Learn Arabic › B2 › لايَن
لايَن
to be lenient with, to conciliate /ˈlaː.ja.na/
verbB2#3355 most common
Also: to mollify, to humor (someone), to go easy on
Example sentences
المُعَلِّمُ يُلايِنُ الطُّلّابَ الجُدُدَ.
The teacher is lenient with the new students.
حاوَلْتُ أن أُلايِنَ صَديقي بَعدَ الخِلافِ.
I tried to be gentle with my friend after our disagreement.
يَجِبُ أن نُلايِنَ الزَّبائِنَ الغاضِبينَ لِنَحُلَّ المُشكِلَةَ.
We must be conciliatory with the angry customers to solve the problem.
لايَنَ المُدَرِّبُ اللاعِبَ بَعدَ خَسارَتِهِ حَتّى لا يَفقِدَ ثِقَتَهُ.
The coach went easy on the player after his loss so he wouldn't lose his confidence.
كانَ الدُّبلوماسِيُّ يُلايِنُ خُصومَهُ في العَلَنِ بَينَما يُشَدِّدُ الضَّغطَ سِرًّا.
The diplomat was conciliatory toward his rivals in public while tightening the pressure in secret.
على الرَّغمِ مِن خِلافاتِهِما العَميقَةِ، فَضَّلَ الوَزيرُ أن يُلايِنَ نَظيرَهُ الأجنَبِيَّ تَجَنُّبًا لِتَصعيدٍ دُبلوماسِيٍّ قَد يُكَلِّفُ البَلَدَ الكَثيرَ.
Despite their deep disagreements, the minister preferred to be conciliatory toward his foreign counterpart to avoid a diplomatic escalation that could cost the country dearly.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أُلايِنُ | لايَنْتُ | سَأُلايِنُ |
| 2sg | تُلايِنُ | لايَنْتَ | سَتُلايِنُ |
| 3sg | يُلايِنُ | لايَنَ | سَيُلايِنُ |
| 1pl | نُلايِنُ | لايَنّا | سَنُلايِنُ |
| 2pl | تُلايِنونَ | لايَنْتُم | سَتُلايِنونَ |
| 3pl | يُلايِنونَ | لايَنوا | سَيُلايِنونَ |
Word family
لَيِّن (layyin)soft, gentle, flexible
لِين (līn)softness, flexibility
لَيَّنَ (layyana)to soften something
تَلَيَّنَ (talayyana)to become soft, to relent
مُلايَنة (mulāyana)leniency, conciliation
Etymology
The root ل-ي-ن covers softness and pliancy in Arabic. The Form III pattern (فاعَلَ) applied to this root turns the idea of softness into an action directed at another person, giving the sense of treating someone gently or making concessions to them. This is a native Semitic formation, not a loanword. Arabic is a Semitic language, so it has no Indo-European ancestry or PIE root.
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