Lesson 98 · نَحْنُ الْعَرَبَ
We Arabs…: saying who you mean (الِاخْتِصَاصُ)
After نَحْنُ (we) or أَنَا (I) you can insert a noun that says exactly who you mean. It ends in -a, even though it seems to belong to the subject: نَحْنُ الْعَرَبَ نُكْرِمُ الضَّيْفَ (we Arabs honour our guests). The noun means “I mean …”. This is الِاخْتِصَاصُ.
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
نَحْنُ الْعَرَبَ نُكْرِمُ الضَّيْفَnaḥnu l-ʿaraba nukrimu ḍ-ḍayfaWe Arabs honour our guests.
نَحْنُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ نُصَلِّي فِي الْيَوْمِ خَمْسَ مَرَّاتٍnaḥnu l-muslimiina nuṣallii fi l-yawmi khamsa marraatinWe Muslims pray five times a day.
نَحْنُ الطُّلَّابَ نُحِبُّ الْعُطْلَةَnaḥnu ṭ-ṭullaaba nuḥibbu l-ʿuṭlataWe students love the holidays.
نَحْنُ الْبَاكِسْتَانِيِّينَ نُحِبُّ الشَّايَnaḥnu l-baakistaaniyyiina nuḥibbu sh-shaayaWe Pakistanis love tea.
أَنَا الْفَقِيرَ إِلَى اللّٰهِ أَشْكُرُكُمْana l-faqiira ila llaahi ashkurukumI, the one in need of Allah, thank you.
عَلَيْنَا نَحْنُ الْآبَاءَ أَنْ نُرَبِّيَ أَوْلَادَنَاʿalaynaa naḥnu l-aabaa’a an nurabbiya awlaadanaaWe fathers must bring up our children well.
Key points
- The noun has al- or is a possession pair: نَحْنُ الطُّلَّابَ نُحِبُّ الْعُطْلَةَ (we students love the holidays) · نَحْنُ أَهْلَ الْمَدِينَةِ نُرَحِّبُ بِكُمْ (we people of Madinah welcome you).
- Compare: نَحْنُ الْعَرَبُ with -u is a full sentence, “we are the Arabs”. With -a, نَحْنُ الْعَرَبَ… is only an opening, and the real news comes after it.
- It shows pride, humility, or simply which group you mean: أَنَا الْفَقِيرَ إِلَى اللّٰهِ… (I, the one in need of Allah, …) is a humble way to sign a letter. عَلَيْنَا نَحْنُ الْآبَاءَ أَنْ نُرَبِّيَ أَوْلَادَنَا (we fathers must bring up our children).
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “We teachers love our students.”
نَحْنُ الْمُدَرِّسِينَ نُحِبُّ طُلَّابَنَا naḥnu l-mudarrisiina nuḥibbu ṭullaabanaa
Say “We women work hard.” Women: النِّسَاءُ.
نَحْنُ النِّسَاءَ نَعْمَلُ بِجِدٍّ naḥnu n-nisaa’a naʿmalu bi-jiddin
What does نَحْنُ الْعَرَبُ, with -u, mean?
نَحْنُ الْعَرَبُ naḥnu l-ʿarabu
A full sentence: “We are the Arabs.”
