Learn Arabic › A1 › وَ
وَ
and /wa/
particleA1#16 most common
Also: while (circumstantial), by (in oaths), and so
Example sentences
هٰذا وَلَدٌ وَهٰذِهِ بِنْتٌ.
This is a boy and this is a girl.
أُحِبُّ الشّايَ وَالقَهْوَةَ.
I like tea and coffee.
ذَهَبْتُ إِلى المَدْرَسَةِ وَدَرَسْتُ اللُّغَةَ العَرَبِيَّةَ.
I went to school and studied the Arabic language.
قَرَأَ الطّالِبُ الكِتابَ وَكَتَبَ المُلاحَظاتِ بِسُرْعَةٍ.
The student read the book and wrote the notes quickly.
دَخَلَ المُعَلِّمُ الصَّفَّ وَالطُّلّابُ يَتَحَدَّثونَ.
The teacher entered the classroom while the students were talking.
وَاللهِ لَأَجْتَهِدَنَّ حَتّى أُحَقِّقَ أَهْدافي وَأُرْضِيَ والِدَيَّ.
By God, I shall surely strive until I achieve my goals and please my parents.
Word family
فَand so, then (immediate sequence)
ثُمَّthen, subsequently
أَوْor
وَاللّٰهِby God (oath introduced by وَ)
Etymology
The conjunction وَ (wa-) is an inherited Proto-Semitic coordinating particle, reconstructed as *wa- 'and'. It is one of the most stable elements across the Semitic family, appearing with nearly identical form and function in the earliest attested languages. In Arabic it is written as a proclitic, joined directly to the following word with no intervening space.
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