Learn Arabic › B2 › غائِب
غائِب
absent /ɣaːˈʔib/
adjectiveB2#4296 most common
Also: missing, not present, absent-minded (in the phrase غائب الذهن)
Example sentences
هُوَ غائِب اليَوْم.
He is absent today.
أَحْمَد غائِب عَن المَدْرَسَة.
Ahmad is absent from school.
كانَت غائِبَة عَن الاجْتِماع أَمْس.
She was absent from the meeting yesterday.
الطُّلّابُ الغائِبونَ يَجِبُ أَن يُحْضِروا عُذْرًا رَسْمِيًّا.
The absent students must bring an official excuse.
بَدا غائِبَ الذِّهْنِ طَوالَ المُحاضَرَة، وكَأَنَّ عَقْلَهُ في مَكانٍ آخَر.
He seemed absent-minded throughout the lecture, as if his mind were elsewhere.
إِنَّ الحَقيقَةَ الغائِبَةَ عَنِ الأَذْهانِ قَد تَكونُ أَبْلَغَ أَثَرًا مِن كُلِّ ما هوَ حاضِرٌ وظاهِر.
The truth absent from people's minds can leave a deeper mark than everything present and visible.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | غائِبٌ | غائِبونَ |
| Genitive | غائِبٍ | غائِبينَ |
| Accusative | غائِباً | غائِبينَ |
| Vocative | يا غائِبُ | يا غائِبونَ |
Word family
غابَto be absent, to disappear, to set (sun)
غَيْبthe unseen, the invisible
غِيابabsenceتَغَيَّبَto absent oneself deliberately
مُغَيَّبkept unaware, kept in the dark
Etymology
غائِب is the active participle of the verb غابَ (ghāba), meaning to be absent, to disappear, or to set below the horizon, as the sun does. Both belong to the triliteral root غ-ي-ب (gh-y-b), a hollow root whose middle radical ي contracts into the long ا and hamza seen in غائِب. This is a native Semitic root, not an Indo-European one, so no PIE ancestor applies here.
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