Learn ArabicA2 › هُوِيَّة

هُوِيَّة

identity /huˈwij.ja/

nounA2#1049 most common

Also: ID card, selfhood

Example sentences

هَذِهِ هُوِيَّتِي.
This is my ID card.
نَسِيتُ هُوِيَّتِي فِي البَيْتِ.
I forgot my ID at home.
يَجِبُ أَنْ تُظْهِرَ هُوِيَّتَكَ عِنْدَ الدُّخُولِ.
You must show your ID when you enter.
تُشَكِّلُ اللُّغَةُ جُزْءًا مُهِمًّا مِنْ هُوِيَّةِ الشَّعْبِ.
Language forms an important part of a people's identity.
يَبْحَثُ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الشَّبَابِ عَنْ هُوِيَّتِهِمْ فِي عَالَمٍ سَرِيعِ التَّغَيُّرِ.
Many young people search for their identity in a fast-changing world.
تَتَأَرْجَحُ الهُوِيَّةُ الوَطَنِيَّةُ بَيْنَ الِانْتِمَاءِ إِلَى المَاضِي وَالتَّطَلُّعِ إِلَى المُسْتَقْبَلِ.
National identity wavers between belonging to the past and aspiring to the future.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeهُوِيَّةٌهُوِيَّاتٌ
Genitiveهُوِيَّةٍهُوِيَّاتٍ
Accusativeهُوِيَّةًهُوِيَّاتٍ
Vocativeيَا هُوِيَّةُيَا هُوِيَّاتُ

Word family

هُوَhe, it
هُوِيَّاتidentities
مَاهِيَّةessence, quiddity
بِطَاقَة الهُوِيَّةidentity card

Etymology

Huwiyya is built from the pronoun huwa, meaning 'he' or 'it', plus the abstract suffix -iyya. The literal sense is 'he-ness' or 'itness'. Medieval Arabic philosophers coined it to render Greek ideas of being and selfhood. Modern Arabic uses it for both personal identity and an official ID document.

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