Learn Arabic › A1 › كَلام
كَلام
speech /kaˈlaːm/
nounA1#447 most common
Also: talk, words, what someone says
Example sentences
هٰذا كَلامٌ جَميلٌ.
These are kind words.
لا أَفهَمُ كَلامَكَ.
I don't understand what you are saying.
كَلامُكَ صَحيحٌ تَماماً.
What you say is completely correct.
لا تُصَدِّقْ كُلَّ كَلامٍ تَسمَعُهُ.
Don't believe every word you hear.
كانَ كَلامُهُ مُجَرَّدَ وُعودٍ فارِغَةٍ.
His talk was nothing but empty promises.
في خِضَمِّ الجِدالِ، تَحَوَّلَ الكَلامُ إلى صَمتٍ ثَقيلٍ.
In the heat of the argument, talk turned into a heavy silence.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | كَلامٌ | None |
| Genitive | كَلامٍ | None |
| Accusative | كَلاماً | None |
| Vocative | يا كَلامُ | None |
Word family
كَلِمة (kalima)word
تَكَلَّمَ (takallama)to speak
كَلَّمَ (kallama)to address, speak to
مُكالَمة (mukālama)phone call, conversation
عِلْم الكَلام (ʿilm al-kalām)Islamic scholastic theology
Etymology
Kalām comes from the Semitic root k-l-m, which links speaking with wounding, since a sharp word can cut. The same root gives kalima (word) and the verb takallama (to speak). In medieval usage the term came to name ʿilm al-kalām, Islamic scholastic theology, literally the science of discourse.
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