Learn ArabicB2 › قَبْلَ

قَبْلَ

before /ˈqab.la/

particleB2#4249 most common

Also: prior to, ahead of

Example sentences

أَشْرَبُ القَهْوَةَ قَبْلَ الفَطُورِ.
I drink coffee before breakfast.
وَصَلْتُ قَبْلَ المَوْعِدِ بِخَمْسِ دَقَائِقَ.
I arrived five minutes before the appointment.
يَجِبُ أَنْ تَقْرَأَ العَقْدَ قَبْلَ التَّوْقِيعِ عَلَيْهِ.
You must read the contract before signing it.
فَكِّرْ مَلِيًّا قَبْلَ أَنْ تَتَّخِذَ قَرَارًا نِهَائِيًّا.
Think carefully before you make a final decision.
كَانَتِ العَلَاقَاتُ بَيْنَ البَلَدَيْنِ مُتَوَتِّرَةً قَبْلَ تَوْقِيعِ الاتِّفَاقِيَّةِ.
Relations between the two countries were tense before the agreement was signed.
لَمْ يَكُنْ أَحَدٌ يَتَصَوَّرُ حَجْمَ التَّحَوُّلِ الَّذِي سَيَطْرَأُ عَلَى الِاقْتِصَادِ قَبْلَ انْدِلَاعِ الأَزْمَةِ.
No one imagined the scale of the change that would hit the economy before the crisis broke out.

Word family

قَبْلُbefore, previously (used without a following noun)
قَبِلَto accept
قَابَلَto meet, to face
مُقَابَلَةinterview, meeting
مُسْتَقْبَلfuture

Etymology

Qabla comes from the Semitic root q-b-l, whose core sense is front, face, or precede. The same root gives verbs meaning to accept and to meet, since accepting something or meeting someone means turning to face it. Because Arabic is a Semitic language, this root has no Indo-European ancestry.

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