Learn Arabic › B1 › حِيلَة
حِيلَة
trick /ˈħiː.la/
nounB1#2176 most common
Also: ruse, stratagem, way out
Example sentences
هَذِهِ حِيلَة.
This is a trick.
لَا حِيلَة لِي.
I have no way out.
نَجَحَ الطِّفْلُ بِحِيلَة بَسِيطَة.
The child succeeded with a simple trick.
لَجَأَ التَّاجِرُ إِلَى حِيلَة لِيَبِيعَ بِضَاعَتَهُ.
The merchant resorted to a ruse to sell his goods.
كَشَفَ المُحَقِّقُ الحِيلَة قَبْلَ أَنْ تُؤْتِيَ ثِمَارَهَا.
The investigator exposed the ruse before it bore fruit.
لَمْ تَنْطَلِ حِيلَتُهُ المُتْقَنَةُ عَلَى الخُبَرَاءِ رَغْمَ دِقَّةِ تَنْفِيذِهَا.
His well-crafted ruse did not fool the experts despite its precise execution.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | حِيلَةٌ | حِيَلٌ |
| Genitive | حِيلَةٍ | حِيَلٍ |
| Accusative | حِيلَةً | حِيَلاً |
| Vocative | يَا حِيلَةُ | يَا حِيَلُ |
Word family
احْتَالَto trick, to swindle
مُحْتَالswindler, con artist
تَحَايُلtrickery, circumvention
حِيَلtricks, devices (plural)
Etymology
The word comes from the Arabic root ح-و-ل (ḥ-w-l), which carries the sense of turning, shifting, and changing a state. A ḥīla is thus a means of turning a situation to one's advantage, a device or contrivance. Over time the sense narrowed toward cleverness and, often, deception. The pattern is fiʿla, with the original و shifting to ي.
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