Arabic for idol, image

The root of the word idol, image consists of three Arabic letters: Sad that is written ﺹ and pronounced S, nun that is written ﻥ and pronounced n and mim that is written ﻡ and pronounced m. Words with the same root letters are often related.

The Arabic word for idol, image consists of: The letter Sad that is written ﺹ ( here ﺻـ ) and pronounced S and is a part of the root of the word. The short vowel a that is written as the sign َ above the letter. The letter nun that is written ﻥ ( here ـﻨـ ) and pronounced n and is a part of the root of the word. The short vowel a that is written as the sign َ above the letter. The letter mim that is written ﻡ ( here ـﻢ ) and pronounced m and is a part of the root of the word. Therefore, the word is writen ﺻَﻨَﻢ and pronounced Sanam.

Arabic is written from right to left. Short vowels are placed above or under the letters, the are usually omitted.
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We have seen that the Arabic word for idol, image is written ﺻَﻨَﻢ and pronounced Sanam. It follows the pattern verbal noun form 1. All Arabic words with this pattern has the structure fa3al where f, 3 and l is replaced with the root letters of the word.
Since the pattern is fa3al and the root letters are S, n and m, the word becomes Sanam.
All Arabic words with the same pattern follow the same structure. If you know the pattern and root of a word, you can often guess its meaning. Learn more about Arabic word patterns

Show more words with the pattern verbal noun form 1