Learn Arabic › A1 › قَلِيل
قَلِيل
few, little /qaˈliːl/
adjectiveA1#155 most common
Also: scarce, a little, slight
Example sentences
عِنْدِي وَقْتٌ قَلِيلٌ.
I have little time.
أَكَلْتُ طَعاماً قَلِيلاً اليَوْمَ.
I ate little food today.
في هذِهِ المَدِينَةِ أَشْجارٌ قَلِيلَةٌ.
There are few trees in this city.
كانَ عَدَدُ الزُّوّارِ قَلِيلاً بِسَبَبِ المَطَر.
The number of visitors was small because of the rain.
القَلِيلُ مِنَ المالِ المُدَّخَرِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الكَثيرِ المُبَذَّر.
A little saved money is better than a lot that is wasted.
لا يُدْرِكُ خُطورَةَ القَرارِ إلّا قَلِيلٌ مِمَّن حَضَروا الاجْتِماع.
Only a few of those who attended the meeting grasp the seriousness of the decision.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | قَلِيلٌ | قَلِيلونَ |
| Genitive | قَلِيلٍ | قَلِيلِينَ |
| Accusative | قَلِيلاً | قَلِيلِينَ |
| Vocative | يا قَلِيلُ | يا قَلِيلونَ |
Word family
قِلَّةscarcity, fewness
أَقَلّfewer, less, leastقَلَّلَto reduce, to lessen
قَلِيلاًa little, slightly
أَقَلِّيَّةminority
Etymology
قَلِيل comes from the Semitic root q-l-l, which carries the sense of being few, scarce, or light. The same root gives the verb قَلَّ, to be few, and the noun قِلَّة, scarcity. Across Semitic languages the root often shades toward lightness or smallness rather than number.
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