Learn ArabicA2 › إِصْبَع

إِصْبَع

finger /ˈʔisˤbaʕ/

nounA2#1036 most common

Also: toe, digit

Example sentences

هَذَا إِصْبَعِي.
This is my finger.
جَرَحْتُ إِصْبَعِي بِالسِّكِّينِ.
I cut my finger with the knife.
أَشَارَ الوَلَدُ بِإِصْبَعِهِ إِلَى الطَّائِرَةِ.
The boy pointed with his finger at the airplane.
لا تَضَعِي إِصْبَعَكِ عَلَى الزُّجَاجِ السَّاخِنِ.
Do not put your finger on the hot glass.
وَضَعَ الطَّبِيبُ إِصْبَعَهُ عَلَى الجُرْحِ لِيُوقِفَ النَّزِيفَ.
The doctor placed his finger on the wound to stop the bleeding.
يُقَالُ إِنَّ لَهُ إِصْبَعًا فِي كُلِّ قَضِيَّةٍ، فَلا يَخْلُو أَمْرٌ مِنْ تَدَخُّلِهِ.
They say he has a finger in every matter, so no affair is free of his meddling.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeإِصْبَعٌأَصَابِعُ
Genitiveإِصْبَعٍأَصَابِعَ
Accusativeإِصْبَعًاأَصَابِعَ
Vocativeيا إِصْبَعُيا أَصَابِعُ

Word family

أَصَابِعfingers (plural)
صَبَعَto point at someone with the finger
إِصْبَع القَدَمtoe
أُصَيْبِعlittle finger (diminutive)

Etymology

The word comes from the Common Semitic root ṣ-b-ʕ, tied to the finger and to the act of pointing. It has clear relatives across the Semitic family, such as Hebrew etzbaʿ and Aramaic eṣbeʿā. The word is not Indo-European, so it has no Proto-Indo-European root.

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دَواءmedicineكَأْسglass (drinking cup)أَسْمَعI hearبَساطَةsimplicityأَثَّرto affect, to influenceهادِئcalmجِيمjīm (name of the Arabic letter ج)كَوْنِيّcosmic