Learn Arabic › A1 › ٱِبْن
ٱِبْن
son /ˈʔibn/
nounA1#263 most common
Also: offspring, descendant, son of (in names)
Example sentences
هَذَا ٱبْنِي.
This is my son.
ٱبْنُهَا فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْآنَ.
Her son is at school now.
يَلْعَبُ ٱبْنُ جَارِي مَعَ أَصْدِقَائِهِ كُلَّ مَسَاءٍ.
My neighbor's son plays with his friends every evening.
قَرَّرَ ٱبْنُهُ أَنْ يَدْرُسَ ٱلطِّبَّ فِي ٱلْخَارِجِ.
His son decided to study medicine abroad.
لَمْ يَكُنِ ٱبْنُ ٱلْوَزِيرِ بِمَنْأًى عَنِ ٱلْمُسَاءَلَةِ.
The minister's son was not beyond accountability.
يُوصِي ٱلدِّينُ بِٱلْإِحْسَانِ إِلَى ٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ.
Religion enjoins kindness to the wayfarer, literally the son of the road.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ٱبْنٌ (ibnun) | أَبْنَاءٌ (abnāʾun) |
| Genitive | ٱبْنٍ (ibnin) | أَبْنَاءٍ (abnāʾin) |
| Accusative | ٱبْنًا (ibnan) | أَبْنَاءً (abnāʾan) |
| Vocative | يَا ٱبْنُ (yā bnu) | يَا أَبْنَاءُ (yā abnāʾu) |
Word family
ٱبْنَة (ibna)daughter
أَبْنَاء (abnāʾ)sons, children (plural)
ٱبْن عَمّ (ibn ʿamm)paternal cousin
بُنَيّ (bunayy)little son, sonny (diminutive)
بِنْت (bint)daughter, girl
Etymology
Arabic ibn descends from Proto-Semitic *bin-, 'son.' The root links to the verb banā, 'to build,' so a son was seen as one who continues and builds the family line. The initial hamza is a prop added because the bare root begins with two consonants. The same word survives across Semitic, from Hebrew ben to Ugaritic bn.
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