Learn Arabic › A1 › حِين
حِين
a while; a period of time /ˈħiːn/
nounA1#241 most common
Also: time, moment, point in time
Example sentences
اِنْتَظِرْ حِينًا.
Wait a while.
أَزُورُهُمْ مِنْ حِينٍ إِلَى آخَر.
I visit them from time to time.
سَيَعُودُ بَعْدَ حِينٍ قَصِير.
He will come back after a short while.
فِي بَعْضِ الأَحْيَانِ أَشْعُرُ بِالحَنِينِ إِلَى الماضِي.
Sometimes I feel nostalgic for the past.
لَمْ يُدْرِكْ خَطَأَهُ إِلَّا بَعْدَ حِينٍ مِنَ الزَّمَن.
He did not realize his mistake until after a period of time.
قَالَ تَعَالَى: "تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا".
The Most High said: "It yields its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord."
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | حِينٌ | أَحْيَانٌ |
| Genitive | حِينٍ | أَحْيَانٍ |
| Accusative | حِينًا | أَحْيَانًا |
| Vocative | حِينُ | أَحْيَانُ |
Word family
حانَto come, fall due (of a time)
أَحْيَانًاsometimes
حِينَئِذٍat that time, then
أَحْيَانtimes (plural of حِين)
حِينَwhen, at the time that
Etymology
حِين comes from the triliteral root ح-ي-ن, which is tied to the verb حانَ, 'the time came' or 'fell due.' The noun names a stretch or a point of time, a while or a span. Classical and Quranic Arabic use it widely, from the bare indefinite حِين to the set phrase كُلَّ حِين, 'at all times.'
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