the one who does it (active participle)
A long ā after the first root letter, i after the second: ʿālim 'one who knows' → Persian ʿālem.
Arabic builds words by pouring a root into a pattern. Persian kept hundreds of them — learn to see the pattern and you can read the Arabic underneath.
the one who does it (active participle)
A long ā after the first root letter, i after the second: ʿālim 'one who knows' → Persian ʿālem.
the one it is done to (passive participle)
ma- + root + ū: maktūb 'written', mashhūr 'made known' → famous. Persian keeps all of them: maktub, mašhur, maʾruf.
a quality (adjective)
A long ī before the last root letter: kabīr 'big', jamīl 'beautiful', ʿaẓīm 'great'.
someone who does it a lot, a trade
A doubled middle letter and a long ā: naqqāsh 'painter', khayyāṭ 'tailor', ṣarrāf 'money-changer'.
the place where it happens
ma- + root: maktab 'place of writing', madrasa 'place of study', majlis 'place of sitting', manzil 'place of alighting'.
doing it (verbal noun, form II)
ta- + root with ī before the last letter: taʿlīm 'teaching', taʿṭīl, taḥṣīl. Persian makes verbs of them with kardan: taʿmir kardan 'to repair'.
doing it with someone (form III)
mu- + root with ā after the first letter: muṭālaʿa 'reading, study', musāfara 'travel'. Persian often writes ة as ه (moṭāleʾe) or ت (mosāferat).
making it happen (form IV)
i- + root with ā before the last letter: iʿlām 'announcing', inṣāf 'fairness', irsāl 'sending'. Persian: e-.
doing it to oneself, becoming (form V)
ta- + root with a doubled middle letter and u: taʿallum 'learning', taḥammul 'bearing', tavallod (tawallud) 'birth'.
doing it together, each other (form VI)
ta- + root with ā after the first letter: tafāwut 'difference', taʿāwun 'cooperation', tafāhum 'understanding'.
it happens (by itself), passive (form VII)
in- + root: inqilāb 'turning over' → revolution, infijār 'explosion', inṣirāf 'withdrawal'.
doing it for oneself (form VIII)
A t slips in after the first root letter: intikhāb 'choosing' → election (n-kh-b), iḥtirām 'respect' (ḥ-r-m), ijtimāʿ 'gathering' → society (j-m-ʿ).
seeking it, considering it (form X)
isti- + root: istifāda 'seeking benefit' → use, istiqlāl 'independence', istikhdām. Strip isti- and you have the root.
participles of the derived forms
mu- + the derived stem: muʿallim 'teacher' (II), musāfir 'traveller' (III), mustaqill 'independent' (X). Persian: mo-.
related to (adjective in -ī)
-ī makes an adjective in both languages: ʿilmī 'scientific', ʿarabī. Persian -i is the same idea on Persian words too (irāni, tehrāni).
adverb in -an (tanwin)
The Arabic accusative -an survives in Persian adverbs, written ـاً: fawran → fowran 'at once', ittifāqan → ettefāqan 'by chance'.
Arabic often makes plurals by changing the inside of the word. Persian uses many of these alongside its own -hā and -ān.
| singular | plural | EN |
|---|---|---|
| شَخْص shakhṣ | أَشْخَاص ashkhāṣ | person |
| رَفِيق rafīq | رُفَقَاء rufaqāʾ | friend, companion |
| شَاعِر shāʿir | شُعَرَاء shuʿarāʾ | poet |
| عُضْو ʿuḍw | أَعْضَاء aʿḍāʾ | organ (of the body); member |
| مَنْزِل manzil | مَنَازِل manāzil | home, house |
| وَقْت waqt | أَوْقَات awqāt | time |
| فَصْل faṣl | فُصُول fuṣūl | season; chapter |
| مَكَان makān | أَمَاكِن amākin | place |
| مَرْكَز markaz | مَرَاكِز marākiz | centre |
| مِنْطَقَة minṭaqa | مَنَاطِق manāṭiq | region, area |
| فَقِير faqīr | فُقَرَاء fuqarāʾ | poor |
| شُغْل shughl | مَشَاغِل mashāghil | job, occupation |
| رَئِيس raʾīs | رُؤَسَاء ruʾasāʾ | head, boss, president |
| عِلْم ʿilm | عُلُوم ʿulūm | knowledge; science |
| دَرْس dars | دُرُوس durūs | lesson; studies |
| مَدْرَسَة madrasa | مَدَارِس madāris | school |
| كِتَاب kitāb | كُتُب kutub | book |
| مَعْنَى maʿnā | مَعَانِي maʿānī | meaning |
| فِكْر fikr | أَفْكَار afkār | thought, idea |
| مَسْأَلَة masʾala | مَسَائِل masāʾil | issue, problem, question |
| قَانُون qānūn | قَوَانِين qawānīn | law |
| حَقّ ḥaqq | حُقُوق ḥuqūq | right; truth |
| خَبَر khabar | أَخْبَار akhbār | news, piece of news |
| مَسْجِد masjid | مَسَاجِد masājid | mosque |
| رُوح rūḥ | أَرْوَاح arwāḥ | soul, spirit |
| دِين dīn | أَدْيَان adyān | religion |
| طِفْل ṭifl | أَطْفَال aṭfāl | child (formal) |
| طَبِيب ṭabīb | أَطِبَّاء aṭibbāʾ | physician (literary) |
| جِسْم jism | أَجْسَام ajsām | body; physical object |
| عَصَب ʿaṣab | أَعْصَاب aʿṣāb | nerve |
| مَرَض maraḍ | أَمْرَاض amrāḍ | disease, illness |
| تَاجِر tājir | تُجَّار tujjār | merchant, trader |
| عَالِم ʿālim | عُلَمَاء ʿulamāʾ | scholar, learned person |
| عَاطِفَة ʿāṭifa | عَوَاطِف ʿawāṭif | emotion, affection |
| قَاضِي qāḍī | قُضَاة quḍāt | judge |
| نَبِيّ nabī | أَنْبِيَاء anbiyāʾ | prophet |
Pick a root to see every word built from it in the vocabulary.
5 words
knowledge; science
Root ع ل م
scholar, learned person
Root ع ل م
teaching, instruction
Root ع ل م
teacher
Root ع ل م
scientific; academic
Root ع ل م