Arabic word sheet
قَالَ
he said
- Type
- verb
- Root
- ق و ل
Meaning and usage
To say
To utter words, one's own or words being reported. What is said is a whole sentence or a word standing for one; the person spoken to can be named as well: to say something to someone.
قَالَ سَامِي: أَنَا جَائِعٌ.
Sami said, "I am hungry."
To say of someone, to speak about him
To say such and such a thing concerning a person or a thing. The verb is then followed by a small word meaning “of” or “about”.
قَالَ الْمُعَلِّمُ عَنْ رَامِي كَلَامًا طَيِّبًا.
The teacher said kind words about Rami.
To hold, to maintain
To put an idea forward as one's own and stand by it. Said of an opinion or a position one asserts; the verb is then followed by the small word meaning “by” or “with”.
قَالَ الطَّبِيبُ بِهَذَا الرَّأْيِ.
The doctor held this view.
To make a sign (old, rare)
A rare use of the old language: to get something across with a movement of the head or the hand, as though saying it.
قَالَ الْجَارُ بِيَدِهِ: تَعَالَ.
The neighbour signalled with his hand, "Come."
Word family
What the root means ق و ل
The root carries the idea of speech: anything the tongue utters. From it come the words for a saying or a statement, the one who speaks, the great talker, and putting words in someone's mouth.
saying, statement
the one who says, speaker
قَائِلٌ
speech, what is said
مَقَالٌ
statement, piece of speech
مَقَالَةٌ
great talker
قَوَّالٌ
to put words in someone's mouth
تَقَوَّلَ
Synonyms
to address
خَاطَبَ
Only fits speaking to someone directly; it is not used to report what was said.
to make a sign
أَوْمَأَ
Matches only the old, rare use of the headword for “to make a sign”; it names the gesture alone, with no word spoken.
to speak
تَكَلَّمَ
Names the act of speaking in general, without the words spoken being quoted after it.
Opposites
to be silent
سَكَتَ