Common Connecting Phrases in Arabic with Examples Posted by Ibnulyemen اِبْنُ اليَمَن on Aug 9, 2018 in Vocabulary
In Arabic, it is common to used prepositions حُرُوفُ الجَر and some particles الأَدَوَات when they are combine with other words as connecting phrase or linking words. In this post, you will learn some of these phrases. They are common in both spoken and written Arabic.
| العِبَارَة The Phrase | English Meaning | مِثَال Example |
| (1) إِلَّا إِذَا | except when, unless |
لَنْ تَنْجَحَ فِي الاِمْتِحَان إِلَا إِذَا ذَاكَرْتَ كَثِيْرًا. Unless you study a lot, you won’t pass the test. |
| (2) إِلَّا أَنَّ | but, however |
شَرَحَ المُدَرِّسُ المَسْأَلَة إِلَّا أَنْهُم لَمْ يَفْهَمُوا. The teacher explained the math problem, but they didn’t understand. |
| (3) إِلَى آخِرِهِ | etc., and so on |
الجَرَائِم مِثْل السَّرِقَة والاِخْتِطَاف والاِغْتِصَاب إِلَى آخِرِهِ مُنْتَشِرَة أَثْنَاء الحُرُوب. Crimes such as stealing, kidnapping, rape and so on are widespread during wars. |
| (4) إِلَى الأَبَد | forever, for good |
سَأُحِبُّكِ إِلَى الأَبَد. I will love you forever. |
| (5) إِلَى أَنْ | until |
سَيُقَاتِل اليَمَنِيُّون إِلَى أَنْ يَنْتَصِرُوا فِي هّذِهِ الحَرب. Yemenis will fight until they win this war. |
| (6) إِمَّا … أَوْ … | either … or … |
إِمَا أَنْ تُسَاعِدَنِي أَوْ سَأَطِلِبُ المُسَاعَدَة مِنْ عَلِي. Either you help me, or I will seek help from Ali. |
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(7) آنَ لَكَ أَنْ آَنَ لَهُ أَنْ آَنَ لِعَلَي |
It is time for … to |
آنَ لَكَ أَنْ تَتَزَوَّج. It is time for you to get married. آَنَ لَه أَنْ يَبْحَثَ عَنْ زَوْجَة. It is time for him to look for a wife. آنَ لَعَلِي أَنْ يُشْتَرِي سَيَّارَة. It is time for Ali to buy a car. |
| (8) بَعْدَ ذَلِك | after that, thereafter |
أَكْمِل عَمَلَك، بَعْدَ ذلِكَ تَسْتَطِيْعَ أَنْ تَسْتَرِيح. Finish your work. After that, you can take a rest. |
| (9) بِمَا أَنَّ | since, in view of the fact that |
بِمَا أَنَّكَ هُنَا، سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَى المَكْتَبَة لَأَشْتَرِي كَتَابًا. Since you are here, I will go to the bookstore to buy a book. |
| (10) بِمَا فِيْهِ | including |
لَقَد خَسِرُوا كُلَّ شَيْء بِمَا فِيْه مَنْزِلَهُم. They have lost everything including their house. |
| (11) حَتَّى لا | in order not to |
لا تَسْتَثْمِر فِي هَذِهِ الشَّرِكَة حَتَّى لا تَخْسَر أَمْوَالَك. Don’t invest in this company in order not to lose you money. |
| (12) حَتَّى لَوْ | even if |
سَنَهْزِمُهُم حَتَّى لَوْ لَعِبَ رُوْنَالْدُو مَعَهُم. We will beat them even if Ronaldo played with them. |
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(13) عَلَيْكَ أَنْ عَلَيْنَا أَنْ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ عَلَيْكُم أَنْ عَلَى مُحَمَّد أَنْ |
you must we must he must they must |
عَلَيْكَ أَنْ تَحْضُرَ السَّاعَة الخَامِسَة مَسَاءً. You must come at 5 pm. عَلَيْنَا أَنْ نُسْرِع. We must hurry. عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَسْتَيْقِظ مُبَكِّرًا. He must wake up early. عَلَيْكُم أَنْ تَتَدَرَّبُوا جَيْدًا. You must train well. عَلَى مُحَمَّد أَنْ يَشْتَرِي تِلِفُوْنًا جَدِيْدًا. Mohammed must buy a new phone. |
| (14) فِيْمَا بَعْد | later, at a later time |
أَنَا مَشْغُولٌ الآن، سَأُكَلِّمُكَ فِيْمَا بَعْد. I’m busy now. I will talk to you later. |
| (15) لَا … ولَا … | neither … nor … |
لَا مُحَمَّد حَضَر ولَا عَلِي. Neither Mohammed nor Ali came. |
| (16) لَا أَحَد | no one, nobody |
لَا أَحْد يُنَظِّف هَذَا الشَّارِع. No one cleans this street. |
| (17) لا بَأْس أَنْ | it is ok to, it doesn’t matter if |
لَا بَأس أَنْ تَسْمَع مُوسِيْقَى. It is ok if you listen to music. |
| (18) لَا بُدَّ مِنْ | it is inevitable / unavoidable |
فِي هَذَا المُسْتَشْفَى لَا بُدَّ مِنْ الاِنْتِظَار. In this hospital, waiting is unavoidable. |
| (19) لَا بُدَّ مِنْ أَنْ | it is necessary that |
لَا بُدَّ مِنْ أَنْ تَتَحَدَّث مَعَ المُدِيْر أَوَّلًا. It is necessary that you talk to the boss first. |
| (20) لَا سِيَّمَا | especially, particularly |
اُحِبُّ الأَكَلَ الَيَمَنِي لَا سِيَّمَا السًّلْتَة. I like Yemeni food, especially the saltah. |
| (21) لَا شَيْء | nothing, none |
مَا بِكِ؟ لَا شَيْء. What’s wrong with you (f)? Nothing. |
| (22) لَا غَيْر | only |
أَكَلْتُ ثَلَاثَ بِيْضَاتٍ لَا غَيْر. I ate three eggs only. |
| (23) لَا هَذَا ولَا ذَاكَ | neither this nor that |
أَيُ وَاحِد تُرِيْد؟ لَا هَذَا ولَا ذَاك. Which one do you want? Neither this nor that. |
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(24) لَهُ أَنْ لَهَا أَنْ لَكَ أَنْ لَكُم أَنْ |
he has the right to she has the right to you have the right to you (pl) have the right to |
لَهُ أَنْ يَطْلِبَ مَا يَشَاء. He has the right to ask for what / whatever he wants. لَهَا أَنْ تَتَزَوَّج مَنْ تُحِبّ. She has the right to marry who / whoever she loves. لَكَ أَنْ تُسَافِر مَتَى تُرِيْد. You have the right to travel when / whenever you want. لَكُمْ أَنْ تَنَامُوا سَاعَة. You have the right to sleep for an hour. |
| (25) مَا لَمْ | if not |
سَنَنْتَظِر يَوْمًا آخَر، مَا لَمْ سَنَتَّصِل بِالشُّرْطَة. We will wait for another day; if not, we will call the police. |
| (26) مَعَ هَذَا ، مَعَ ذَلِكَ | in spite of this / that |
دَرَسَ طَوَال اللَّيْل مَعَ هَذَا / ذلك رِسِبَ فِي الاِمْتِحَان. He studies the whole night; in spite of this / that, he failed in the test. |
| (27) مِنْ أَجْلِ أَنْ | in order to |
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى اليَمَنْ مِنْ أَجْلِ أَنْ أَدْرُسَ اللُّغَةَ ألعَرِبِيَّة. I went to Yemen in order to study Arabic. |
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(28) مِنْ أَجْلِكِ مِنْ أَجْلِهَا مِنْ أَجْل سَارَة مِنْ أَجْلِ الِيَمَن |
for, for the sake of |
سَأَفْعَل أَيّ شَيْء مِنْ أَجْلِكِ. I will do anything for the sake of you. مِنْ أَجْلِهَا سَافَرْتُ إِلَى سُورِيا. For her, I travelled to Syria. مِنْ أَجْل سَارَة، بَاعَ مَحَمَّد بَيْتَهُ وسَيَّارَتُهُ. For the sake of Sarah, Mohammed sold his house and his car. مِنْ أَجْلِ اليَمَن سَنُقَاتِل بُكُلِّ قُوَّة. For the sake Yemen, we will fight forcefully. |
| (29) مِنْ دُوْن ، بِدُوْن | without |
اليَوْم سَيَلْعَب بَرْشَلُونَة بِدُوْن مِيْسِي. Today, Barcelona will paly without Messi. أَسْتَطِيْع أَنْ أَفْعَلَ ذَلكِ مِنْ دُوْن مُسَاعَدَة. I can do that without help. |
| (30) مُنْذُ ذَلِكَ الحَيْن | since then |
هَرَبَ شَادِي مِنْ سُورِيَا قَبْلَ سَنَة، ولَمْ يَتَّصِل بَأَهْلَهِ مُنْذُ ذَلِكَ الحِيْن. Shadi escaped from Syria a year ago, and he hasn’t called his family since then. |
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About the Author: Ibnulyemen اِبْنُ اليَمَن
Marhaban! I am from Yemen. I am a language teacher. I teach English and Arabic. In this blog, I will be leading you through Arabic language learning in a sequential fashion. I will focus on Modern Standard Arabic. To learn more, you can also visit my website Ibnulyemen Arabic or my facebook page.