Which one should you use?
While واضح is the standard term, you may also encounter صَافِي, which is a formal way to express clarity. In the Gulf region, people frequently use the informal phrase وَايِد وَاضِح to mean clear.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In North African countries like Morocco and Algeria, واضح is often pronounced as وَاضِي. In the Gulf region, the phrase وَايِد وَاضِح is commonly used.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective changes its form based on the noun it describes: use the feminine form واضحة for feminine nouns. In the masculine plural, the form changes to واضحين when used as an accusative or genitive adjective or predicate. Additionally, the form واضحاً is used when the word functions as an accusative predicate or an adverbial modifier.
How do you pronounce it?
wāḍiḥ
When do people say it?
To express that something is extremely obvious, you can use the idiom واضح كالشمس, which literally means "clear as the sun" and is equivalent to the English expression "clear as day".
Did you know?
- While English speakers use 'clear' for both transparent objects and understandable ideas, Arabic sometimes distinguishes between them using different roots. You would use شفاف for a transparent window, rather than واضح.
- The word صَافِي is also used to describe a person who is 'pure-hearted' or 'sincere', applying the idea of 'clear' water to human emotion.
- In some Arabic dialects, واضح is used as a conversational filler or a way to say 'I understand' or 'Got it' without needing a full sentence.
Examples in context
- صوتها ناعم و واضح.She has a soft and clear voice.This example shows how to describe a voice using واضح.Tatoeba #370743 by saeb, translation #315291 by CK
- كان واضحاً كالشمس أن شنجي سيموت من الجوع.It was as clear as day that Shinji would die from hunger.This example uses the idiom واضح to describe an obvious situation.Tatoeba #371505 by saeb, translation #23861 by jan_Ketalija
- لنكن واضحين، تلك كانت فكرةُ توم، ليست فكرتي.Just so we're clear, that was Tom's idea, not mine.This example uses the plural form واضحين to establish clarity in a statement.Tatoeba #13775953 by Omiya, translation #3722975 by CM
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nour and Youssef are discussing a confusing instruction manual.
- نور Nourهل هذا الشرح واضح؟hal hadha al-sharh wadhih?Is this explanation clear?
- يوسف Youssefلا، ليس واضحاً أبداً.la, laysa wadhihan abadan.No, it is not clear at all.
- نور Nourسأحاول أن أجعله واضحاً أكثر.sa-uhawilu an aj'alahu wadhihan akthar.I will try to make it clearer.
- يوسف Youssefشكراً لكِ يا نور.shukran laki ya Nour.Thank you, Nour.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
