Better than: saying more, with min
How Arabic compares two things, and eight common nouns with it, two of them given no meaning by the course.
Written and checked by AI
These lessons were written and checked by AI, and no teacher of Arabic has read them yet. The verses, their meanings and the analysis of every word are taken from their sources, which are named where they are shown.
- Words of the Qur’ān known whole
- 64.4%
- Parts of the Qur’ān’s words taught so far
- 78.5%
Counted from the Quranic Arabic Corpus: a word is known whole when every part of it has been taught. The counts say which words you have met, not how much you understand.
Arabic compares two things with a word of comparison, then min from lesson 3. This lesson teaches that, and eight common nouns, two of which are themselves words of comparison.
The new words
- خَيْرAs the Qur’ān writes it: خَيْرٌ · خَيْرًا · خَيْرُ
good; better
Root: خ ي رTimes in the Qur’ān: 178
- أَكْثَرAs the Qur’ān writes it: أَكْثَرَ · أَكْثَرُ · أَكْثَرِ
more, most
Root: ك ث رTimes in the Qur’ān: 80
- أَحَدAs the Qur’ān writes it: أَحَدٍ · أَحَدًا · أَحَدٌ
No meaning is given here: this word carries the religion, and its meaning is read in the verses, with the meaning beside them.
Root: ا ح دTimes in the Qur’ān: 74
- مِثْلAs the Qur’ān writes it: مِثْلَ · مِّثْلُ · مِثْلِ
like, the like of
Root: م ث لTimes in the Qur’ān: 75
- مَثَلAs the Qur’ān writes it: مَثَلُ · مَثَلًا · مَثَلِ
likeness, example
Root: م ث لTimes in the Qur’ān: 88
- عَمَلAs the Qur’ān writes it: أَعْمَٰلَ · أَعْمَٰلُ · عَمَلِ
deed, work
Root: ع م لTimes in the Qur’ān: 71
- أَجْرAs the Qur’ān writes it: أَجْرًا · أَجْرَ · أَجْرٌ
wage, reward
Root: ا ج رTimes in the Qur’ān: 105
- فَضْلAs the Qur’ān writes it: فَضْلِ · فَضْلُ · فَضْلٍ
No meaning is given here: this word carries the religion, and its meaning is read in the verses, with the meaning beside them.
Root: ف ض لTimes in the Qur’ān: 84
Two of them, aḥad and faḍl, carry the religion in the Qur’ān's use of them: the course gives no meaning of its own for either, and you read them in the verses, with the edition's meaning beside them.
Better than
Khayr is "good" and, when it compares with min, "better".
The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.
English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20Khayrun is the third word of this verse, and min is the fourth: khayrun min, "better than". The corpus marks khayr masculine singular and nominative, with tanwīn, and marks laylah, the noun it is said of, feminine: compared with min, it stays masculine singular.
This house is better than that one.
This sentence was written for practice. Hādhā l-baytu khayrun min dhālika: "this house", then "better than", then "that one".
A pattern for more
The usual word of comparison is built on a pattern with a- in front of the root: a before the first letter, and a between the last two. From the root k-th-r, of kathīr in lesson 21, comes akthar: "more" and "most".
- أَكْثَرُmore, most
- هُمْthey (as the doer of a verb); them, their
Aktharuhum is akthar and hum: "most of them". The corpus marks it masculine singular, nominative. Before min, akthar is "more"; with a pronoun joined to it, as here, it is "most", and no min follows.
A word read in the verses
- أَحَدٌ
Aḥadun: the corpus marks it indefinite, nominative. Lam, from lesson 4, is two words before it in the verse.
Like, as a noun
Lesson 10 taught ka-, "like", joined to the front of a word. Mithl says the same as a noun of its own, and joins what follows as an iḍāfah or takes a pronoun.
- مِثْلُlike, the like of
- هَاher; it, its (for a word that is feminine)
Mithluhā is mithlu and hā, "it" or "her". The corpus marks mithl masculine, nominative.
Mathal is another noun from the same root, m-th-l: "a likeness" or "an example".
- مَثَلُlikeness, example
Mathalu: the corpus marks it nominative. It has no tanwīn, because it is the first noun of an iḍāfah.
Three nouns
ʿAmal, "deed" or "work", is the noun of ʿamila from lesson 7.
- أَعْمَٰلَdeed, work
- هُمْthey (as the doer of a verb); them, their
Aʿmālahum is aʿmāla and hum: the corpus gives it the lemma ʿamal, and marks it masculine plural, accusative. It is a broken plural.
- أَجْرٌwage, reward
Ajrun, indefinite and nominative.
- فَضْلُ
Faḍlu, nominative, with no tanwīn: it is the first noun of an iḍāfah.
Reading
The words you know whole after this lesson are marked.
and man says[1], “What is the matter with it?”
English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20Say: “He is Allah, the One[1];
English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20Indeed, there are signs in this for the believers.
English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20Recall
- Which small word follows a word of comparison when it compares two things?
- What pattern does akthar have?
- What is mithl, beside ka-?
Answers: min; a- in front of the root, and a between its last two letters; a noun, where ka- is joined to the word after it.
Next
The last lesson of this stage teaches how a sentence with a verb is ordered, and eight more words read in the verses.
Word analysis: Quranic Arabic Corpus 0.4 (Kais Dukes)