Home Quran Quran roots س و ي
83 times in the Quran · 7 word forms · rank 132
The Quran root س و ي s-w-y
Words built from the root س و ي ([s-w-y]) appear 83 times in the Quran. The most common is اسْتَوَى, “equal”, which comes 35 times. Learn the root once and you can recognise every word made from it.
Words from this root
| Word | Say it | Meaning | Times | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| اسْتَوَى | astawaa | equal · He established | 35 | |
| سَواء | sawaa’ | same · equal | 27 | |
| سَوَّى | sawwaa | fashioned you · proportioned | 13 | |
| سَوِيّ | sawiyy | even · sound | 5 | |
| تُسَوَّى | tusawwaa | was leveled | 1 | |
| ساوَى | saawaa | he leveled | 1 | |
| سُوًى | suwana | even | 1 |
Examples from the Quran
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ٢٩
اسْتَوَىٰ is'tawā · He turned
It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He directed Himself to the heaven, [His being above all creation], and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:29)
لَّا يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُولِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ دَرَجَةً وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ وَفَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ٩٥
يَسْتَوِي yastawī · (are) equal
Not equal are those believers remaining [at home] - other than the disabled - and the mujāhideen, [who strive and fight] in the cause of Allāh with their wealth and their lives. Allāh has preferred the mujāhideen through their wealth and their lives over those who remain [behind], by degrees. And to all [i.e., both] Allāh has promised the best [reward]. But Allāh has preferred the mujāhideen over those who remain [behind] with a great reward - (Surah An-Nisa, 4:95)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ٦
سَوَاءٌ sawāon · (it) is same
Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:6)
فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي فَقَعُوا لَهُ سَاجِدِينَ ٢٩
سَوَّيْتُهُ sawwaytuhu · I have fashioned him
And when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration." (Surah Al-Hijr, 15:29)
قَالَ رَبِّ اجْعَل لِّي آيَةً قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا ١٠
سَوِيًّا sawiyyan · sound
[Zechariah] said, "My Lord, make for me a sign." He said, "Your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three nights, [being] sound." (Surah Maryam, 19:10)
يَوْمَئِذٍ يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَعَصَوُا الرَّسُولَ لَوْ تُسَوَّىٰ بِهِمُ الْأَرْضُ وَلَا يَكْتُمُونَ اللَّهَ حَدِيثًا ٤٢
تُسَوَّىٰ tusawwā · was leveled
That Day, those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish they could be covered by the earth. And they will not conceal from Allāh a [single] statement. (Surah An-Nisa, 4:42)
Surahs where it comes most
- Surah Al-Baqarah · 4×
- Surah Al-Ma'idah · 4×
- Surah Ar-Ra'd · 4×
- Surah An-Nisa · 3×
- Surah An-Nahl · 3×
- Surah Taha · 3×
Each meaning is taken from the word-by-word translation of the verses, so a word can show two meanings from different contexts. Root and base-word data come from the Quranic Arabic Corpus.