Learn Arabic › B1 › ظَهْر
ظَهْر
back (the body part) /ˈðˤahr/
nounB1#2434 most common
Also: rear side of something, surface or deck (of a ship, animal, etc.), spine area
Example sentences
ظَهْري يُؤْلِمُني.
My back hurts.
اِسْتَلْقَيْتُ عَلَى ظَهْري.
I lay down on my back.
حَمَلَ الطِّفْلُ حَقيبَتَهُ عَلى ظَهْرِهِ.
The child carried his bag on his back.
رَكِبَ الرَّجُلُ عَلى ظَهْرِ الجَمَلِ.
The man rode on the camel's back.
أَدارَ ظَهْرَهُ لي وَغادَرَ دونَ أَنْ يَقولَ كَلِمَةً.
He turned his back on me and left without a word.
خانَني صَديقي وَطَعَنَني في ظَهْري بَعْدَ كُلِّ ما فَعَلْتُهُ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ.
My friend betrayed me and stabbed me in the back after everything I did for him.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ظَهْرٌ | ظُهُورٌ |
| Genitive | ظَهْرٍ | ظُهُورٍ |
| Accusative | ظَهْرًا | ظُهُورًا |
| Vocative | يا ظَهْرُ | يا ظُهُورُ |
Word family
ظَهَرَto appear, come out, emerge
ظاهِرapparent, visible, outward
ظُهورappearance, emergence
مَظْهَرappearance, outward lookظَهيرsupporter, backer; also full-back in football
Etymology
The word comes from the triliteral Semitic root ظ-ه-ر (ẓ-h-r), whose core sense is to appear, emerge, or become visible. Classical Arabic lexicographers link the noun ظَهْر (back) to this same root because the back is the outer, exposed surface of the body, in contrast to the belly, which is hidden. The same root also produced ظَهَرَ (to appear), ظاهِر (apparent, visible), and ظُهْر (noon, when the sun stands fully visible overhead).
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