Learn Arabic › B1 › لِسان
لِسان
tongue /liˈsaːn/
nounB1#1819 most common
Also: language, speech
Example sentences
لِسانِي يُؤلِمُنِي.
My tongue hurts.
اللُّغَةُ العَرَبِيَّةُ لِسانٌ جَمِيلٌ.
Arabic is a beautiful language.
أَخرَجَ الكَلبُ لِسانَهُ مِنَ الحَرِّ.
The dog stuck out its tongue from the heat.
هُوَ لا يَتَكَلَّمُ لِسانَ هذا البَلَدِ.
He does not speak the language of this country.
كانَ الشاعِرُ لِسانَ قَومِهِ في المَحافِلِ.
The poet was the spokesman of his people at the gatherings.
مَن حَفِظَ لِسانَهُ سَلِمَ مِنْ كَثيرٍ مِنَ النَّدَمِ.
Whoever guards his tongue is spared much regret.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | لِسانٌ | أَلْسِنَةٌ |
| Genitive | لِسانٍ | أَلْسِنَةٍ |
| Accusative | لِساناً | أَلْسِنَةً |
| Vocative | يا لِسانُ | يا أَلْسِنَةُ |
Word family
أَلْسِنَةtongues, languages (plural)
لَسِنeloquent, sharp-tongued
لِسانيlingual, linguistic
مَلْسونsmooth-tongued, glib
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic root l-s-n, tied to the tongue as an organ and to speech by extension. The same root gives Hebrew lashon and Aramaic leshana, both meaning tongue and language. Arabic kept both senses, so lisān names the body part and a spoken language.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free