سبح
sabaḥa
To swim in Arabic is to say سبح (sabaḥa).
The verb refers to the action of moving through water. When you want to talk about the sport or the activity itself as a noun, the most common term is سِبَاحَة (sibāḥa).
Meaning: move through water (verb)
Which one should you use?
The form سبح (sabaḥa) is the past tense meaning 'he swam', while the present tense is expressed through forms such as يسبح (yasbaḥu).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, the word for swim is expressed as يِسبَح (yesbaḥ).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In the present tense, يسبح (yasbaḥu) is used to say 'he swims' or 'is swimming', while تسبح (tasbaḥu) is used to say 'she swims' or 'you (singular masculine) swim'.
How do you pronounce it?
sabaḥa
Did you know?
- The root of سبح is also the basis for the word used to describe the act of praising God or performing 'tasbih', which is the repetitive recitation of divine names.
- The root for 'swim' سبح is used to describe the motion of stars and planets moving through the sky in the Quran.
Examples in context
- أَنَا أَسبَحُI swim
- هل سبحت في المسبح اليوم؟hal sabaḥta fī al-masbaḥ al-yawm?Did you swim in the pool today?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries سبح, CC BY-SA 4.0.
