Learn Arabic › B1 › أَجْنَبِيّ
أَجْنَبِيّ
foreign /ʔadʒ.naˈbij.jiː/
adjectiveB1#2633 most common
Also: foreigner (as a noun), alien, outside (of a country or group)
Example sentences
هُوَ رَجُلٌ أَجْنَبِيٌّ.
He is a foreign man.
تَتَعَلَّمُ صَدِيقَتِي لُغَةً أَجْنَبِيَّةً.
My friend is learning a foreign language.
قَابَلْتُ سَائِحًا أَجْنَبِيًّا فِي السُّوقِ.
I met a foreign tourist in the market.
يَعْمَلُ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْأَجَانِبِ فِي هَذِهِ الشَّرِكَةِ.
Many foreigners work in this company.
تُشَجِّعُ الْحُكُومَةُ الِاسْتِثْمَارَ الْأَجْنَبِيَّ الْمُبَاشِرَ.
The government encourages direct foreign investment.
أَثَارَ وُجُودُ عُمَّالٍ أَجَانِبَ بِلَا تَصَارِيحَ جَدَلًا قَانُونِيًّا وَاسِعًا.
The presence of foreign workers without permits sparked wide legal controversy.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | أَجْنَبِيٌّ | أَجَانِبُ |
| Genitive | أَجْنَبِيٍّ | أَجَانِبَ |
| Accusative | أَجْنَبِيًّا | أَجَانِبَ |
| Vocative | يَا أَجْنَبِيُّ | يَا أَجَانِبُ |
Word family
جانبside, aspect
أجنبيةforeign (feminine form)
أجانبforeigners (plural)
تجنّبto avoid
اجتنابavoidance
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic root j-n-b (ج ن ب), which carries the sense of side or flank. The base noun jaanib means side or aspect of something. Arabic builds the form ajnab on this root to suggest greater distance to the side, then adds the relational suffix -iyy to turn it into an adjective: something that belongs to the outer side, hence foreign.
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