مَعْلُومَات
maʕlūmātfeminine, plural
In Arabic, the word for information is مَعْلُومَات (maʕlūmāt). Wiktionary also lists كيف (kayf) and مَعْلُومَة (maʕlūma).
Meaning: communicable knowledge (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| مَعْلُومَات | maʕlūmāt | feminine, plural | |
| كيف | kayf | /kajf/ | |
| مَعْلُومَة | maʕlūma | feminine |
The term refers to communicable knowledge. You can use the plural form to refer to general information or a collection of facts, or the singular form to refer to a single piece of information.
What does it mean word for word?
The singular form مَعْلُومَة literally means 'a known thing' or 'a known fact'.
Which one should you use?
Use the singular form مَعْلُومَة when referring to one piece of information, whereas the plural مَعْلُومَات is used for a collection of facts or general information.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, بيانات is used to refer to information or data.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form مَعْلُومَة is feminine, and the plural form مَعْلُومَات is also feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
maʕlūmāt
Did you know?
- In Arabic, the word مَعْلُومَة shares a root with عَالِم, the word for a 'scientist' or 'scholar'. Literally, a scholar is someone who possesses the 'known things' that make up information.
- If you are looking for the 'how' of a situation, you use كَيْف, which stems from an ancient root meaning to sever or cut off.
- In Egyptian Arabic, using بيانات to ask for someone's 'information' often specifically implies their personal details, such as a name, address and phone number.
Examples in context
- ممكن أن تزودني بمزيد من المعلومات حول المشروع؟Can you give me more information about the project?
- أين يمكنني العثور على معلومات عن الأماكن السياحية المحلية؟Where can I find information about local tourist attractions?
- أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَعْلُومَاتٍ أَكْثَرَ.aḥtāju ilā ma‘lūmātin akthar.I need more information.
- هَذِهِ الْمَعْلُومَاتُ صَحِيحَةٌ.hādhīhi al-ma‘lūmātu ṣaḥīḥah.This information is correct.
- هَلْ لَدَيْكَ مَعْلُومَاتٌ عَنِ الْجَوِّ؟hal ladayka ma‘lūmāt ‘an al-jaww?Do you have information about the weather?
Example conversation
Youssef and Sarah are working on a research project.
- يوسف Youssefهَلْ وَجَدْتِ مَعْلُومَاتٍ جَدِيدَةً؟hal wajadti ma‘lūmātin jadīdah?Did you find any new information?
- سارة Saraنَعَمْ، لَدَيَّ مَعْلُومَاتٌ مُفِيدَةٌ جِدًّا.na‘am, ladayya ma‘lūmāt mufīdah jiddan.Yes, I have very useful information.
- يوسف Youssefهَلْ هَذِهِ الْمَعْلُومَاتُ مُكْتَمِلَةٌ؟hal hādhihi al-ma‘lūmātu muktamila?Is this information complete?
- سارة Saraلَا، نَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مَعْلُومَاتٍ إِضَافِيَّةٍ.lā, naḥtāju ilā ma‘lūmātin iḍāfiyyah.No, we need additional information.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “information” translations and entries كيف, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries كيف, CC BY-SA 4.0.
