Learn ArabicB2 › لَيِّن

لَيِّن

soft, gentle /ˈlaj.jin/

adjectiveB2#4083 most common

Also: supple, pliant, mild, tender, smooth

Example sentences

هَذَا الخُبْزُ لَيِّنٌ جِدًّا.
This bread is very soft.
صَوْتُهَا لَيِّنٌ وَهَادِئٌ.
Her voice is soft and calm.
يَجِبُ أَنْ تَكُونَ لَيِّنًا فِي كَلَامِكَ مَعَ الْأَطْفَالِ.
You should be gentle in how you speak with children.
كَانَ قَلْبُهُ لَيِّنًا رَغْمَ صَرَامَتِهِ فِي الْعَمَلِ.
His heart was tender despite his strictness at work.
تَتَمَيَّزُ هَذِهِ التُّرْبَةُ اللَّيِّنَةُ بِقُدْرَتِهَا عَلَى امْتِصَاصِ الْمِيَاهِ بِسُرْعَةٍ.
This soft soil stands out for how quickly it absorbs water.
عَلَى الدَّاعِيَةِ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَيِّنَ الْجَانِبِ مَعَ النَّاسِ وَإِنْ كَانَ حَازِمًا فِي مَبَادِئِهِ.
A preacher should be gentle with people, even while firm in his principles.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeلَيِّنٌلَيِّنُونَ
Genitiveلَيِّنٍلَيِّنِينَ
Accusativeلَيِّنًالَيِّنِينَ
Vocativeأَيُّهَا اللَّيِّنُأَيُّهَا اللَّيِّنُونَ

Word family

لَانَto become soft, to soften
لِيُونَةsoftness, flexibility
تَلْيِينthe act of softening
مُلَيِّنsoftener, laxative
لَيِّنَةsoft, gentle (feminine form)

Etymology

لَيِّن comes from the Arabic root ل-ي-ن (l-y-n), which carries the core sense of softness and pliancy across its derived forms. The word itself is built on the فَيْعِل pattern, an intensive adjective shape often used with hollow roots, doubling the middle radical ي. The same root gives Arabic its everyday verb for softening and its noun for flexibility.

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