Learn Arabic › B2 › مَلْجَأ
مَلْجَأ
shelter /ˈmal.dʒaʔ/
nounB2#3151 most common
Also: refuge, sanctuary, asylum
Example sentences
هَذَا مَلْجَأٌ.
This is a shelter.
ذَهَبْنَا إِلَى المَلْجَأِ.
We went to the shelter.
يَحْتَاجُ اللَّاجِئُونَ إِلَى مَلْجَأٍ آمِنٍ.
The refugees need a safe shelter.
بَنَتِ الحُكُومَةُ مَلَاجِئَ لِلْمُشَرَّدِينَ.
The government built shelters for the homeless.
اِتَّخَذَتِ العَائِلَةُ مِنَ الكَنِيسَةِ مَلْجَأً مُؤَقَّتًا.
The family took the church as a temporary refuge.
لَمْ يَجِدْ أَمَامَهُ مَلْجَأً سِوَى الصَّمْتِ.
He found no refuge before him except silence.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | مَلْجَأٌ | مَلَاجِئُ |
| Genitive | مَلْجَإٍ | مَلَاجِئَ |
| Accusative | مَلْجَأً | مَلَاجِئَ |
| Vocative | يَا مَلْجَأُ | يَا مَلَاجِئُ |
Word family
لَجَأَto seek refuge, resort to
لَاجِئrefugee
لُجُوءasylum, act of seeking refuge
الْتَجَأَto take refuge
مَلَاجِئshelters (plural)
Etymology
Malja' comes from the Arabic root l-j-ʾ (ل-ج-أ), which carries the sense of seeking refuge or taking shelter from danger. The pattern maf'al (مَفْعَل) turns a verb root into a noun of place, so malja' literally names the place where that action happens. Arabic is a Semitic language, not Indo-European, so it has no Proto-Indo-European root.
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