Learn Arabic › B2 › هُوَّة
هُوَّة
gap, chasm /ˈhuw.wa/
nounB2#3388 most common
Also: abyss, gulf (figurative divide)
Example sentences
هَذِهِ هُوَّةٌ عَمِيقَةٌ.
This is a deep chasm.
سَقَطَ الْحَجَرُ فِي الْهُوَّةِ.
The stone fell into the chasm.
تَفْصِلُ هُوَّةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ بَيْنَ الْجَبَلَيْنِ.
A big chasm separates the two mountains.
تَزْدَادُ الْهُوَّةُ بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ وَالْفُقَرَاءِ كُلَّ عَامٍ.
The gap between the rich and the poor widens every year.
حَاوَلَتِ الْحُكُومَةُ رَدْمَ الْهُوَّةِ الِاقْتِصَادِيَّةِ بَيْنَ الْمَنَاطِقِ.
The government tried to bridge the economic gap between the regions.
لَا يُمْكِنُ تَجَاهُلُ الْهُوَّةِ السَّحِيقَةِ الَّتِي تَفْصِلُ بَيْنَ الْخِطَابِ السِّيَاسِيِّ وَالْوَاقِعِ.
One cannot ignore the yawning chasm that separates political rhetoric from reality.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | هُوَّةٌ | هُوَّاتٌ |
| Genitive | هُوَّةٍ | هُوَّاتٍ |
| Accusative | هُوَّةً | هُوَّاتٍ |
| Vocative | يَا هُوَّةُ | يَا هُوَّاتِ |
Word family
هَاوِيَةabyss, deep chasm
هَوَىto fall, to plummet downهَاوٍamateur, hobbyist, enthusiast
هُوَّاتgaps, chasms (plural of huwwa)
Etymology
The noun comes from the Arabic root ه-و-ي, whose core sense is falling or plunging downward. The related verb هَوَى means to fall or plummet, and the same root gives هاوية, a bottomless pit used in the Quran for the depths of Hell. Huwwa began as a plain word for a hole one could fall into, and everyday usage has since stretched it into a metaphor for any wide separation, most often an economic or social one.
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