Arabic word sheet
بَحْرٌ
sea
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ب ح ر
Meaning and usage
sea
A vast expanse of water, salt above all; the opposite of dry land. It is the ordinary word for the sea.
سَبَحَ رَامِي فِي الْبَحْرِ صَبَاحًا.
Rami swam in the sea in the morning.
great river
In the classical language it is also said of any large river whose water never stops flowing, such as the Nile or the Tigris.
يَشْرَبُ أَهْلُ الْقَرْيَةِ مِنْ مَاءِ الْبَحْرِ الْعَذْبِ.
The people of the village drink the fresh water of the great river.
a man of boundless generosity or learning
By image, said of a person whose generosity, or whose knowledge, seems as wide as the sea.
كَانَ الْجَارُ بَحْرًا فِي الْكَرَمِ.
The neighbour was a sea of generosity.
Plural
بِحَارٌ / بُحُورٌ
Word family
What the root means ب ح ر
The root carries the idea of wide extent and abundance, first of all of water. From it come the lake, putting out to sea, what belongs to the sea, and ranging widely in a thing.
lake
بُحَيْرَةٌ
to put to sea, to sail
أَبْحَرَ
to range widely; to go deep into (a subject)
تَبَحَّرَ
of the sea, maritime
بَحْرِيٌّ
Synonyms
sea
A rarer, literary word for the sea; the headword is the everyday one and has the wider range of uses.
Opposites
dry land