Arabic word sheet
أَقْرَبُ
nearer, nearest
- Type
- adjective
- Root
- ق ر ب
Meaning and usage
Nearer, nearest (place, time)
Said of what lies at a shorter distance than something else, or at the shortest distance of all, in space as in time.
الْمَدْرَسَةُ أَقْرَبُ مِنَ السُّوقِ.
The school is nearer than the market.
Closest of kin
Said of the person closest to someone by kinship; it is often used to name the near relations themselves.
دَعَا سَامِي أَقْرَبَ أَهْلِهِ إِلَى الْعَشَاءِ.
Sami invited his closest relatives to dinner.
Closer to, more in keeping with
By image, said of what is more like a thing, leads to it more surely or is more likely to be true.
هَذَا الْجَوَابُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَى الصَّوَابِ.
This answer is closer to the right one.
Word family
What the root means ق ر ب
The root’s idea is nearness: being or coming close, in place, in time or by kinship. From it come the words for near, for a relative, for approaching and bringing close; the headword is the form that compares: nearer, nearest.
to be near, to come near
قَرُبَ
nearness
قُرْبٌ
near; a relative
to draw near
اِقْتَرَبَ
to bring close
قَرَّبَ
kinship
قَرَابَةٌ
Synonyms
nearer; lower
أَدْنَى
It also means “lower” or “lesser”, which the headword never does.
Opposites
farther, farthest
أَبْعَدُ