Arabic word sheet
سَوَاءٌ
Equal, alike
- Type
- noun
- Root
- س و ي
Meaning and usage
Equal, alike
Said of two persons or things, or of several, that stand at the same level in some respect: neither is above the other.
سَامِي وَرَامِي سَوَاءٌ فِي الطُّولِ.
Sami and Rami are equal in height.
It is all the same
At the head of a sentence, it introduces two possibilities between which no difference is made: whether the one or the other, it comes to the same.
سَوَاءٌ عِنْدَ لَيْلَى الشَّايُ وَالْقَهْوَةُ.
Tea or coffee, it is all the same to Layla.
Middle (classical)
In the classical language, the middle of a thing, the point that lies at an equal distance from its edges.
وَقَفَ الْوَلَدُ فِي سَوَاءِ السَّاحَةِ.
The boy stood in the middle of the yard.
Fairness
Treating everyone in the same way, without leaning to one side: justice in a sharing-out or in a ruling.
حَكَمَ الْقَاضِي بَيْنَ الْجَارَيْنِ بِالسَّوَاءِ.
The judge ruled fairly between the two neighbours.
Word family
What the root means س و ي
The root’s idea is that two things are level with each other: one is the like of the other. From it come the words for making even, being equal or straight, matching a thing, and what is regular and well proportioned.
to make even, to level
سَوَّى
to be even, to be straight
to equal, to be worth as much as
سَاوَى
equality
مُسَاوَاةٌ
even, level, regular
مُسْتَوٍ
well proportioned, sound
سَوِيٌّ
Synonyms
the like, the equal
It is said of one thing compared with another, whose like it is, whereas the headword is said of the two together.
middle
وَسَطٌ
It matches the sense “middle” only, and is the ordinary word for it.
Opposites
different
مُخْتَلِفٌ