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دُبّ

bear /ˈdubb/

nounB1#2233 most common

Also: bear (the animal)

Example sentences

الدُّبُّ كبيرٌ.
The bear is big.
رأيتُ دُبّاً في الغابة.
I saw a bear in the forest.
الدُّبُّ القُطبيُّ يعيشُ في الشَّمال البارد.
The polar bear lives in the cold north.
هاجمَ الدُّبُّ الخليّةَ بحثاً عن العسل.
The bear attacked the hive looking for honey.
تدخلُ الدِّبَبةُ في سُباتٍ طويلٍ خلالَ فصل الشتاء.
Bears enter a long hibernation during the winter.
يُحذّرُ الخبراءُ من الاقتراب من الدِّبَبةِ الأمّهاتِ التي ترافقها صغارُها.
Experts warn against approaching mother bears accompanied by their cubs.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeدُبٌّدِبَبةٌ
Genitiveدُبٍّدِبَبةٍ
Accusativeدُبّاًدِبَبةً
Vocativeيا دُبُّيا دِبَبةُ

Word family

دُبّةshe-bear
الدُّبّ الأكبرUrsa Major (the Great Bear)
الدُّبّ الأصغرUrsa Minor (the Little Bear)
دُبّ قُطبيّpolar bear

Etymology

The word comes from a common Semitic root for the animal. It appears across the family with little change in form or meaning. Arabic دُبّ, Hebrew דֹּב, and Akkadian dabû all trace to the same source. The root also connects to verbs of slow, heavy movement, matching the bear's lumbering gait.

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