ – دِرَاسَة
  Meaning: to study (as a student).
  دَرَسَ الطَّالِبُ فِي الجَامِعَةِ.
  The student studied at the university.

• دَرَّسَ – يُدَرِّسُ – تَدْرِيس
  Meaning: to teach (as a teacher).
  دَرَّسَ المُعَلِّمُ اللُّغَةَ العَرَبِيَّةَ.
  The teacher taught Arabic.

• دُرِّسَ – يُدَرَّسُ
  Meaning: was taught (passive).
  دُرِّسَ المَوْضُوعُ فِي الصَّفِّ.
  The topic was taught in class.

طالب – تلميذ #

• طَالِب
  Meaning: student / learner (often older: secondary, university).
  الطَّالِبُ يَدْرُسُ فِي الجَامِعَةِ.
  The student studies at the university.

• تِلْمِيذ
  Meaning: pupil, schoolchild (younger, primary/middle school).
  يَجْلِسُ التِّلْمِيذُ فِي الفَصْلِ.
  The pupil sits in the classroom.

Work and Jobs #

مهنة – وظيفة #

• مِهْنَة
  Meaning: profession / career (doctor, engineer, teacher…).
  الطِّبُّ مِهْنَةٌ نَبِيلَةٌ.
  Medicine is a noble profession.

• وَظِيفَة
  Meaning: job / position (a specific post in an organisation).
  حَصَلَ عَلَى وَظِيفَةٍ فِي شَرِكَةٍ كَبِيرَةٍ.
  He got a job in a big company.

Making and Doing #

صنع – أجرى – جعل #

• صَنَعَ – يَصْنَعُ – صُنْع
  Meaning: to make / manufacture (physical things).
  صَنَعَ النَّجَّارُ طَاوِلَةً.
  The carpenter made a table.

• أَجْرَى – يُجْرِي – إِجْرَاء
  Meaning: to carry out / to perform (a test, surgery, experiment…).
  أَجْرَى الطَّبِيبُ عَمَلِيَّةً جِرَاحِيَّةً.
  The doctor performed a surgery.

• جَعَلَ – يَجْعَلُ – جَعْل
  Meaning: to make something into a state / to cause.
  جَعَلَ المُعَلِّمُ الدَّرْسَ سَهْلًا.
  The teacher made the lesson easy.

Animals and Nature #

الأغنام – الضأن #

• الأَغْنَام
  Meaning: sheep (general), sometimes used broadly for small livestock.

• الضَّأْن
  Meaning: specifically woolly sheep (not goats), often for meat and wool.

ليث – أسد #

• أَسَد
  Meaning: lion (basic, common word).

• لَيْث
  Meaning: lion (more poetic/literary, emphasising strength and bravery).

People and Identity #

فتاة – بنت #

• فَتَاة
  Meaning: young woman / girl (usually teen to young adult, more formal).
  فَتَاةٌ فِي السَّابِعَةِ عَشْرَةَ مِنْ عُمْرِهَا.
  A seventeen-year-old young woman.

• بِنْت
  Meaning: girl / daughter (very common word).
  هَذِهِ بِنْتِي.
  This is my daughter.

Speaking and Discussing #

ناقش – تحدث #

• نَاقَشَ – يُنَاقِشُ – نِقَاش
  Meaning: to discuss / debate (exchange of ideas).
  نَاقَشَ الطُّلَّابُ المَوْضُوعَ مَعَ المُعَلِّمِ.
  The students discussed the topic with the teacher.

• تَحَدَّثَ – يَتَحَدَّثُ – تَحَدُّث
  Meaning: to speak / talk.
  تَحَدَّثَ عَنْ تَجْرِبَتِهِ أَمَامَ الجُمْهُورِ.
  He spoke about his experience in front of the audience.

تذكّر – ذكر #

• ذَكَرَ – يَذْكُرُ – ذِكْر
  Meaning: to mention / to state (out loud or in writing).
  ذَكَرَ المُعَلِّمُ أَسْمَاءَ الطُّلَّابِ.
  The teacher mentioned the students’ names.

• تَذَكَّرَ – يَتَذَكَّرُ – تَذَكُّر
  Meaning: to remember / to recall (in one’s mind).
  تَذَكَّرْتُ مَا قُلْتَهُ البَارِحَةَ.
  I remembered what you said last night.

Everyday Phrases #

لا مُشْكِل / لا مُشْكِلَة – مَا فِي مُشْكِل #

• لا مُشْكِل / لا مُشْكِلَة
  Register: Standard Arabic (فصحى).
  Meaning: no problem.
  لا مُشْكِلَة، كُلُّ شَيْءٍ طَيِّبٌ.
  No problem, everything is fine.

• مَا فِي مُشْكِل
  Register: Dialect (عامية, e.g. Levant, Maghreb).
  Meaning: no problem.
  آسِف عَلَى التَّأْخِيرِ – مَا فِي مُشْكِل.
  Sorry for the delay – no problem.

هَيَّا – حَيَّ #

• هَيَّا
  Meaning: come on / let’s go / hurry up (encouragement).
  هَيَّا نَذْهَبْ!
  Come on, let’s go!

• حَيَّ (in phrases)
  Meaning: come / welcome / calling someone (more classical).
  حَيَّاكَ اللهُ.
  May Allah give you life / Welcome.

  حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ.
  Come to prayer.

Time, Tests, and Trials #

تجربة – ابتلاء – اختبار #

• تَجْرِبَة
  Meaning: experience / experiment / trial (general, can be positive or negative).
  التَّجْرِبَةُ خَيْرُ مُعَلِّمٍ.
  Experience is the best teacher.

• ابْتِلَاء
  Meaning: trial / test from Allah (usually hardship, spiritual context).
  المَرَضُ ابْتِلَاءٌ مِنَ اللهِ.
  Illness is a test from Allah.

• اِخْتِبَار
  Meaning: test / exam (school, work, neutral assessment).
  لَدَيْنَا اِخْتِبَارٌ فِي الرِّيَاضِيَّاتِ.
  We have a test in maths.

Negation and Particles #

ما – لم #

• مَا (with past)
  Meaning: did not (simple past negation).
  مَا ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى المَدْرَسَةِ.
  I did not go to school.

• لَمْ (with present form, giving past meaning)
  Meaning: did not (more formal; verb in present jussive form).
  لَمْ أَذْهَبْ إِلَى المَدْرَسَةِ.
  I did not go to school.

ما لم #

• مَا لَمْ + فعل ماضٍ (in form)
  Meaning: unless / as long as not.
  لَنْ أَخْرُجَ مَا لَمْ أُنْهِ وَاجِبِي.
  I will not go out unless I finish my homework.

قد – لقد #

• قَدْ + الماضي
  Meaning: indeed / already (confirmation).
  قَدْ وَصَلَ القِطَارُ.
  The train has already arrived.

• قَدْ + المضارع
  Meaning: may / might (possibility).
  قَدْ يَنْجَحُ الطَّالِبُ.
  The student may succeed.

• لَقَدْ + الماضي
  Meaning: certainly / surely (strong emphasis).
  لَقَدْ نَجَحَ الطَّالِبُ.
  The student certainly succeeded.

أزال – لا أزال #

• أَزَالَ – يُزِيلُ – إِزَالَة
  Meaning: to remove / to eliminate.
  أَزَالَ الرَّجُلُ الغُبَارَ عَنِ الكِتَابِ.
  The man removed the dust from the book.

• لا أَزَالُ / لا يَزَالُ / لا نَزَالُ …
  Meaning: I still / he still / we still (continuing action).
  لا أَزَالُ أَدْرُسُ العَرَبِيَّةَ.
  I am still studying Arabic.

Prepositions and Structure #

مِن – عن #

• مِن
  Basic meanings: from / out of / some of / since.
  جِئْتُ مِنَ المَدْرَسَةِ.
  I came from the school.

• عَنْ
  Basic meanings: about / concerning / away from / on behalf of.
  تَحَدَّثْنَا عَنِ العِلْمِ.
  We talked about science.

Media and Writing #

جريدة – صحيفة #

• جَرِيدَة
  Meaning: newspaper (common modern word for printed newspaper).
  أَقْرَأُ الجَرِيدَةَ كُلَّ صَبَاحٍ.
  I read the newspaper every morning.

• صَحِيفَة
  Meaning: newspaper / sheet / record (more formal, literary, or official).
  نُشِرَ الخَبَرُ فِي الصَّحِيفَةِ الرَّسْمِيَّةِ.
  The news was published in the official gazette.

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