Learn Arabic › A1 › صَعْب
صَعْب
difficult /ˈsˤaʕb/
adjectiveA1#340 most common
Also: hard, tough, challenging
Example sentences
هٰذا صَعْب.
This is difficult.
الاِمْتِحان صَعْب جِدّاً.
The exam is very difficult.
اللُّغة العَرَبِيّة صَعْبة لٰكِنَّها جَميلة.
Arabic is difficult, but it is beautiful.
واجَهْنا ظُروفاً صَعْبة خِلال السَّفَر.
We faced difficult circumstances during the trip.
مِن الصَّعْب أن نَتَّخِذ قَراراً في هٰذِه اللَّحْظة الحَرِجة.
It is difficult to make a decision at this critical moment.
كانت المُفاوَضات صَعْبة ومُعَقَّدة, وتَطَلَّبَت تَنازُلات مُؤْلِمة مِن الطَّرَفَيْن.
The negotiations were difficult and complex, and they required painful concessions from both sides.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | صَعْبٌ | صِعَابٌ |
| Genitive | صَعْبٍ | صِعَابٍ |
| Accusative | صَعْباً | صِعَاباً |
| Vocative | يا صَعْبُ | يا صِعَابُ |
Word family
صُعوبةdifficulty
صَعُبَto be difficult
أَصْعَبmore/most difficultصَعَّبَto make something difficult
اِسْتَصْعَبَto find something difficult
Etymology
صَعْب comes from the Semitic root ص-ع-ب (ṣ-ʿ-b), which carries the sense of hardness and difficulty. The related verb صَعُبَ means 'to be hard or difficult,' and the noun صُعوبة means 'difficulty.' The adjective follows the common فَعْل (faʿl) pattern. The word has no Indo-European origin.
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