Understanding "That" in Arabic: A Look at Durūs al-Lughah, Volume 1, Lesson 2
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Welcome back to your Arabic studies! In Lesson 1 of Durūs al-Lughah al-ʿArabiyyah, you likely learned how to refer to things close to you using words like "this" (هذا - haadha).
In Lesson 2, we expand our ability to describe the world around us by introducing a word that helps us talk about things that are further away: "that" (ذلك - dhaalika).
ذَلِكَ : اسْمُ إِشَارَةٍ لِلْمُفْرَدِ المُذَكَّرِ البَعِيدِ العَاقِلِ وَغَيْرِ العَاقِلِ
Demonstrative pronoun referring to a distant masculine singular, human and non-human.
This lesson focuses primarily on understanding and using هذا (haadha) and ذلك (dhaalika) together.
Let's read the Arabic text together and translate them into English
- الدَّرْسُ الثَّانِي = the second lesson
- ذَلِكَ = that
- مَا ذَلِكَ؟ = What is that?
- ذَلِكَ نَجْمٌ = That is a star.
- هَذَا مَسْجَدٌ = This is a mosque
- وَذَلِكَ بَيْتٌ = and that is a house.
- هَذَا حِصَانٌ وَذَلِكَ حِمَارٌ = This is a horse and that is a donkey.
- أَذَلِكَ كَلْبٌ؟ لاَ, ذَلِكَ قِطٌّ = Is that a dog? No, that is a cat.
- مَا ذَلِكَ؟ = What is that?
- ذَلِكَ سَرِيرٌ = That is a bed.
- مَنْ هَذَا؟ وَمَنْ ذَلِكَ؟ = Who is this? and who is that?
- هَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ وَذَلِكَ إِمَامٌ = This is a teacher and that is an Imam. (note: imam is prayer leader)
- مَا ذَلِكَ؟ = What is that?
- ذَلِكَ حَجَرٌ = That is a stone.
- هَذَا سُكَّرٌ وَذَلِكَ لَبَنٌ = This is sugar and that is milk.
تمرين (exercise)
- هَذَا سُكَّرٌ وَذَلِكَ لَبَنٌ = This is sugar and that is milk.
- مَنْ ذَلِكَ؟ ذَلِكَ إمَامٌ = Who is that? That is an Imam.
- أذَلِكَ قِطٌّ؟ لاَ, ذَلِكَ كَلْبٌ = Is that a cat? No, that is a dog.
- مَا هَذَا؟ هَذَا حَجِرٌ = What is this? This is a stone.
الكَلِمَاتُ الجَدِيدَةُ (new words)
- إمَامٌ = imam (prayer leader)
- حَجَرٌ = stone
- سُكَّرٌ = sugar
- لَبَنٌ = milk
From the book 1 lesson 2, we learn the following:
Introducing ذلك (dhaalika) - "That"
The core new concept in Lesson 2 is the word ذلك (dhaalika).
The Durusul Lughah book defines ذلك (dhaalika) as a:
- Demonstrative pronoun (a word used to point to something).
- Referring to a distant (used for things or people that are not close by).
- Masculine singular (used for one item or person that is masculine in gender).
- Human and non-human (can be used for both people and objects).
So, ذلك (dhaalika) is the Arabic word for "that," used when you are talking about one masculine thing or person that is far away from you.
Using "This" and "That": Examples from the Lesson
Lesson 2 provides several examples showing how ذلك (dhaalika) is used, often contrasting it with هذا (haadha) ("this").
Let's look at some of these examples:
"This is a mosque and that is a house."
- This sentence shows that you use هذا (haadha) for something nearby (the mosque) and ذلك (dhaalika) for something distant (the house).
"This is a horse and that is a donkey."
- Again, contrasting something close (the horse) with something far (the donkey).
"This is sugar and that is milk."
- More examples showing the use of هذا (haadha) and ذلك (dhaalika) for different items.
Notice that in all these examples, the items being referred to (mosque, house, horse, donkey, sugar, milk) are treated as masculine and are singular, fitting the definition of ذلك (dhaalika).
Asking Questions with "That"
The lesson also shows us how to ask questions using ذلك (dhaalika).
To ask "What is that?", you would say: مَا ذَلِكَ؟
The answer would typically be "That is..." followed by the object, e.g., "That is a star" or "That is a bed" or "That is a stone".
You can also ask if something is a particular item by starting with "Is that...?", e.g., "Is that a dog?". The response would be either "Yes, that is a dog" (though this specific 'yes' answer isn't shown in the source) or "No, that is a cat" or "No, that is a dog". This shows how to affirm or deny a statement about a distant object.
When referring to people, you can ask "Who is that?" ( مَنْ ذَلِكَ؟ ).
The source provides the example question "Who is this? and who is that?". The answer given is "This is a teacher and that is an Imam". This highlights that ذلك (dhaalika) is used for distant people as well as objects.
New Words in Lesson 2
Lesson 2 introduces a few new vocabulary words that appear in the examples and exercises. These include:
- إمَامٌ Imam (seen in "That is an Imam")
- حَجَرٌ stone (seen in "That is a stone" and "This is a stone")
- سُكَّرٌ sugar (seen in "This is sugar")
- لَبَنٌ milk (seen in "that is milk")
Quiz
1. What is the primary function of the word ذلك (dhaalika) in Arabic?
2. In the phrase ذَلِكَ نَجْمٌ (dhaalika najm), what does the word نَجْمٌ (najm) mean in English?
3. According to lesson 2, how would you ask "What is that?" in Arabic?
4. What is the meaning of حَجَرٌ (hajr) as introduced in this lesson?
5. For what type of noun (singular, dual, or plural) is ذَلِكَ (dhaalika) used?
Key Answer
1. The primary function of ذلك (dhaalika) is to act as a demonstrative pronoun referring to a distant masculine singular noun.
2. نَجْمٌ means "star" in English.
3. To ask "What is that?" in Arabic, you would say مَا ذَلِكَ؟ (maa dhaalika?).
4. حَجَرٌ (hajr) means "stone" in English.
5. ذَلِكَ (dhaalika) is used for singular nouns.
FAQ (Durusul lughah volume 1 lesson 2)
1. What is the primary focus of Durūs al-Lughah, Volume 1, Lesson 2?
Lesson 2 builds upon Lesson 1 by introducing the Arabic word for "that," which is ذَلِكَ (dhaalika). The main goal is to teach students how to refer to things or people that are further away, often in contrast to things that are close by (which are referred to using هذا (haadha), meaning "this").
2. What does the Arabic word ذلك (dhaalika) mean and what is its basic definition?
ذلك (dhaalika) means "that" in Arabic. According to the definition provided, it is a demonstrative pronoun used to point to something. Specifically, it refers to something that is distant, masculine, and singular. It can be used for both human and non-human subjects.
3. How do you ask "What is that?" in Arabic using ذلك (dhaalika)?
To ask "What is that?" you use the question word مَا (maa) followed by ذلك (dhaalika). The phrase is مَا ذَلِكَ؟ (ma dhaalika?).
4. How do you ask "Who is that?" in Arabic using ذلك (dhaalika)?
To ask "Who is that?" when referring to a person, you use the question word مَنْ (man) followed by ذَلِكَ (dhaalika). The phrase is مَنْ ذَلِكَ؟ (man dhaalika?).
By practicing these words within the sentence structures using هذا (haadha) and ذلك (dhaalika), you can build your ability to describe things around you in Arabic, whether they are near or far.
Keep practicing the examples and the "read and write" exercises provided in your book to become comfortable using ذلك (dhaalika)!
Don't miss lesson 1, read here Durusul Lughah book 1 lesson 1: hadha
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