Learn Arabic › B2 › غاب
غاب
to be absent, to disappear /ɣaːb/
verbB2#3298 most common
Also: to vanish, to be out of sight, to slip one's mind (idiom: غاب عن باله)
Example sentences
غابت الشمس عن السماء.
The sun disappeared from the sky.
غاب أحمد عن المدرسة أمس.
Ahmad was absent from school yesterday.
غابت أختي عن العمل لأنها مريضة.
My sister was absent from work because she is sick.
يغيب أبي عن المنزل أياماً بسبب عمله.
My father is away from home for days because of his work.
غاب عن باله أن يتصل بها قبل السفر.
It slipped his mind to call her before traveling.
حين تغيب الشمس عن الأفق، يخيّم الظلام على المدينة وتغرق في صمت غريب.
When the sun disappears below the horizon, darkness settles over the city and it sinks into a strange silence.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أغيب | غِبْتُ | سأغيب |
| 2sg | تغيب | غِبْتَ | ستغيب |
| 3sg | يغيب | غابَ | سيغيب |
| 1pl | نغيب | غِبْنا | سنغيب |
| 2pl | تغيبون | غِبْتُم | ستغيبون |
| 3pl | يغيبون | غابوا | سيغيبون |
Word family
غيابabsence
غائبabsent, the absent one
غيبوبةcoma
الغيبthe unseen, the hidden realm
تغيّبto stay away deliberately, to play truant
Etymology
غاب comes from the Semitic root غ-ي-ب, tied to the idea of being hidden from sight or unseen. In Arabic this root also gives الغيب, the unseen realm, a term with deep religious weight in the Quran. The verb itself stayed close to its root sense: someone or something withdraws from view, whether a person from a room or the sun from the sky.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free