Arabic word sheet

نَاسٌ

Humankind

Type: noun
Root: ء ن س

Meaning and usage

Humankind

Names human beings as a whole, men and women alike, when speaking of everyone in general.

النَّاسُ يَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَى الْمَاءِ

People need water.

Some people

Also said of a group of persons, without saying which: "some people", "folk". The word always names several persons; for a single one, another word is used.

رَأَى سَامِي نَاسًا فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ

Sami saw some people in the garden.

Word family

What the root means ء ن س

The word is the lightened form of an older word for human beings. The same family gives the word for a human being and the word for the human race.

human being

إِنْسَانٌ

humankind

إِنْسٌ

people, persons

أُنَاسٌ

Synonyms

human beings

بَشَرٌ

Names the human species as against other living beings, whereas the headword is the everyday term for "people".