Learn Arabic › A1 › أَعْلَم
أَعْلَم
most knowledgeable; knows best /ˈʔaʕ.lam/
adjectiveA1#125 most common
Also: more knowledgeable, knows better, best informed
Example sentences
اللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ.
God knows best.
أَخِي أَعْلَمُ مِنِّي بِأُمُورِ الحَاسُوب.
My brother knows more than me about computers.
هِيَ أَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ بِهٰذَا الأَمْر.
She is the most knowledgeable of people about this matter.
الطَّبِيبُ أَعْلَمُ بِحَالَتِكَ مِنْكَ، فَاسْتَمِعْ إِلَى نَصِيحَتِهِ.
The doctor knows your condition better than you do, so listen to his advice.
لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ أَعْلَمَ بِدُرُوبِ الصَّحْرَاءِ مِنَ البَدَوِيِّ الَّذِي وُلِدَ فِيهَا.
No one knows the desert's paths better than the bedouin born in it.
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ، وَلا تَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ خَافِيَةٌ.
And God knows best what is in the hearts, and no hidden thing escapes Him.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | أَعْلَمُ | أَعْلَمُونَ |
| Genitive | أَعْلَمَ | أَعْلَمِينَ |
| Accusative | أَعْلَمَ | أَعْلَمِينَ |
| Vocative | يَا أَعْلَمُ | يَا أَعْلَمُونَ |
Word family
عِلْمknowledge, science
عَالِمscholar, scientist
عَلِيمall-knowing (divine attribute)
عَلَّمَto teach
مَعْلُومَةpiece of informationEtymology
أعلم is the elative form of the root ع-ل-م, 'to know.' It is built on the أَفْعَل pattern, the shape Arabic uses for comparatives and superlatives, so it means 'more knowing' or 'most knowing.' The root anchors a large family of words about knowledge, from عِلْم 'science' to عَالِم 'scholar.' The root is Semitic, with reflexes in Hebrew and Aramaic, though those branches moved the sense toward 'hidden' and 'world.'
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