سمع
samiʕa/sa.mi.ʕa/
To hear in Arabic is سمع (samiʕa).
The verb سمع means to perceive sounds through the ear. You can use the idiomatic phrase سمعتُ أن to mean "I heard that…", which is used to introduce hearsay or reported information.
Meaning: to perceive sounds through the ear (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The present tense form is يسمع (he hears / he will hear), and the second-person masculine singular present tense form is تسمع (you hear). To say "I heard" in the past tense, you add the suffix -tu to the root to get سمعتُ.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /sa.mi.ʕa/ (samiʕa). It has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- In Arabic, the word سمع is often used interchangeably with 'listen' or 'obey'. For example, in a religious context, the phrase سمعنا وأطعنا means 'we heard and we obeyed'.
- The root of سمع is shared with Hebrew, where the word שמע (shama) also means 'to hear' or 'to obey'.
- In traditional Arabic music, سمع can refer to the sophisticated ability to distinguish subtle melodic nuances, moving beyond simple hearing to a form of critical listening.
Examples in context
- هل سمعت صوتا آخر؟Did you hear another sound?This sentence is useful for asking if someone heard another sound using the form سمع.Tatoeba #11960087 by dididodo, translation #11881669 by Amastan
- هل سمعت ذلك الصوت؟Did you hear that sound?This sentence is useful for asking if someone heard a specific sound using the form سمع.Tatoeba #476142 by saeb, translation #476141 by saeb
- سمعت أن روبرت مريض.I hear Robert is sick.This sentence is useful for reporting information using the form سمع.Tatoeba #418904 by saeb, translation #29340 by CN
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ziad and Layla are in a quiet room at home.
- زياد Ziadهل سمعتِ أي شيء؟hal sami'ti ayya shay'?Did you hear anything?
- ليلى Laylaلا، لم أسمع شيئاً.la, lam sami' shay'an.No, I didn't hear anything.
- زياد Ziadسمعتُ صوتاً غريباً بالخارج.sami'tu sawtan ghariban bil-kharij.I heard a strange sound outside.
- ليلى Laylaأنا لم أسمع شيئاً أيضاً.ana lam sami' shay'an aydan.I didn't hear anything either.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry سمع, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries سمع, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
