Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| مَلَكَ | malaka | |
| اِمْتَلَكَ | imtalaka | |
| تَمَلَّكَ | tamallaka | |
| لِـ | li- | |
| etc. | ||
| عِنْدَ | ʕinda | prepositional |
| عِنْدَك | ʕindak | masculine |
| عِنْدِك | ʕindik, “you have” | feminine |
In everyday spoken and written Arabic, possession is most commonly expressed using the prepositional phrase عِنْدَ (at/with) rather than the verb مَلَكَ.
What does it mean word for word?
The word عِنْدَ literally functions as a preposition meaning 'at' or 'with', which is why it is used to indicate possession in Arabic.
Which one should you use?
The verbs مَلَكَ, اِمْتَلَكَ and تَمَلَّكَ are forms for possession. The phrase لِـ can also be used to indicate possession.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express possession with the preposition عِنْدَ, you add suffixes to indicate who has the object. For example, to say 'I have', you add the first-person singular suffix to create عِنْدِي. To say 'he has', you add the third-person masculine singular suffix to create عِنْدَهُ. The forms عِنْدَك and عِنْدِك are used to say 'you have' for masculine and feminine subjects respectively.
How do you pronounce it?
malaka
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often try to translate 'I have' literally as a verb phrase like أَنَا أَمْلِكُ, but using عِنْدِي is much more natural for daily objects.
Did you know?
- The verb مَلَكَ shares the same root as the word for 'king' مَلِك, linking the concept of having to sovereign power.
- In some contexts, using the verb تَمَلَّكَ can imply that a feeling or an emotion has 'taken possession' of you, as if the feeling is a master and you are the subject.
- If you want to say 'I have a sister', you would use the preposition لِـ to show she is part of your identity. Using the word for 'at' (عِنْدَ) might imply she is just temporarily visiting your house.
Examples in context
- لدي سيارةI have a car
- عنده منزلHe has a house
- الشركة تملك فروعًا كثيرةThe company has many branches
- فيهم حديقة كبيرةThey have a big garden
Example conversation
Ziad and Sarah are talking about an old family heirloom.
- زياد Ziadهل مَلَكَ جدُّكِ هذا الكتاب القديم؟Hal malaka jadduki hadha al-kitab al-qadim?Did your grandfather possess this old book?
- سارة Saraنعم، مَلَكَه لسنوات طويلة يا زياد.Na'am, malakahu li-sanawat tawila ya Ziyad.Yes, he possessed it for many years, Ziad.
- زياد Ziadإنه كتاب نادر جداً.Innahu kitab nadir jiddan.It is a very rare book.
- سارة Saraسأحتفظ به في مكتبتي.Sa-ahtafidhu bihi fi maktabati.I will keep it in my library.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “have” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
