Learn Arabic › A1 › سَبَب
سَبَب
reason, cause /ˈsabab/
nounA1#118 most common
Also: motive, means, grounds
Example sentences
ما السَّبَب؟
What is the reason?
هذا هو السَّبَب.
This is the reason.
ما سَبَبُ غِيابِك؟
What is the reason for your absence?
المَطَرُ هو سَبَبُ التَّأخير.
The rain is the cause of the delay.
لا يوجد سَبَبٌ مُقنِع لِما فَعَلَه.
There is no convincing reason for what he did.
تَعَدَّدَت الأَسْبابُ التي دَفَعَتْهُ إلى تَركِ وَطَنِه.
The reasons that drove him to leave his homeland were many.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | سَبَبٌ | أَسْبابٌ |
| Genitive | سَبَبٍ | أَسْبابٍ |
| Accusative | سَبَباً | أَسْباباً |
| Vocative | يا سَبَبُ | يا أَسْبابُ |
Word family
أَسْبابreasons, causes, means (plural)
بِسَبَبbecause of, due to
سَبَّبَto cause, bring about
تَسَبَّبَto lead to, result in
مُسَبِّبcause, causing factor
Etymology
Sabab comes from the Semitic root s-b-b. In early Arabic a sabab was a rope or cord, especially one used to draw water from a well or to fasten a tent. From the image of a rope as a means to reach something, the word came to mean a link or means, and then a cause or reason. The common senses of reason and because of grew out of that older concrete picture.
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