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