طلاب
ṭullāb
The English phrase "students" is translated into Arabic as طلاب (ṭullāb).
Which one should you use?
طلاب is the masculine plural, which is used when referring to a group of male students or a mixed-gender group. If you are referring specifically to a group containing only female students, use طالبات.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Moroccan Arabic, the term for students is طلبة.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of the masculine plural طلاب is طالب (student). For a single female student, the form is طالبة.
How do you pronounce it?
ṭullāb
Did you know?
- The singular form طالب (ṭālib) literally means 'one who seeks' or 'seeker'. It implies that a student is someone actively searching for knowledge rather than just someone attending a class.
- Arabic has 'broken plurals', where the internal structure of the word changes instead of adding a suffix. طلاب is a broken plural of طالب, which is why it does not look like the singular word.
- In a traditional setting, a student might refer to their teacher as شيخ 'sheikh', which denotes a master of a particular field of knowledge rather than just a religious leader.
Examples in context
- انا واحد من طلابك.I'm one of your students.This sentence is useful for expressing being one of a person's students.Tatoeba #6044698 by Mohkhair, translation #2545312 by CK
- لم يحضر الاجتماع طلاب كثر.Not many students attended the meeting.This sentence is useful for describing the attendance of students at a meeting.Tatoeba #2605955 by Samer, translation #508774 by kebukebu
- يحب الآنسةَ سميث جميعُ طلابها.Miss Smith is liked by all students.This sentence is useful for expressing that a group of students likes a teacher.Tatoeba #665470 by Samer, translation #51522 by CN
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yusuf and Sarah are talking about their university class.
- يوسف Youssefهل وصل جميع الطلاب؟hal wasala jami'u al-tullab?Have all the students arrived?
- سارة Saraنعم، طلاب الفصل هنا الآن.na'am, tullab al-fasl huna al-an.Yes, the students of the class are here now.
- يوسف Youssefأين يجلس الطلاب الجدد؟ayna yajlis al-tullab al-judud?Where are the new students sitting?
- سارة Saraيجلس طلاب السنة الأولى في الخلف.yajlis tullab al-sana al-ula fi al-khalf.The first-year students are sitting in the back.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
