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Search an online Arabic dictionary (meaning)
In this article, I'll explain how to look up the meaning of an Arabic word in an online dictionary. I'll explain this for: Arabic-Dutch dictionary, Arabic-English dictionary, Arabic-Arabic dictionary. The best way to look up words is with an Arabic-Arabic dictionary. This won't be possible at first, so we'll start with an Arabic-Dutch dictionary as an intermediate step.
Arabic-Dutch dictionary
Important! This dictionary is only suitable for simple words; it is not suitable for technical or religious terms.
- Go to Google's online dictionary and select the Arabic language.
- Enter the Arabic word in the search box and click translate, for example بيت.
- Note that sometimes things go wrong, such as with the word َذَهَب (to go). The dictionary gives the meaning as "goud" because it doesn't understand that you meant the verb. A solution is often to select English and then click on the translation. You'll then see an overview of all translations specified by verb or noun.
Arabic-English dictionary
In this section we show you how to search in the Almaany dictionary.
- Go to Almaany's online dictionary and select the Arabic-English dictionary.
- Or go directly to the correct link: Arabic-English dictionary
- Enter the word you want to look up the meaning of, for example بَيْتٌ and click 'ابحث' (search).
- You will now get 7 results, find the correct meaning (you get this from the context of the sentence).
- Almaany also almost always indicates what type of word it is (ism or fi'l), this helps you select the correct meaning.
Arabic-Arabic dictionary
- Go to Almaany's online dictionary and select the Arabic-Arabic dictionary.
- Or go directly to the correct link: Arabic-Arabic dictionary.
- For example, search for مِفْتَاحٌ and click 'ابحث' (search).
- We get a brief description of the word: an object used to open and close things. The meaning is therefore key.
