Arabic word sheet
لَيْسَ
is not; there is not
- Type
- negating verb
- Root
- ل ي س
Meaning and usage
Is not
It denies that a person or thing is such-and-such at the time of speaking: "is not".
لَيْسَ الْجَوُّ بَارِدًا الْيَوْمَ.
The weather is not cold today.
There is no
It wholly denies that a thing exists or is present somewhere: "there is no", "none".
لَيْسَ فِي الْبَيْتِ خُبْزٌ.
There is no bread in the house.
Except
After a group has been mentioned, it takes someone or something out of it: "except", "apart from".
جَاءَ الطُّلَّابُ لَيْسَ سَامِيًا.
The students came, except Sami.
"And not", "not"
Between two nouns it rules out the second in favour of the first: "this one, not that one".
جَاءَ الْمُعَلِّمُ لَيْسَ الطَّالِبُ.
The teacher came, not the student.
Word family
What the root means ل ي س
This word stands alone: it only serves to negate and no family of words has grown from it.