Learn Arabic › B1 › قاسِي
قاسِي
cruel /ˈqaː.siː/
adjectiveB1#1768 most common
Also: harsh, hard-hearted, severe
Example sentences
هذا الرجل قاسي.
This man is cruel.
الطقس قاسي في الصحراء.
The weather is harsh in the desert.
لا تكن قاسياً مع أطفالك.
Do not be harsh with your children.
كان قراره قاسياً لكنه عادل.
His decision was harsh but fair.
عاش طفولة قاسية في ظروف بالغة الصعوبة.
He lived a harsh childhood in very difficult conditions.
في الأدب، يُصوَّر القاضي القاسي رمزاً للسلطة المتعنتة.
In literature, the cruel judge is portrayed as a symbol of stubborn authority.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | قاسٍ | قُساة |
| Genitive | قاسٍ | قُساة |
| Accusative | قاسِياً | قُساةً |
| Vocative | يا قاسي | يا قُساة |
Word family
قَساto be hard, to harden
قَسْوةcruelty, hardness
قاسِيةcruel (feminine)
مُقاساةsuffering, endurance
Etymology
The word is the active participle of the verb قَسا, meaning to be or become hard. The root ق-س-و carries the sense of hardness, first of physical objects and then of hearts and conditions. From that physical hardness Arabic built the moral senses of cruelty and severity.
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