Verb of the Day

ʻĀda

عادَ


Verb of the Day

Hello, our dear Arabic learners.

Our verb of the day for today is عادَ /ʻĀda/

It’s another common verb that can be found in many everyday conversations.

In this blog, we will discuss the different meanings of the verb عادَ and its conjugations with the Arabic pronouns.

We will also provide you with derivations, opposites, and synonyms of the verb and show you how to use it in different contexts and plenty of meaningful sentences.

Are you ready?

Main Meaning

The verb عادَ means “to go back,” “to come back,” or “to return.” In addition, it is used to express four other meanings that differ slightly from the main meaning. Let’s look at these meanings below:

1

Going back

The first meaning refers to the action of ‘going back’ or ‘returning to an earlier position or place,’ as in the following examples:

The traveler came back to his country.

ʻĀd al-musāfir ilá waṭaneh

عادَ المسافرُ إلى وَطَنه

The ball returned to the player.

ʻĀdat al-kurah ilá allāʻib

عادت الكُرَةُ إلى اللّاعبِ

2

Visiting someone

The second meaning has a completely different meaning. It means to call on or visit someone, usually someone who is ill or sick to check on them. The visit can be professional from a doctor or simply from friends and family. Look at the following examples:

The doctor visited the patient.

ʻĀda alṭṭabību almarīḍa

عَادَ الطَّبِيبُ الْمَرِيضَ

The man visited his neighbour.

ʻĀda alrjlu jārah

عَادَ الرجلُ جارَه

3

Recognising and understanding something

The third meaning is similar to the first, but it is not literal. It means to go back, but the reference is to a mental state. The verb is this sense implies that the person is not behaving as usual, commonly acting overly angry. 

He came back to his senses.

ʻĀd ilá rushdeh

عاد إلى رُشْده

4

Resisting and fighting an enemy

The fourth meaning refers to animosity towards an enemy. However, the verb عادّ /ʻĀdda/  is written and pronounced slightly different, with the last letter doubled. Let’s read an example:

He confronted his enemy fiercely

ʻĀdda khuṣūmahu bqwwtin

عادّ خُصُومَهُ بقوّةٍ

Verb Conjugation with Pronouns

English

Transcription

Arabic

I return

Anā aʻwdu

أَنا أعودُ

I returned

Anā ʻudtu

أَنا عُدْتُ

We return

Naḥnu naʻwdu

نَحنُ نَعودُ

We returned

Naḥnu ʻudnā

نَحنُ عُدْنَا

He returned

Huwa ʻāda

هُوَ عادَ

He returns

Huwa yaʻwdu

هُوَ يَعودُ

They return (P/M/3rd P)

Hum yaʻwdwn

هُم يَعودون

They returned (P/M/3rd P)

Hum ʻāduw

هُم عادُوا

She returns

Hya taʻwdu

هيَ تَعودُ

She returned

Hya ʻādat

هيَ عَادَتْ

They return (P/F/3rd P)

Hunn yaʻdna

هُنّ يَعدْنَ

They returned (P/F/3rd P)

Hunn ʻdna

هُنّ عدْنَ

You return (S/2nd P)

Anta taʻwdu

أنتَ تَعودُ

You returned (S/2nd P)

Anta ʻudta

أنتَ عُدْتَ

You return (P/2nd P.)

Antum taʻwdūn

أَنتُم تَعودُون

You returned (P/2nd P.)

Antum ʻdtumu

أَنتُم عدتُمُ

You return (S/F/2nd P.)

Anti taʻwdīn

أنتِ تَعودِين

You returned (S/F/2nd P.)

Anti ʻudti

أنتِ عُدْتِ

You return (S/F/2nd P.)

Antunna taʻdna

أَنتُنَّ تَعدْنَ

You returned (S/F/2nd P.)

Antunn ʻdtanna

أَنتُنّ عدْتَنَّ

You return (S/F/2nd P.)

Antmā tʻwdān

أنتما تعودان

You returned (S/F/2nd P.)

Antmā ʻdtmā

أنتما عدتما

They returned (S/F/2nd P.)

Humā yʻwdān

هما يعودان

They returned (S/F/2nd P.)

Humā ʻādā

هما عادا

*P: Plural        S: Singular     D: Dual       F: Feminine      M: Masculine

Verb in the Quran

Now it is important to look at an example of the verb عاد in the Quran. In this example, the verb عاد is used to mean “returning to an older state”

Let’s look at the following verse from the Holy Quran:

Ḥatá ʻāda kālʻurjūni alqadīmi

(حَتى عَادَ كَالْعُرْجُونِ الْقَدِيمِ ) يس: 39

 God Almighty says: “… until it returns [appearing] like the old date stalk” (Surat Ya-Sin: Verse 39) 

The verse talks about the stages of the moon and uses a beautiful simile to describe the appearance of the moon. It describes how as each month progresses, the moon changes in shape and returns to its older state, looking like an old dried curved date stalk.” 

Verb in Hadith

The verb عاد is also used in a very important Hadith about Islam.

Let’s read the following hadith:

Badaʼa al-Islām ghryban wsyʻwd ghryban kamā badaʼa

بدأ الإسلام غريبًا وسيعود غريبًا كما بدأ

 Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) says in this hadith: “Islam began as something strange and will go back to being strange.

The hadith offers a prediction about how Islam will go back to being strange, in reference to the small number of believers who will follow and adhere to Islam, similar to the early days of Islam. Because this is a future prediction, the future form of the verb عاد is used, which is سَيَعود

Verb in poetry

Now let’s see how the verb is used in poetry. In the following line, the verb عاد is used to mean “to return” or “to show up again”:

ألفى مقيلًا لقلبي وهو حرَّان

عادَ الربيعُ فهلْ في ظِلِّ بُردَتِه

ʻĀda alrbyʻu fhl fī ẓilli burdatih alfá mqylan lqlby wa-huwa ḥrrān

This verse means: “Spring has returned, and I wonder if in its shade I can find solace for my heated heart.”

More Examples

There are plenty of examples of the verb عاد from our every day life. Let’s look at the following examples:

I came back home in the evening

ʻDtu ilá Baytī msāʼan

عدتُ إلى بيتي مساءً

The train goes back to the station every day.

Yʻwdu al-Qiṭṭār ilá mḥṭth kull yawm

يعودُ القطار إلى محطته كل يوم

I come back tired from school.

Anā aʻwd mutʻban min al-Madrasah

أنا أَعود متعبًا من المدرسة

We return to our beautiful village in the summer.

Naḥnu nʻwd ilá qaryatinā al-jamīlah fī al-ṣayf

نحن نعود إلى قريتنا الجميلة في الصيف

Where do you go on the Eid holiday?

Antum ilá ayn tʻwdwn fī ʻṭlh al-ʻĪd

أنتم إلى أين تعودون في عطلة العيد؟

Derivations

There are many words in Arabic that can be derived from the word root عاد.  

Word Root ع – ا – د

Returning (person)

ʻĀʼid

عَائِد

He is returning to school after the Eid holiday.

Huwa ʻĀʼid ilá madrasatihi baʻda ʻṭlat al-ʻĪd

هو عائد إلى مدرسته بعد عطلة العيد

A visit

ʻIyādah

عيادة

We have to visit Ahmad because he is ill.

Yajibu ʻalaynā ʻiyādah Aḥmad fa-huwa marīḍ

يجب علينا عيادة أحمد فهو مريض

A return

ʻAwdah

عودة

You had a long break, you have to get back to studying.

Tʼkhrtm bālāstrāḥa wʻlykm al-ʻAwdah ilá al-dirāsah

تأخرتم بالاستراحة وعليكم العودة إلى الدراسة

Synonyms

The synonyms of the verb عَادَ  /ʻĀda / are:

to bounce back

Irtadda

إِرْتَدَّ

to change

ʻadala

عَدَلَ

to come back

rajaʻa

رَجَعَ

Example 1

The player threw the ball and it came back to him.

Rmá al-lāʻib al-kurah fʻādt ilayhi

رمى اللاعب الكرة فعادت إليه

The player threw the ball and it bounced back to him.

Rmá al-lāʻib al-kurah fārtddt ilayhi

رمى اللاعب الكرة فارتدّت إليه

Example 2

He decided to go. Then, he changed his decision.

Qrrr al-dhahāb thumma ʻĀd ʻan qrārh

قرّر الذهاب ثم عاد عن قراره

He decided to go. Then, he changed his decision.

Qrrr al-dhahāb thumma ʻadala ʻan qrārh

قرّر الذهاب ثم عَدَلَ عن قراره

Example 3

We went to the garden but Ahmad returned early.

Dhhbnā ilá al-Ḥadīqah lākin Aḥmad rajaʻa bākiran

ذهبنا إلى الحديقة لكن أحمد رَجَعَ باكرًا

We went to the garden but Ahmad returned early.

Dhhbnā ilá al-Ḥadīqah lākin Aḥmad ʻāda bākiran

ذهبنا إلى الحديقة لكن أحمد عادَ باكرًا

Conclusion

Now before we conclude our blog, we would like to remind you to check our special planner that you can use to speed up your learning journey. This planner offers a rich 30-page worksheet accompanied by over 200 practical exercises and activities. It will serve as a powerful tool to back your acquired knowledge and newly learned language and push your learning journey forward with tons of practice opportunities.

You can also read other Verb of the Day blogs to learn more verbs. 

And make sure to download our app to help you practice Arabic with fun and creative exercises. 

Dania Ghraoui
Dania has worked as a language instructor and translator for almost 10 years. She has a special interest in the Arabic language and learning methods.
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