Durar · درر — Arabic words, like pearls

دُرَّة — a large, flawless pearl
بَحْر — sea
لُؤْلُؤ — pearls
صَدَف — seashells
مَرْجَان — coral
مَوْج — waves
غَوْص — diving
عُمْق — depth
سَاحِل — coast, shore
مَرْسًى — harbor, anchorage
شِرَاع — sail
قِنْدِيل — oil lamp, lantern
نُور — light
ضِيَاء — radiance, brilliance
شَفَق — the red glow of twilight after sunset
غَسَق — dusk; the first darkness of night
فَجْر — dawn
سَحَر — the last hour of night, just before dawn
ضُحًى — the bright late morning, when the sun is well risen
هِلَال — crescent moon
بَدْر — full moon
نَجْم — star
ثُرَيَّا — the Pleiades
مَجَرَّة — galaxy
سَمَاء — sky, heavens
لَيْل — night
حَنِين — longing, nostalgia
شَوْق — yearning; the ache to see someone again
شَجَن — wistful sorrow; a sad, sweet ache
وَجْد — overwhelming emotion; ecstatic love or grief
هُيَام — lovesick infatuation; wandering, distracted love
صَبَابَة — the tender ardor of love
عِشْق — passionate, consuming love
حَنَان — tenderness, affection
أُنْس — warm companionship; the comfort of company
سَكِينَة — serenity, tranquility
طُمَأْنِينَة — peace of mind, reassurance
وَحْشَة — desolation; the loneliness left by absence
غُرْبَة — exile; the state of being far from home
طَرَب — musical rapture; ecstasy brought on by music
بَهْجَة — delight, joy
حُبُور — gladness, radiant happiness
سَعَادَة — happiness
رِضًا — contentment, satisfaction
أَمَل — hope
حُلْم — dream
خَيَال — imagination
طَيْف — a fleeting apparition, especially of a beloved in a dream
سَرَاب — mirage
صَدًى — echo
ظِلّ — shade, shadow
صَمْت — silence
هَمْس — whisper
صَبْر — patience, endurance
وَفَاء — loyalty, faithfulness; keeping one’s word
كَرَم — generosity, open-handedness
مُرُوءَة — decency and honor; the virtue of doing right by others
شَهَامَة — gallantry, noble courage
هِمَّة — drive, resolve, high aspiration
بَصِيرَة — insight; the sight of the heart
حِكْمَة — wisdom
ذِكْرَى — memory, remembrance
تَأَمُّل — contemplation, reflection
رُوح — soul, spirit
قَلْب — heart
جَمَال — beauty
جَوْهَر — jewel
يَاقُوت — ruby; precious corundum
زُمُرُّد — emerald
مِرْآة — mirror
مَطَر — rain
غَيْث — rain that ends a drought; relief-bringing rain
دِيمَة — a gentle, steady, lasting rain
نَدًى — dew
نَسِيم — breeze
صَبَا — the east wind — the soft morning breeze beloved of poets
إِعْصَار — hurricane, whirlwind
سَحَاب — clouds
ضَبَاب — fog, mist
بَرْق — lightning
رَعْد — thunder
قَوْس قُزَح — rainbow
وَاحَة — oasis
صَحْرَاء — desert
كَثِيب — sand dune
قَافِلَة — caravan
خَيْمَة — tent
أَطْلَال — the traces of an abandoned encampment — the ruins where classical poems begin
غَزَال — gazelle
صَقْر — falcon
عَنْدَلِيب — nightingale
يَمَامَة — turtle dove
فَرَاشَة — butterfly
نَخْلَة — date palm
زَيْتُون — olives; the olive tree
يَاسَمِين — jasmine
نَرْجِس — narcissus
وَرْد — roses
زَهْرَة — flower, blossom
غُصْن — branch, bough
نَبْع — spring, source of water
جَدْوَل — stream, brook
بُسْتَان — orchard, garden
فِرْدَوْس — paradise; a perfect garden
عِطْر — perfume, fragrance
عَبِير — sweet fragrance
مِسْك — musk
عَنْبَر — ambergris
بَخُور — incense
فَانُوس — lantern
قَلَم — pen, reed pen
مِدَاد — ink
حَرْف — letter of the alphabet
كَلِمَة — word
لُغَة — language
ضَاد — the letter ḍ (ض)
بَلَاغَة — eloquence; the art of rhetoric
فَصَاحَة — clarity and purity of speech
بَيَان — eloquent expression; clarity
خَطّ — calligraphy, handwriting
قَصِيدَة — poem; ode
قَافِيَة — rhyme
دِيوَان — collected poems of a poet
حِكَايَة — tale, story
سَمَر — night conversation; talking late under the moon
نَدِيم — boon companion; a friend for long evenings
رَفِيق — companion, comrade
خَلِيل — intimate friend, confidant
عَابِر — passerby
رَحَّالَة — great traveler, explorer
ضَيْف — guest
دَهْر — an age, a long span of time
أَبَد — eternity (without end); forever
أَزَل — eternity without beginning; time before time
بُرْهَة — a brief while, a short moment
لَحْظَة — moment, instant
نَافُورَة — fountain
قُبَّة — dome
مَشْرَبِيَّة — a carved wooden lattice window
عُود — agarwood, fragrant wood
جَبْر — setting right; restoring what was broken
كِيمِيَاء — chemistry
كُحْل — kohl, a fine dark powder for lining the eyes
قَهْوَة — coffee
سُكَّر — sugar
قُطْن — cotton
مَخْزَن — storehouse, warehouse
أَمِير — prince
سَمْت الرَّأْس — the zenith, the point of the sky directly overhead
صِفْر — zero
نَظِير — equal, counterpart
تَعْرِيف — definition
دَار الصِّنَاعَة — shipyard, workshop (literally, the house of making)
شَرَاب — a drink
لَيْمُون — lemon
زَعْفَرَان — saffron
تَمْر هِنْدِيّ — tamarind (literally, Indian date)
مَوْسِم — season
زَرَافَة — giraffe
قِيرَاط — carat, a small weight
إِكْسِير — elixir
قِرْمِز — crimson
خَرْشُوف — artichoke
الدَّبَرَان — Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus (literally, the follower)
طَائِر — bird
النَّسْر الوَاقِع — Vega (literally, the swooping eagle)
ذَنَب — tail
رِجْل — foot, leg
يَد الجَوْزَاء — Betelgeuse (literally, the hand of al-Jawzāʾ)
فَم الحُوت — Fomalhaut (literally, the mouth of the fish)
رَأْس الغُول — Algol (literally, the demon’s head)
آخِر النَّهْر — Achernar (literally, the river’s end)
نِظَام — system; order
نِطَاق — belt, girdle
مِنْطَقَة — region, zone
فَرْد — one, single
شَوْلَة — the scorpion’s raised tail and sting
ثُعْبَان — serpent, large snake
قَائِد — leader, commander
دُبّ — bear
سُهَيْل — Canopus, the great star of the southern sky
الشِّعْرَى — Sirius, the brightest star of the night sky
جَدْي — kid, young goat
سُرَّة الفَرَس — Alpheratz (literally, the horse’s navel)
الجَوْزَاء — Orion; in later astronomy, Gemini
زَنْبَق — lily
خُزَامَى — lavender
بَنَفْسَج — violet, the flower and the colour
شَقَائِق النُّعْمَان — red anemones
أُقْحُوَان — chamomile; a daisy-like flower
فُلّ — Arabian jasmine
قُرُنْفُل — clove
رَيْحَان — basil
نَعْنَاع — mint
بُرْعُم — bud
شَذًى — fragrance, a sweet scent
أَرِيج — a fragrance that spreads far
نَارَنْج — bitter orange, Seville orange
لَوْز — almond
رُمَّان — pomegranate
تِين — fig
كَرْمَة — grapevine
حَدِيقَة — garden
رَوْضَة — a green meadow, a garden
خَمِيلَة — a bower; a thicket of soft, tangled plants
بَتَلَة — petal
نَحْلَة — bee
مَاء الوَرْد — rosewater
كَافُور — camphor
سَوْسَن — iris; a lily-like flower
رَمْل — sand
نَاقَة — she-camel
بَعِير — camel
هَوْدَج — howdah, a covered litter carried on a camel
بَادِيَة — the open desert, the steppe
بَدَوِيّ — Bedouin, desert dweller
وَادِي — valley; a stream bed that fills only after rain
سَمُوم — a scorching, dusty desert wind
نَجْد — highland, upland
فَلَاة — wilderness, a wide waterless plain
قَفْر — a barren, empty land
مَهَاة — oryx, the wild desert antelope
تَمْر — dried dates
بِئْر — well
غَدِير — a pool left behind by rain or a stream
صَخْر — rock
عَقْرَب — scorpion
ضَبّ — the spiny-tailed desert lizard
ذِئْب — wolf
حُدَاء — the camel driver’s song, sung to keep the camels walking
رَبْع — an abode, a spring campsite
رَحِيل — departure, setting out
هَجِير — the fierce heat of midday
قِرًى — the hospitality given to a guest
دَلِيل — a guide
نَهْر — river
بُحَيْرَة — lake (literally, a little sea)
جَزِيرَة — island
مَدّ — high tide; the rising of the sea
جَزْر — low tide; the ebbing of the sea
زَبَد — foam, sea froth
مِينَاء — port, harbour
سَفِينَة — ship
مِجْدَاف — oar
مَلَّاح — sailor, mariner
شَاطِئ — shore, beach
لُجَّة — the deep open sea, the depths
عُبَاب — the high, surging sea
سَمَكَة — fish
حُوت — whale
دُلْفِين — dolphin
نَوْرَس — seagull
مَنَارَة — lighthouse
قَطْرَة — drop
يَنْبُوع — spring, source of water
شَلَّال — waterfall
سَيْل — torrent, flash flood
رَذَاذ — drizzle; fine spray
قَارِب — boat
مِرْسَاة — anchor
شِعْر — poetry
بَيْت — a line of verse
وَزْن — the metre of a poem
نَثْر — prose
خَطِيب — orator, preacher
رِوَايَة — novel
أَدَب — literature
مَقَامَة — the maqāma, a tale told in rhymed prose
مُعَلَّقَة — one of the celebrated pre-Islamic odes known as the Muʿallaqāt
رَاوِي — reciter of poetry, transmitter
مَطْلَع — the opening line of a poem
نَسِيب — the tender opening of an ode, remembering a beloved
رِثَاء — elegy, lament for the dead
مَثَل — proverb
كِتَاب — book
صَفْحَة — page
حَيَاء — modesty, bashfulness
رَحْمَة — mercy, compassion
لَوْعَة — the burning ache of love or loss
غِبْطَة — bliss, deep contentment
صَفَاء — clarity, purity
عِزَّة — dignity, self-respect
إِيثَار — putting others before oneself
حِلْم — forbearance, patience under provocation
شَغَف — passion, ardent love
غُول — ghoul, a demon of desert folklore
جِنّ — jinn, unseen beings of folklore and scripture
سُلْطَان — power, authority
وَزِير — minister of state
صُفَّة — a raised bench or platform
مُومِيَاء — mummy, an embalmed body
أَنْبِيق — alembic, the alchemists’ still
عَرَق — sweat
رِزْمَة — bundle, bale
خَلِيفَة — successor
جَرَّة — earthenware jar
طَلْق — talc
بَاذِنْجَان — aubergine, eggplant
قَنْد — cane sugar, crystallised sugar
شَيْخ — old man, elder
مَصَبّ — river mouth, estuary; where a river meets the sea or a lake
خَلِيج — gulf, bay
مَحَار — oysters; shellfish living between two hinged shells
تَيَّار — current (of water or air)
أُفُق — horizon
شَمْس — sun
قَمَر — moon
شَجَرَة — tree
وَرَقَة — leaf
جِذْر — root (of a plant)
صَبَّار — cactus, especially the prickly pear
سِدْر — lote tree, a thorny jujube of dry lands
طَلْح — acacia, a thorny tree of the desert
قَصْر — palace
طُوب — bricks
مَطْرَح — a place, a spot (literally, where something is thrown down)
حُبّ — love
فَرَح — joy, gladness
حُزْن — sadness, grief
نَاي — the ney, an end-blown reed flute
قَانُون — the qanun, a plucked zither of Arabic music
إِيقَاع — rhythm; the measured beat of music or verse
ذَهَب — gold
فِضَّة — silver
عَقِيق — agate; carnelian, the red stone set in rings
دَوَّامَة — whirlpool, eddy
جَلِيد — ice
بُخَار — steam, vapour
كَوْكَب — planet
شِهَاب — shooting star, meteor
ثَلْج — snow
بَرَد — hail
بِذْرَة — seed
ثَمَرَة — fruit
عُشْب — grass; green plants
أَرَاك — the arak tree, whose twigs serve as toothbrushes
كَمْأَة — desert truffles
سِكَّة — railway track, the rails
غَرْبَلَة — sifting, sieving
سَفَر — travel, a journey
جَمَل — camel; strictly, the male
خَوْف — fear
غَضَب — anger, wrath
نَدَم — regret, remorse
لَحْن — melody, tune
غِنَاء — singing; the art of song
مَوَّال — the mawwāl, a sung poem, often in colloquial Arabic, with a freely improvised melody
زَبَرْجَد — peridot; a clear olive-green gem
كَهْرَمَان — amber; fossil tree resin
أَلْمَاس — diamond
سَبِيل — public drinking fountain, built as a charity
قَنَاة — canal, channel
مَاء — water
رِيح — wind
غُرُوب — sunset; the setting of the sun or moon
شُرُوق — sunrise
أَرْز — cedar
سِنْدِيَان — oak
صَفْصَاف — willow
سَرْو — cypress
شَاش — gauze, as for dressing wounds
قِسْمَة — division; a sharing out
حُقَّة — a small box or casket, as for jewels or scent
فَرَس — horse; often a mare
جَوَاد — a fine, swift horse; a steed
نَعَامَة — ostrich
غَيْرَة — jealousy
طُمُوح — ambition; aspiration
شَجَاعَة — courage
مُوَشَّح — a song-poem in stanzas, born in al-Andalus
زَجَل — strophic poetry in colloquial Arabic; often sung or improvised
غَزَل — love poetry
أَزْرَق — blue
أَخْضَر — green
أَحْمَر — red
شَبَكَة — net; a fishing net
صَيَّاد — fisherman
طُوفَان — deluge; a vast, overwhelming flood
كُسُوف — solar eclipse; the sun hidden by the moon
الزُّهَرَة — the planet Venus; the morning and evening star
فَلَك — orbit; the path of a planet or star
عِنَب — grapes
تُفَّاح — apples
بُرْتُقَال — oranges; the sweet orange
قَالِب — mould; a form for casting or shaping
بَرْقُوق — plums
فِصْفِصَة — alfalfa, lucerne
غَطَّاس — diver
ضَبُع — hyena
يَرْبُوع — jerboa, a small leaping desert rodent
فَنَك — fennec; the small, big-eared desert fox
صِدْق — truthfulness; honesty in word
أَمَانَة — trustworthiness; honesty
تَوَاضُع — humility; modesty
هِجَاء — satire in verse; mocking poetry
مَدِيح — praise poetry; the panegyric
فَخْر — boast poetry; verse praising oneself and one’s tribe
أَبْيَض — white
أَسْوَد — black
أَصْفَر — yellow
نَجْم البَحْر — starfish (literally, star of the sea)
مَوْرِد — watering place
سُلَحْفَاة — turtle or tortoise
عَذْب — fresh, not salty (of water)
العَيُّوق — Capella, the brightest star of the Charioteer
جُلَّنَار — pomegranate blossom
آس — myrtle
بَان — ben tree; a slender desert moringa
رَبِيع — spring (the season)
سَبْخَة — salt flat; salt-crusted ground
هَبُوب — a violent dust storm
خَمَاسِين — the hot, dusty spring wind of Egypt and the Levant
دَلَّة — a long-spouted pot for Arabic coffee
حَيْرَة — bewilderment; being torn between choices
دَهْشَة — astonishment, wonder
قَلَق — worry; anxiety
نَشْوَة — elation; the glow of joy
سَجْع — rhymed prose
اِسْتِعَارَة — metaphor
تَشْبِيه — simile
مَعْنًى — meaning; sense
غَد — tomorrow
أَمْس — yesterday
يَوْم — day
بَاب — door; gate
سِبَاحَة — swimming
حَوْض — basin; a pool, tank or trough of water
سَاقِيَة — irrigation channel; a small stream
قَلْب العَقْرَب — Antares (literally, the heart of the scorpion)
السِّمَاك الرَّامِح — Arcturus (literally, the lance-bearing simāk)
السُّهَا — Alcor, the faint star beside Mizar; an old test of keen sight
حِنَّاء — henna; the shrub and its reddish dye
نِيلُوفَر — water lily; lotus
نِسْرِين — wild rose; eglantine
قَطَاة — sandgrouse; a desert bird famed for finding water
حِرْبَاء — chameleon
عِرْق — a sea of sand dunes; a long ridge of sand
عَفْو — forgiveness
شُكْر — gratitude
صَدَاقَة — friendship
وُدّ — affection, fondness
صَدْر — the first half of a line of verse
عَجُز — the second half of a line of verse
عَرُوض — prosody; the science of poetic metre
شَاعِر — poet
زَمَان — time
صَبَاح — morning
مَسَاء — evening
مُحِيط — ocean
سُنْبُلَة — ear of grain
عَسَل — honey
خَرُّوب — carob; the tree and its pods
قِرْفَة — cinnamon
سُمَّاق — sumac, a tart red spice
فِنْجَان — a small cup, especially for coffee
عِقَال — the black cord that holds a man’s headcloth
عَبَاءَة — a loose outer cloak; an aba or abaya
مَجْلِس — a room for receiving guests; a gathering
نَار — fire
حُرِّيَّة — freedom, liberty
سَلَام — peace
يَقِين — certainty; knowing beyond doubt
أُلْفَة — familiarity; feeling at ease
وَحْدَة — loneliness; being alone
جُمْلَة — sentence
نَحْو — grammar; syntax
أُسْطُورَة — legend; myth
رِسَالَة — letter; message
نَافِذَة — window
شَمْعَة — candle
مِفْتَاح — key
سِرّ — secret
هَدِيَّة — gift
طَرْخُون — tarragon
إِكْلِيل الجَبَل — rosemary (literally, the crown of the mountain)
إِسْبَانَاخ — spinach
لُبَان — frankincense
جَمْر — embers; glowing coals
رَبَابَة — rebab; a bowed folk fiddle
جَبَل — mountain
كَهْف — cave
طَرِيق — road; path
أَثَر — trace; footprint
عَطَش — thirst
غَضًى — the ghada, a desert shrub whose embers burn long
رَاعِي — shepherd; herdsman
هَوًى — love; passion
عِتَاب — gentle reproach between friends or loved ones
لَهْفَة — eager longing
مَكْتَبَة — library
قِرَاءَة — reading
صَوْت — voice
رِحْلَة — journey; trip
مَدِينَة — city; town
سُوق — market; souk
عَالَم — world
لَوْن — colour