آمل ذلك
'amal dhalik
The Arabic phrase for "I hope so" is آمل ذلك ('amal dhalik).
This phrase is used to express a desire for a specific outcome to be true or to happen.
What does it mean word for word?
The word آمل is a first-person singular present tense verb meaning "I hope".
Which one should you use?
While آمل ذلك is a standard way to express this, you can also use أتمنى ذلك to mean "I wish/hope for that".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
آمل ذلك is used in formal settings. The phrase أتمنى ذلك is also a common alternative used in formal or standard Arabic. For a more informal way to express hope or desire, you can use يارب, which translates to "Oh God!"
How do you pronounce it?
'amal dhalik
When do people say it?
In many Arabic-speaking contexts, instead of saying "I hope so", people often say إن شاء الله (in shā' Allāh), which means "If God wills", to express the hope that a future event occurs.
Did you know?
- The word ذلك is built from three distinct parts: the demonstrative ذَا for 'this', the preposition لِ for 'to', and the suffix كَ for 'you'.
- While آمل ذلك is grammatically correct, using إن شاء الله is so common that saying I hope so without mentioning God can sometimes sound overly insistent or intellectually cold in social settings.
- The root of آمل relates to the concept of 'hope' as a lingering expectation, whereas أتمنى comes from a root describing a desire for something that might be impossible.
Examples in context
- آمل ذلك.I hope so.This sentence shows how to use آمل ذلك.Tatoeba #376236 by saeb, translation #51142 by CK
- آمل ذلك في المستقبل القريب.āmalu dhālika fī al-mustaqbal al-qarīb.I hope so in the near future.
- هل ستنجح في الاختبار؟ آمل ذلك.hal sata-njaḥu fī al-ikhtibār? āmalu dhālika.Will you succeed in the exam? I hope so.
Example conversation
Youssef and Maryam are talking about the weather and their plans.
- يوسف Youssefهل سيكون الجو مشمساً غداً؟hal sayakūnu al-jawwu mushmisan ghadan?Will the weather be sunny tomorrow?
- مريم Maryamآمل ذلك كثيراً.āmalu dhālika kathīran.I really hope so.
- يوسف Youssefنريد الذهاب إلى الحديقة يا مريم.nurīdu al-dhahāb ilā al-ḥadīqa yā Maryam.We want to go to the park, Maryam.
- مريم Maryamنعم، آمل ذلك أيضاً.na'am, āmalu dhālika ayḍan.Yes, I hope so too.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ذلك, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
