Learn Arabic › A1 › لَو
لَو
if (counterfactual) /ˈlaw/
particleA1#92 most common
Also: if only, had (as in 'had I known'), were
Example sentences
لَوْ سَمَحْت، أَيْنَ الْمَحَطَّة؟
Excuse me, where is the station?
لَوْ سَمَحْتِ، أَغْلِقِي النَّافِذَة.
If you would, please close the window.
لَوْ دَرَسْتَ لَنَجَحْت.
If you had studied, you would have passed.
لَوْ كُنْتُ مَكَانَك لَمَا قَبِلْتُ بِهٰذَا الْعَرْض.
If I were in your place, I would not have accepted this offer.
وَدِدْتُ لَوْ أَنَّنِي أَخْبَرْتُهُ بِالْحَقِيقَةِ مِنَ الْبِدَايَة.
I wish I had told him the truth from the start.
لَوْ أَنَّهُ تَأَنَّى فِي قَرَارِهِ لَأَدْرَكَ أَنَّ الْعَوَاقِبَ سَتَكُونُ وَخِيمَة.
Had he taken his time over his decision, he would have realized the consequences would be dire.
Word family
لَوْلَاwere it not for, if not
لَوْمَاif not (rare)
لَوْ أَنَّif (followed by a noun clause)
إِنْif (real conditional)Etymology
لَوْ is an inherited Semitic particle that marks a condition the speaker treats as unreal or unlikely. It pairs a past-tense supposition with a result that did not happen. Particles of the same shape and force appear across the Semitic family.
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