Learn Arabic › A2 › ذَكِيّ
ذَكِيّ
intelligent /ðaˈkijj/
adjectiveA2#740 most common
Also: smart, clever, sharp-witted
Example sentences
هَذَا الوَلَدُ ذَكِيٌّ.
This boy is smart.
مُعَلِّمَتُنَا ذَكِيَّةٌ وَلَطِيفَةٌ.
Our teacher is smart and kind.
اِشْتَرَى أَخِي هَاتِفًا ذَكِيًّا جَدِيدًا.
My brother bought a new smartphone.
الطُّلَّابُ الأَذْكِيَاءُ يَطْرَحُونَ أَسْئِلَةً عَمِيقَةً.
The smart students ask deep questions.
تَمَكَّنَ مِنْ حَلِّ اللُّغْزِ بِطَرِيقَةٍ ذَكِيَّةٍ لَمْ يَتَوَقَّعْهَا أَحَدٌ.
He managed to solve the puzzle in a clever way that no one expected.
لَا يَكْفِي أَنْ تَكُونَ ذَكِيًّا لِتَنْجَحَ، بَلْ يَجِبُ أَنْ تَكُونَ مُثَابِرًا أَيْضًا.
Being smart is not enough to succeed; you must also be persistent.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ذَكِيٌّ | أَذْكِيَاءُ |
| Genitive | ذَكِيٍّ | أَذْكِيَاءَ |
| Accusative | ذَكِيًّا | أَذْكِيَاءَ |
| Vocative | يَا ذَكِيُّ | يَا أَذْكِيَاءُ |
Word family
ذَكَاءintelligence, cleverness
أَذْكَىsmarter, smartest (elative)ذَكِيَّةsmart (feminine singular)
أَذْكِيَاءsmart people (plural)
ذَكَاto blaze, burn brightly
Etymology
ذَكِيّ comes from the Arabic root ذ-ك-ي, whose base verb ذَكَا means to blaze or burn brightly. From the image of a bright, fierce fire the root extended to ذَكَاء, sharpness of the mind. ذَكِيّ is the adjective: a person whose intellect burns clear and quick. The root is Semitic and has no Indo-European origin.
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