Qur'an CoreVocabulary

Particles & Attached Prefixes

Negation, emphasis, conditionals, and the one-letter words that attach to others.

Negation — the right particle for the tense

Arabic doesn't negate every tense the same way; the particle itself tells you when the action happens.

لَاlānot — negates the present; also "don't!"
لَمْlamdid not — negates the past
لَنْlanwill never — emphatic future
مَاmānot — negates a past verb or a noun sentence
لَيْسَlaysais not — negates a noun sentence

لَمْ is followed by a present-tense verb even though it makes the meaning past — لَمْ يَلِدْ "He did not beget".

إِنَّ and her sisters (أَخَوَات إِنَّ)

Six particles that open a sentence and put the following noun in the accusative, each adding its own shade of meaning.

إِنَّinnaindeed
أَنَّannathat
لَٰكِنَّlākinnabut
كَأَنَّkaʾannaas if
لَيْتَlaytawould that / I wish
لَعَلَّlaʿallaperhaps / so that

Conditionals, answers and connectors

The rest of the common particles, grouped by the job they do.

Conditional — إِنْ (in, "if", open) · لَوْ (law, "if", contrary-to-fact) · لَوْلَآ (lawlā, "were it not for")
Answering — نَعَمْ (naʿam, "yes") · بَلَىٰ (balā, "yes" — specifically answering a negative question) · كَلَّا (kallā, "no, never!")
Connecting — بَلْ (bal, "rather") · لَٰكِنْ (lākin, "but") · أَمَّا (ammā, "as for") · إِذًا (idhan, "in that case")

Attached prefixes

These are never written on their own — they attach to the front of the next word.

وَwaand; also the oath "by …"
فَfaso / then
بِbiwith / by / in
لِlifor / to; so that
كَkalike / as
الـal-the
سَـsa-will (near future)

Several can stack: وَبِٱلْحَقِّ is وَ + بِ + ٱل + حَقّ — "and with the truth".

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