Learn ArabicA1 › قَلْب

قَلْب

heart /ˈqalb/

nounA1#275 most common

Also: core, center, middle (of something), essence, innermost part

Example sentences

قَلْبِي كَبِير.
My heart is big.
أُحِبُّكِ مِنْ كُلِّ قَلْبِي.
I love you with all my heart.
شَعَرْتُ بِأَلَمٍ فِي قَلْبِي بَعْدَ الجَرْي.
I felt a pain in my heart after running.
يَقَعُ المَسْجِدُ القَدِيمُ فِي قَلْبِ المَدِينَةِ.
The old mosque sits in the heart of the city.
ذَهَبَ إِلَى الطَّبِيبِ لِأَنَّ قَلْبَهُ كَانَ يَنْبِضُ بِسُرْعَةٍ غَيْرِ طَبِيعِيَّةٍ.
He went to the doctor because his heart was beating at an abnormal speed.
تُتَّخَذُ القَرَارَاتُ الكُبْرَى بِالعَقْلِ لَا بِالقَلْبِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ القَلْبُ لَا يَعْتَرِفُ بِذٰلِكَ دَائِماً.
Major decisions are made with the mind, not the heart, even if the heart does not always admit it.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeقَلْبٌقُلُوبٌ
Genitiveقَلْبٍقُلُوبٍ
Accusativeقَلْباًقُلُوباً
Vocativeقَلْبُقُلُوبُ

Word family

قُلُوب (qulūb)hearts (plural)
قَلْبِيّ (qalbiyy)cardiac; heartfelt
قُلَيْب (qulayb)little heart (diminutive)
تَقَلُّب (taqallub)fluctuation, changeability
قَلَّاب (qallāb)fickle, changeable

Etymology

قَلْب comes from the Semitic root ق-ل-ب (q-l-b), which carries the sense of turning or overturning. Classical Arabic lexicographers tied the name of the heart to this root because the heart constantly shifts and fluctuates. Arabic is a Semitic language, so the word has no Indo-European ancestor. It later spread as a loanword into Persian, Turkish, and Urdu.

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