Learn Arabic › B1 › وَيْل
وَيْل
woe /ˈwajl/
nounB1#2107 most common
Also: doom, misery, affliction
Example sentences
يا وَيْلي!
Woe is me!
وَيْلٌ لَكَ.
Woe to you.
قالَتِ الأُمُّ: يا وَيْلي على ابْني.
The mother said: woe is me for my son.
وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ يَظْلِمُ الفُقَراءَ.
Woe to whoever oppresses the poor.
صاحَ الرَّجُلُ "يا وَيْلَهُ" حينَ عَلِمَ بِالخَبَرِ.
The man cried "woe to him" when he heard the news.
وَيْلٌ لِلْمُطَفِّفينَ الَّذينَ إِذا اكْتالوا على النّاسِ يَسْتَوْفونَ.
Woe to the defrauders, who demand full measure when they take from others.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | وَيْلٌ | أَوْيَالٌ |
| Genitive | وَيْلٍ | أَوْيَالٍ |
| Accusative | وَيْلاً | أَوْيَالاً |
| Vocative | يا وَيْلي | يا أَوْيَالي |
Word family
وَيْلَةcalamity, misfortune
تَوَيَّلَto wail, to cry woe
مُتَوَيِّلone who wails in grief
Etymology
وَيْل is an old Semitic cry of distress. It appears often in the Quran as a threat of doom against wrongdoers. The word is common to several Semitic languages, where a short syllable expresses grief or alarm.
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