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Emory Resources on the Middle East
Arabic and Hebrew
Arabic Sal•m “peace”
Hebrew Shalom “peace”
The words for “peace” in Arabic and Hebrew are not exactly the same, but they look
suspiciously similar. Why?
The answer is that Arabic and Hebrew are closely related languages. They have a
great number of similarities, not only in basic vocabulary but also in grammar, the forms
of words, and sentence structure. They share these features because they belong to the
same language family, that of the Semitic languages. In the following unit we will
investigate some of these similarities and the background behind them. In the process,
we will learn some important linguistic concepts, such as the concepts of language
families, sound changes, and regular correspondences of sounds. We will also gain
practice in analysis and problem-solving.
Characteristics of Writing Systems in the Semitic Languages:
Most Semitic languages have had an alphabetic script, with each sign in the script
representing one sound, such as b, d, f, t, etc. (The number of distinct signs in an
alphabetic script is usually between 20 and 40.) Akkadian is an exception to this rule.
Akkadian was written in a combinations of cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”) signs on clay
tablets with a stylus (a long piece of wood or other material, like a pencil or reed pen
without lead or ink). Each distinct sign in the Akkadian script represented a syllable, and
not just one sound: ba, bu, ga, gi, gu, and so on. The number of signs in a syllabic script
is far greater than that of an alphabetic script, between, say, 60 and 200. Hebrew, Arabic,
Aramaic, and the other Semitic languages have almost always used alphabetic scripts.
There are some significant differences between the writing of Semitic languages
and writing in, say, Greek, English, or Spanish. In general, the scripts of Semitic
languages are primarily consonantal. Consonants are always written, but vowels are to a
large degree omitted. While long vowels are sometimes written, short vowels are rarely
written, except at the beginnings of words or occasionally in very short words. This
means that the reader must often guess what the correct pronunciation of a word on the
page is. For example, the Arabic word written k-t-b could be read kutub “books” or
kataba “he wrote” or kutiba “it was written.” To get an idea what this looks like, try the
following exercise.
Exercise I:
Can you read the following text? Write it out in full.
Wht rmns t b sn is whthr we wll b bl t fnsh r prjct bfr th ddln. We hv jst thr wks bfr th
frst of Dcmbr, nd we stll hvnt cmpltd th scnd nd thrd prts. We wll hv t wrk lng hrs in rdr
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t cmplt th prjct on tm. Whn we fnsh, we wll gt pd a lrg bns bfr th hldys. Nvrthlss, we
cnnt rsh ths jb, or ls th qulty wll sffr nd th cstmrs wll nt b stsfd. Gt to wrk, bt be crfl!
************************************************** *********************
Many of the Semitic languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic, have
developed extra marks written above or below the consonantal letters to indicate the
pronunciation of short vowels. These are only used in texts which are particularly
important or sacred, such as the Bible or the Qur’an, or texts for beginners, such as grade
school readers. Most ordinary texts do not have these extra marks. Another way of
marking short vowels was adopted in the Ethiopic languages. Small additions are added
to the shapes of the consonants themselves to represent the various vowels. Thus,
different additional lines and hooks attached to the Ehtiopic letter b, for example, indicate
that it should be read ba, bi, bu, etc.
I. The Semitic Language Family
In general, there are two ways in which languages come to have similar elements.
One way is borrowing. For example, English has borrowed many words from other
languages, like transfer, republic, tolerate (Latin), metaphor, oxygen, hydrogen (Greek),
and valise, carte blanche, de riguer (French), and macho (Spanish). The American
phrase O.K. has been borrowed into nearly every language on the globe, and hundreds of
English words are similarly widespread. This most often occurs with specific
voacabulary items, especially nouns for new, imported, or unfamiliar items such as
computer, internet, (satellite) dish, which are used frequently in both Arabic and Hebrew,
not to mention many other languages.
Other similarities between languages occur because both languages derive from a
common ancestral language. Because German and English derive from a common source
language, and because French, Spanish, and Italian derive from Latin, they share many
features, including similar vocabulary. In some cases, we have direct evidence about the
ancestral language. For example, we have many books and documents written in Latin,
the ancestor of Italian, Spanish, French, and Romanian, and the other Romance
languages. In other cases, we have no direct information about the ancestral language.
Whatever we know is reconstructed or extrapolated from the evidence available from
recorded languages. For example, linguists realized over two centuries ago that Greek
and Sanskrit (and Persian, Latin, German, most of the other European languages as well)
belong to the same language family. It was postulated that all these languages derived
from a common ancestor, called Proto-Indo-European. Proto-Indo-European, however, is
not a recorded language, it is an imaginary language reconstructed from the evidence of
its descendants. Its words and forms are hypothetical; they are guesses about what must
have existed at an earlier point in history in order for the similar words in Greek and
Sanskrit to take the exact forms that they did.
It is this type of family relationship that is responsible for the similarities between
Arabic and Hebrew. A chart of the Semitic language family is given below.
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Proto-Semitic
West Semitic East Semitic
North-West Semitic South-West Semitic Akkadian
Canaanite, Aramaic
Phoenician, West East North Arabic South Arabic Ethiopic
Hebrew W. Ar. E. Ar., Classical Arabic
Geez
Syriac
Modern Arabic Dialects Mehri Tigriña Amharic
This chart shows that Arabic and Hebrew both belong to the West Semitic group of
languages. Within that category, Hebrew belongs to the group of North-West Semitic
languages, and Arabic belongs to the South-West Semitic languages. Aramaic is closer to
Hebrew than Arabic is, and South Arabic (e.g., Himyarite) is closer to classical Arabic
than Hebrew is. Nevertheless, Hebrew and Arabic are not so distantly related that the
similarities are difficult to see.
Scholars believe that the Semitic languages probably originate from the Arabian
peninsula. Successive waves of migration of Semitic peoples out of Arabia and into
neighboring regions of the Middle East and Africa spread the Semitic languages and
caused them to branch off from each other. The earliest wave of migration we can
deduce from the historical record is that of the Akkadians, who moved from Arabia into
Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) nearly six thousand years ago. Other migration sbrought the
Aramaeans into Syria and Iraq ca. 2500 B.C.E., the Hebrews to the Levant (modern
Israel, Lebanon, Palestine) ca. 1400 B.C.. Another migration from Yemen across the Red
Sea to Africa is responsible for the establishment of Semitic languages in Ethiopia ca.
300 B.C.E.. The most recent migration is that which occurred with the spread of the
Islamic Empire in the seventh century C.E. This migration spread the modern Arabic
dialects throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
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II. Sound Changes/Changes in Meaning.
Many of the words that derive from a common source in an ancestral protolanguage
do not look exactly the same in the descendant languages. For example, the
word door in English is related to German Tur. The English –r resembles German –r, but
the English vowel oo differs from the German vowel u, just as English d differs from
German t. The important thing to realize is that the correspondence English d > German
t is regular. When a pair of English and German words derive from a common source in
the ancestral language, English d will usually occur whenever German has a t, at least at
the beginning of a word.
English German
d... >>> t...
do tun
drink trinken
door Tur
dive tauben
drag tragen
dry trocken
dell Tal
drive treiben
th... >>> d...
this dies
that dass
then denn
thief Dieb
thick dick
thin dμnn
three drei
t... >>> z...
two zwei
to zu
toll Zoll
tow ziehen
timber Zimmer “room”
ten zehn
toe Zeh
These regular differences are the result of Sound Change, a historical process whereby
certain sounds in certain positions of words tend to change regularly. Look for these
types of regular correspondences when you examine the Arabic and Hebrew words
below.
In addition, there are cases where two words of similar form derive from the same
source in the ancestral proto-language, but do not have the same meaning. For example,
English timber is related to German Zimmer; they derive from a common source. But
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German Zimmer means “a room”. This is the result of a Semantic Change, or a change
in meaning. We can guess that the original word had to do with wood, and that Zimmer
used to mean a room built out of wood specifically. You will see examples of semantic
change in the Arabic and Hebrew words presented below.
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The Alphabets of Hebrew and Arabic:
These are the names and sounds of the letters of the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets:
Hebrew: sound Arabic: sound
aleph a alif a
bet b/v b•√ b
gimmel g jım j
daleth d d•l d
he h h•√ h
vav v/o/u w•w w/ü
zayin z z•√ z
˛et ˛ [kh] ˛•√ ˛
†et † †•√ †
yod y/ı/˙ y•√ y/ı
kaf k/kh k•f k
lamed l l•m l
mem m mım m
nun n nün n
samekh s ***************
fiayin fi (√) fiayn fi
pe p/f f•√ f
tsadi ts ß•d ß
quf q [k] q•f q
resh r [gh] r•√ r
sin s sın s
shin sh shın sh
tav t t•√ t
th•√ th
kh•√ kh
dh•l dh
∂•d ∂
÷•√ ÷
ghayn gh
Exercise II: Complete the following:
1. Are the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets related? How can you tell?
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
2. Did the names of the Hebrew letters derive from Arabic, or did the names of the
Arabic letters derive from Hebrew? [Hint: Think about daleth and d•l. Which could
have come from the other?]
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
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__________________________________________________ ___________________
3. Complete the following table of correspondences of letters:
Hebrew bet >> Arabic _____________
Hebrew daleth >> Arabic _____________
Hebrew gimmel >> Arabic _____________
Hebrew pe >> Arabic _____________
Hebrew zayin >> Arabic _____________
Hebrew mem >> Arabic _____________
Hebrew nun >> Arabic _____________
Arabic q•f >> Hebrew _____________
Arabic f•√ >> Hebrew _____________
Arabic ˛•√ >> Hebrew _____________
Arabic y•√ >> Hebrew _____________
Arabic w•w >> Hebrew _____________
Arabic †•√ >> Hebrew _____________
Arabic h•√ >> Hebrew _____________
4. What are the main points of difference between the Hebrew and the Arabic alphabets?
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
__________________________________________________ ___________________
The Root-and-Pattern System: A Key Characteristic of Semitic Languages
Semitic languages have what is called a root-and-pattern system. Most words
have three root consonants. These consonants are the most important consonants in the
word; they give the basic meaning. In any given word, these consonants are placed at
specific points in a pattern formed by a combination of vowels and other, extra
consonants. The pattern modifies the basic meaning of the word in predicatable ways.
The number of patterns that occur in the language, though large, is limited. For example,
the root-consonants k/kh-t-b/v give the basic meaning of “writing” in both Arabic and
Hebrew. Putting these consonants into various patterns gives a number of meanings all
related to writing:
Arabic: k-t-b
fafiala pattern: kataba “he wrote”
fufiila pattern: kutiba “it was written”
f•fiil pattern: k•tib “writer”
maffiül pattern: maktüb “written”
maffial pattern: maktab “desk, office”
maffiala pattern: maktaba “library, bookstore”
fifi•l pattern: kit•b “book”
fufiayyil pattern: kutayyib “booklet”
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fifi•la pattern: kit•ba “writing”
f•fiala pattern: k•taba “he corrsponded; he wrote a letter to someone”
Hebrew: k/kh-t-b/v
pafial pattern: katav ‘he wrote”
pefiula pattern: ketuba “written document, especially a marriage contract”
pefiolet pattern: ketovet “inscription”
pefiila pattern: ketiva “writing”
pafiul pattern: katuv “Verse, passage from the Bible”
pafilan pattern: katvan “copyist”
niffial pattern: nikhtav “it was written”
hiffiil pattern: hikhtiv “to order to be written; to dictate”
miffial pattern: mikhtav “letter”
In Arabic and Hebrew grammar, the “test verb” Arabic fafiala, Hebrew pafial “to do” is
used to identify the particular patterns. The three root consonants f/p, fi (fiayn), and l are
substituted for the root consonants of the word in question. For example, the pattern of
the word k•tib “writer” is said to be f•fiil, the pattern of maktüb is maffiül, the pattern of
maktaba is maffiala, etc. In Hebrew, the pattern of katav is pafial, the pattern of kativ is
pafiil, and the pattern of nikhtav is niffial, etc. Many of the patterns that occur in Hebrew
correspond closely to patterns that occur in Arabic. This suggests that many of them go
back to their ancestral languages, proto-West-Semitic, or proto-Semitic.
Exercise III: Complete the following:
1. What are the extra letters that occur in the patterns above? Which letters in the
patterns above are not root consonants?
__________________________________________________ ____________________
2. What are the root consonants in the following Arabic words?
dir•sa “studying” ____________________
majnün “crazy” _____________________
bil•d “country” ______________________
†•lib “student” ______________________
sal•m “peace” ______________________
3. What are the root consonants in the following Hebrew words?
migdal “tower” ____________________
kelev “dog” _____________________
geshem “rain” ______________________
regel “foot” ______________________
shalom “peace” ______________________
4. What are the patterns of the following Arabic words?
dir•sa “studying” ____________________
majnün “crazy” _____________________
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bil•d “country” ______________________
†•lib “student” ______________________
sal•m “peace” ______________________
5. What are the patterns of the following Hebrew words?
migdal “tower” ____________________
kelev “dog” _____________________
geshem “rain” ______________________
regel “foot” ______________________
shalom “peace” ______________________
Exercise IV:
Words of the form maktab (maffial) and maktaba (maffiala)—also maffiil, miffial--are
nouns of place. They usually mean “the place where the verb X (fafiala) is done”;
sometimes they derive from a noun, and mean “the place where the noun X is found.”
Arabic Examples:
kataba he wrote maktab office, desk
maktaba library
darasa he studied madrasa school
sakana he dwelled maskan dwelling
rakiba he rode markab boat
Hebrew Examples:
shakhan he dwelled mishkan dwelling
rakhav he rode merkava chariot
1. Complete the following table:
Verb/Noun Meaning Noun of Place Meaning
he cooked ma†bakh kitchen
lafiiba (verb) malfiab playing field
dakhala he entered madkhal
kharaja he went out exit
nazala (verb) go down, get off manzil
†•ra (verb) ma†•r airport
malik (noun) mamlaka kingdom
k•na he was place
qabr tomb maqbara
zib•la garbage mazbala
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Numbers:
Arabic: Hebrew:
One: w•˛id e˛ad
Two: ithnayn shnayim
Three: thal•tha shalosh
Four: arbafia arbafi
Five: khamsa ˛amesh
Six: sitta shesh
Seven: sabfia shevafi
Eight: tham•niya shmone
Nine: tisfia teshafi
Ten: fiashara fieser
Twenty: fiishrın fiesrayim
Thirty: thal•thın shaloshim
Forty: arbafiın arbafiim
Fifty: khamsın ˛amishim
Sixty: sittın shishim
Seventy: sabfiın shivfiim
Eighty: tham•nın shmonim
Ninety:tisfiın tishfiim
Hundred mi√a me’a
Thousand alf elef
Questions:
1. What Arabic sound corresponds to –o- in Hebrew? ____________________
2. What Arabic sound corresponds to –t- in Hebrew? ____________________
3. What Hebrew sound corresponds to –dh- in Arabic? ____________________
4. What Hebrew sound corresponds to –th- in Arabic? ____________________
5. What Hebrew sound corresponds to –kh- in Arabic? ____________________
6. What Hebrew sound corresponds to –s- in Arabic? _____________________
7. What Hebrew sound corresponds to –m- in Arabic? _____________________
8. What Hebrew sound corresponds to –n- in Arabic? _____________________
[there are two answers to no. 8]
9. Feminine plural words in Hebrew usually end in –ot. What would the corresponding
ending in Arabic likely be? __________________________
Examples: sifriya “library” sifriyot “librairies”
10. Masculine plural words in Hebrew usually end in –im. What would the
corresponding ending in Arabic likely be? __________________________
Examples:
Body Parts: Arabic: Hebrew:
Eye fiayn fiayin
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Ear udhun ozen
Nose anf af
Mouth fam/fü pe
Hand yad yad
Palm of Hand kaff kaf
Foot rijl regel
Hair shafir sefiar
Belly ba†n be†en
Shoulder katf katef
Head ra√s rosh
Arm dhir•fi zroafi
Finger ißbafi etsbafi
Tooth sinn shen
Back ÷ahr gav
Kinship Terms: Arabic: Hebrew:
Father ab aba
Mother umm em
Brother akh a˛
Sister ukht a˛ot
Father-in-law ˛am ˛am
Mother-in-law ˛am•t ˛amot
Grandfather jadd sav
Grandmother jadda savta
Uncle (father’s brother) fiamm dod
Uncle (mother’s brother) kh•l dod
Aunt (father’s sister) fiamma doda
Aunt (mother’s sister) kh•la doda
Son ibn ben
Daughter bint bat
Personal Pronouns: Arabic: Hebrew:
Singular:
I an• ani
you (man) anta ata
you (woman) anti at
he huwa hu
she hiya hi
Plural:
we na˛nu ana˛nu
you (men) antum atem
you (women) antunna aten
they (men) hum hem
they (women) hunna hen
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Exercise VI:
1. Match the words in the first colume with the corresponding words in the second
column:
Arabic: Hebrew:
walad shmone (eight)
bint regel (foot/leg)
sal•m yeled (boy)
kalb bet (house)
bayt rosh (head)
ra√s shloshim (thirty)
tham•niya ozen (ear)
udhun kelev (dog)
thal•thın shalom (peace)
rijl bat (girl, daughter)
Exercise VII:
As you have seen above, the Arabic alphabet includes six letters which are not found in
the Hebrew alphabet, th (th•√) , kh (kh•√), dh (dh•l), ∂ (∂•d), ÷ (÷•√), and gh (ghayn).
These represent distinct sounds that Arabic has inherited from the ancestral, proto-
Semitic language. What has happened in Hebrew is that these sounds were lost by a
process of sound change; they changed to different sounds, in each case one of the
surviving sounds in Hebrew. In this exercise, we will try to figure out which of those
sounds each of these distinct sounds came to match.
1. th/dh.
th sounds like th in thin, thick, thing.
dh sounds like th in this, that, other.
Match the following Arabic words with the corresponding words in Hebrew:
meaning Arabic Hebrew
garlic thüm sheleg
gold dhahab zakhar
snow thalj ozen
male dhakar zrofia
tail dhanab ze’ev
wolf dhi√b shum
proverb mathal shnayim
there thamma shalosh
arm dhir•fi zevuv
ear udhn shmone
two ithnayn zahav
three thal•tha mashal
eight tham•niya zanav
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fly (noun) dhub•b sham
To what Hebrew sound does Arabic th correspond? ________________________
To what Hebrew sound does Arabic dh correspond? ________________________
2. ∂/÷.
∂ is an emphatic d.
÷ sounds like an emphatic z or th as in this, that.
Match the following Arabic words with the corresponding words in Hebrew:
meaning Arabic Hebrew
rib ∂ilfi tsoharayim
bone fia÷m tsefardeafi
shadow, shade ÷ill qayits summer
hyena ∂abfi tselafi
scorching heat qay÷ tsel
frog ∂ifdafi fietsem
noon ÷uhr tsevofia
To what Hebrew sound does Arabic ∂ correspond? ________________________
To what Hebrew sound does Arabic ÷ correspond? ________________________
3. kh/gh.
kh sounds like ch in Bach.
gh sounds something like a rolled g, or the sound you make when gargling
Match the following Arabic words with the corresponding words in Hebrew:
meaning Arabic Hebrew
brother akh ˛alaf
sister ukht ˛atam
young man ghul•m ˛amesh
to seal khatam fietsev sadness
to follow, stay behind khalaf a˛
anger gha∂ab a˛ot
Gaza (city) ghazza fiorev
crow ghur•b tsevafi
dye ßibgh fielem
empty space khalal fiaza
five khamsa ˛alal
To what Hebrew sound does Arabic kh correspond? ________________________
To what Hebrew sound does Arabic gh correspond? ________________________
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We may now construct a complete table of correspondences:
Arabic: sound >> Hebrew letter sound
alif a >> aleph a
b•√ b >> bet b/v
jım j >> gimmel g
d•l d >> daleth d
h•√ h >> he h
w•w w/ü >> vav v/o/u
z•√ z >> zayin z
˛•√ ˛ >> ˛et ˛ [kh]
†•√ † >> †et † [t]
y•√ y/ı >> yod y/i/e
k•f k >> kaf k/kh
l•m l >> lamed l
mım m >> mem m
nün n >> nun n [m in final position]
fiayn fi >> fiayin fi [‘/a’]
f•√ f >> pe p/f
ß•d ß >> tsadi ts
q•f q >> quf q [k]
r•√ r >> resh r [gh]
sın s >> shin sh
shın sh >> sin s
t•√ t >> tav t
th•√ th >> shin sh
kh•√ kh >> ˛et ˛ [kh]
dh•l dh >> zayin z
∂•d ∂ >> tsadi ts
÷•√ ÷ >> tsadi ts
ghayn gh >> fiayin fi [‘/a’]
Hebrew samekh does not fit neatly into this scheme. It most often correpsonds to Arabic
sh (shın), but sometimes corresponds to Arabic s (sın).
************************************************** *********************
Advanced Section: Comparative Grammar
Arabic Past or Perfect Tense = Hebrew Past or Perfect Tense
I wrote katabtu katavti
you (m) wrote katabta katavta
you (f) wrote katabti katavt
he wrote kataba katav
she wrote katabat katva
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we wrote katabn• katavnu
you (mpl) wrote katabtum katavtem
you (fpl) wrote katabtunna (katavten)
they (m) wrote katabü katvu
they (f) wrote katabna katvu
************************************************** ***************
Arabic Present Tense = Hebrew Future Tense:
I write aktubu I will write ekhtov
you (m) write taktubuyou (m) will write tikhtov
you (f) write taktubına you (f) will write tikhtevi
he writes yaktubu he will write yikhtov
she writes taktubushe will write tikhtov
we write naktubu we will write nikhtov
you (mpl) write taktubüna you (mpl) will write tikhtevu
you (fpl) write taktubna you (fpl) will write tikhtovna
they (m) write yaktubüna they (m) will write yikhtevu
they (f) write yaktubna they (f) will write tikhtovna
************************************************** ***************
Arabic Active Participle = Hebrew Present Tense:
Arabic:
masc. sing. f•fiil “doer, doing”
fem. sing. f•fiila “doer, doing”
masc. pl. f•fiilın “doers, doing”
fem. pl. f•fiil•t “doers, doing”
Hebrew:
masc. sing. holekh “he/it goes; I/you (m) go”
fem. sing. holekhet “she/it goes; I/you (f) go”
masc. pl. holkhim “they go; we/you (masc. pl.) go”
fem. pl. “........”
************************************************** ***************
Arabic Dual (Two) = Hebrew Dual (Two)
yadayn two hands yadayim two hands
fiaynayn two eyes fiaynayim two eyes
nafilayn pair of shoes nafialayim pair of shoes
ithnayntwo shnayim two
Arabic Sound Masculine Plural = Hebrew Masculine Plural
-ın/-ün -im
Arabic Sound Feminine Plural = Hebrew Feminine Plural
-•t -ot
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Verb Patterns or Measures Compared:
(forms given are third person masculine singular, i.e. “he did”)
Arabic: active passive examples meaning Hebrew: examples meaning
I fafiala warada
fata˛a
went
down
opened
pafial yarad
pata˛
went
down
opened
I fufiila ∂uriba
wulida
was
beaten
was born
[pufial]
rare
II fafifiala
†ahhara cleansed pifiel †ihar cleansed
II fufifiila †uhhira
kussira
was
cleansed
was
smashed
pufial †uhar
shulam
was
cleansed
was paid
III f•fiala q•tala fought
against
***** ***** *****
III füfiila qütila was
fought
against
***** ***** *****
IV √affiala
√awrada brought
down
hiffiil horid brought
down
IV √uffiila √ürida was
brought
down
huffial hurad was
brought
down
V tafafifiala tafiallama
taqaddama
learned
went
forward
hitpafiel hitqatser
hitqadem
was
shortened
went
forward
V tufufifiila (rare) ***** ***** *****
VI taf•fiala ta˛•raba
tan•wama
warred
w/ each
other
pretended
to be
asleep
***** ***** *****
VI tufüfiila (rare) ***** ***** *****
VII infafiala inkasara it broke niffial nistar
nifta˛
it was
concealed
it opened
VII (rare) ***** ***** *****
VIII iftafiala intaqala moved ***** ***** *****
VIII uftufiila untuqila was
moved
***** ***** *****
IX iffialla iswadda turned ***** ***** *****
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i˛walla
black
became
crosseyed
IX ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
X istaffiala ista˛sana
istafimala
found
excellent
used
***** ***** *****
X ustuffiila ustufimila was used ***** ***** *****
Comparative Patterns:
Pattern perfect imperfect verbal
noun
active
participle
passive
participle
meaning
I
Arabic
fafiala
fata˛a
yaffialu
yafta˛u
(many)
fat˛
f•fiil
f•ti˛
maffiül
maftü˛
open
pafial
Hebrew
pafial
akhal
shavar
yiffial
yokhal
yishbor
pafiila
akhila
shvira
pofiel
okhel
shover
pafiil
akhil
shavir
eat
destroy
II
Arabic
fafifiala
†ahhara
yufafifiilu
yu†ahhiru
taffiıl
ta†hır
mufafifiil
mu†ahhir
mufafifial
mu†ahhar
cleanse
pifiel
Hebrew
pifiel
†ihar
yifafiel
ye†aher
pifiul
†ihur
mefafiel
me†aher
********
cleanse
pufial
Hebrew
pufial
†ohar
yefufial
ye†ohar
[pifiul]
[†ihur]
******** mefufial
me†ohar
be cleansed
III
Arabic
f•fiala
q•tala
yuf•fiilu
yuq•tilu
fifi•l,
muf•fiala
qit•l
muf•fiil
muq•til
muf•fial
muq•tal
fight
IV
Arabic
√affiala
√awrada
yuffiilu
yüridu
√iffi•l
√ır•d
muffiil
mürid
muffial
mürad
bring down
hiffiil
Hebrew
hiffiil
horid
yaffiil
yorid
haffiala
horada
maffiil
morid
********
bring down
huffial huffial
hurad
yuffial
yurad
[haffiala] ******** muffial
murad
V
Arabic
tafafifiala
tafiallam
a
yatafafifialu
yatafiallamu
tafafifiul
tafiallum
mutafafifiil
mutafiallim
mutafafifial
mutafiallam
learn
hitpafiel
Hebrew
hitpafiel
hitqatser
hitqadem
yitpafiel
yitqatser
yitqadem
hitpafilut
hitqatsrut
hitqadmu
t
mitpafiel
mitqatser
mitqadem
**********
become
short
advance
19
VI
Arabic
taf•fiala
ta˛•raba
tan•wam
a
yataf•fialu
yata˛•rabu
yatan•wam
u
taf•fiul
ta˛•rub
tan•wum
mutaf•fiil
muta˛•rib
mutan•wim
mutaf•fial
muta˛•rab
mutan•wam
war w/ each
other
pretend to
be asleep
VII
Arabic
infafiala
inkasara
yanfafiilu
yankasiru
infifi•l
inkis•r
munfafiil
munkasir
munfafial
munkasar
be broken
niffial
Hebrew
niffial
nitfas
nifta˛
yipafiel
yitafes
yipate˛
***** niffial
nitfas
nifta˛
**********
be caught
to open
(itself)
VIII
Arabic
iftafiala
intaqala
yaftafiilu
yantaqilu
iftifi•l
intiq•l
muftafiil
muntaqil
muftafial
muntaqal
move
IX
Arabic
iffialla
iswadda
i˛walla
yaffiallu
yaswaddu
ya˛wallu
iffiil•l
iswid•d
i˛wil•l
muffiall
muswadd
mu˛wall
muffiall
muswadd
mu˛wall
turned black
became
cross-eyed
X
Arabic
istaffiala
ista˛sana
istafimala
yastaffiilu
yasta˛sinu
yastafimily
istiffi•l
isti˛s•n
istifim•l
mustaffiil
musta˛sin
mustafimil
mustaffial
musta˛san
mustafimal
consider
good
use
Bibliography:
Bennett, Patrick R. Comparative Semitic Linguistics: A Manual. Winona Lake, Indiana:
Eisenbrauns, 1998.
Bergsträsser, Gotthelf. Introduction to the Semitic Languages: Text Specimens and
Grammatical Sketches. Trans. and annotaed by Peter T. Daniels. Winona Lake,
Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1995.
Gray, Louis H. Introduction to Semitic Comparative Linguistics. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1934.
Isre’el, Shlomo, ed. Semitic Linguistics: The State of the Art at the Turn of the Twenty-
First Century. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2002.
Moscati, Sabatino, et al. Introduction to the Comparative Grammar of the Semitic
Languages. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1964.
Murtonen, A. Early Semitic. A Diachronical Inquiry into the Relationship of Ethiopic to
the Other So-called South-East Semitic Languages. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1967.
http://mesas.emory.edu/gmesc/pdf/6_AraHeb_Unit_All.pdf