Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| واحد | wāḥed | /waː.ħid/ | Egyptian Arabic, masculine |
| وَاحِد | wāḥid | masculine | |
| وَاحِدَة | wāḥida | feminine | |
| ١ | Arabic Indic, numeral |
The word is used as the cardinal number 1. It can also function as an indefinite personal pronoun meaning "any person" or "people in general", represented by the related form اَلْمَرْء.
Which one should you use?
The choice between forms depends on the gender of the noun being counted. Use the masculine form وَاحِد for masculine nouns and the feminine form وَاحِدَة for feminine nouns.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, the pronunciation often shifts the vowel in the second syllable from 'i' to 'e', resulting in واحد (wāḥed). Additionally, the phrase واحدة بس is commonly used in Egyptian Arabic to mean "only one".
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The gender of the noun determines the form: use the masculine وَاحِد for masculine nouns and the feminine وَاحِدَة for feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is wāḥed. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word واحد is also used in Islamic contexts to express the concept of 'Oneness' or the absolute uniqueness of God, a concept known as التوحيد (Tawhid).
- The word واحد shares a root with the Arabic word for 'unique' or 'single', وحيد, which describes someone who is alone or an only child.
- While واحد is the number 'one', the word أحد is also used for 'one' but often implies 'no one' or 'anyone' depending on the sentence structure.
Examples in context
- كل واحد منا إمام.Each and every one of us is an imam.This sentence uses واحد to show how it can refer to 'each one'.Tatoeba #11684273 by dididodo, translation #8247222 by Amastan
- انا واحد من طلابك.I'm one of your students.This sentence uses واحد to express being 'one of' a group.Tatoeba #6044698 by Mohkhair, translation #2545312 by CK
- لدى سامي كلب واحد.Sami has one dog.This sentence uses واحد to count a single masculine noun.Tatoeba #7274699 by OsoHombre, translation #7189771 by OsoHombre
- أنا أملك واحدة فقط.I only have one.
- أحتاج فقط واحد.I need only one.
- عاوز واحدة بس.I want only one.
- 159 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Omar and Sarah are ordering coffee at a cafe.
- عمر Omarعايز واحد قهوة، لو سمحت.Ayiz wahed ahwa, lo samahat.I want one coffee, please.
- سارة Saraوأنا كمان عايزة واحد.Wana kaman ayza wahed.And I also want one.
- عمر Omarهل طلبنا واحد بس؟Hal talabna wahed bas?Did we only order one?
- سارة Saraلا، طلبنا اتنين.La, talabna etnein.No, we ordered two.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “one” translations and entries واحد, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
