How to Say "Unknown" in Arabic

مَجْهُول

majhūl

Unknown in Arabic is مَجْهُول (majhūl). If unsure, use مَجْهُول. Wiktionary also lists مُبْهَم (mubham).

Meaning: not known (adj)

Ways to say it

“unknown” in Arabic
Arabic	Romanization (Wiktionary)	Note
مَجْهُول	majhūl
مُبْهَم	mubham	masculine

مَجْهُول is the passive participle of the verb jahila, to not know, so it means not known.

مُبْهَم (mubham) means ambiguous or vague, lacking clarity rather than unknown. غَيْرُ مَعْلُوم means not known or unidentified.

The feminine is مَجْهُولَة and the masculine plural مَجْهُولِين. With the article it is الْمَجْهُول.

When talking about the 'unknown' in a spiritual or mystical sense, such as the hidden mysteries of the universe, Arabic often uses the word الْغَيْب rather than مَجْهُول. الْغَيْب refers specifically to that which is hidden from human perception by divine will.
The word مَجْهُول can be used to describe a person who is an outcast or a stranger with no known lineage. In a society historically based on tribal ancestry, being مَجْهُول was once a serious social disadvantage.
In traditional Arabic grammar, a sentence written in the passive voice is called الْمَجْهُول, meaning 'the unknown'. This is because the agent performing the action is not mentioned and is therefore unknown to the reader.

بعض التفاصيل مش معروفة
Some details are unknown
هَذَا المَكَانُ مَجْهُولٌ لِي.
hatha al-makan majhul li.
This place is unknown to me.
المَصْدَرُ لا يَزَالُ مَجْهُولاً.
al-masdar la yazalu majhulan.
The source is still unknown.

Sarah and Ahmed are talking about a mysterious book.

سارة Sara

من كتب هذه القصة؟
Man kataba hadhihi al-qissa?
Who wrote this story?
أحمد Ahmed

الكاتب مَجْهُول يا سارة.
Al-katib majhul ya Sarah.
The author is unknown, Sarah.
سارة Sara

هذا غريب جداً.
Hadha gharib jiddan.
That is very strange.
أحمد Ahmed

نعم، إنه مَجْهُول للجميع.
Na'am, innahu majhul lil-jami'.
Yes, he is unknown to everyone.

Sources

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