هلل

Root entry · 9 derived lemmas

This root primarily concerns interrogative particles and expressions of invitation or entreaty. It also extends to terms for specific objects and tribal names, showcasing a semantic range from inquiry to concrete entities.

Derived headwords

هَلْparticle

1.
interrogative particleboth
A particle used to ask a yes/no question.
2.
particle of entreatyclassical
Used in certain contexts to express entreaty or exhortation, often implying a mild rebuke or encouragement.
3.
particle of negationclassical
In specific constructions, it can function similarly to 'ما' (what/not), negating a statement.

هل لك في زبد وتمر؟ — Do you want some butter and dates?

هل لك، والهل خير، ... فيمن إذا غبت حضر؟ — Do you want, and indeed it is good, ... one who is present when you are absent?

هل هي إلا حظة أو تطليق — It is nothing but a moment or a divorce.

حَيِّهَلْparticle

1.
come here!classical
An imperative expression meaning 'come here' or 'approach'.

حيهل أي أقبل إلي — It means 'come to me'.

هَلَّاparticle

1.
particle of exhortationboth
Used to urge or encourage someone to do something, often implying a past opportunity missed.
2.
particle of reproachclassical
Can be used to express reproach or regret about something that did not happen.

هلا إلي — Come here.

هلا أخرتني إلى أجل قريب — Why did you not grant me respite until a near term?

الهَلُّnoun

1.
the interrogative particleclassical
The particle 'هل' when treated as a noun, often nominalized with the definite article.
2.
a type of invitationclassical
Referring to the act of inviting or the invitation itself, derived from the interrogative particle.

أشد الهل وأوحاه — The most intense invitation and the quickest.

والهل خير — and the invitation is good.

الهِلَالُnoun

1.
crescent moonboth
The thin crescent of the moon visible in the evening shortly after the new moon.
2.
small amount of waterclassical
A small quantity of water remaining at the bottom of a well.
3.
spearheadclassical
A type of spearhead with two prongs used for hunting wild animals.

بنو هِلَالٍname

1.
Banu Hilal tribeboth
A well-known Arab tribe.

هِلَالٌname

1.
Hilal clanclassical
A clan or sub-tribe, possibly related to Hawazin.

زَلَّتْverb

1.
you have been sayingclassical
A past tense verb form, used here in conjunction with 'هل' to mean 'have you been saying' or 'you have been saying'.

هل زلت تقوله بمعنى ما زلت تقوله — You have been saying it, meaning 'you have been saying it'.

أَفْعَلْتَverb

1.
did you do?classical
A colloquial or dialectal form where 'هل' is omitted before the past tense verb, implying 'Did you do?'.

ألفعلت، يريدون هل فعلت — 'Af'alta, meaning 'Hal fa'alta?' (Did you do?).

Parallel reading

حيهل أي أقبل إلي

It means 'come to me'.

وربما حذف فقيل هلا إلي

And sometimes it is omitted and one says 'Halla ilayya' (Come here).

وجعل أبو الدقيش هل التي للاستفهام اسما فأعربه وأدخل عليه الألف واللام

And Abu al-Daqish made 'hal' (the interrogative particle) a noun, inflected it, and added the definite article to it.

فجعله اسما كما ترى وعرفه بالألف واللام

So he made it a noun, as you see, and defined it with the definite article.

فقال للفضل بن الربيع: هل لك، والهل خير، ... فيمن إذا غبت حضر؟

So he said to al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi': 'Do you want, and indeed it is good, ... one who is present when you are absent?'

إذا جاءت الحروف اللينة في كلمة نحو لو وأشباهها ثقلت

When soft letters come in a word, like 'law' and its like, they become heavy.

قلت لأبي الدقيش هل لك في ثريدة كأن ودكها عيون الضياون؟

I said to Abu al-Daqish: 'Do you want some thareedah whose fat is like the eyes of the wild ass?'

فقال: أشد الهل؛

He replied: 'The most intense invitation!'

هل لك في الرطب؟ قال: أسرع هل وأوحاه؛

'Do you want some dates?' He said: 'The quickest invitation and the most immediate!'

هل لك أن تدخل في جهنم؟

'Do you want to enter Hell?'

ما لي من هل ولا تكلم

I have no 'hal' (desire/need) nor do I speak.

فلولا كانت قرية آمنت فنفعها إيمانها إلا قوم يونس؛

'Why was there not a town that believed so its faith benefited it, except the people of Yunus?'

ومعناها أنهم لم يؤمنوا ثم استثنى قوم يونس بالنصب على الانقطاع مما قبله

And its meaning is that they did not believe, then the people of Yunus were excepted by the accusative case due to disconnection from what preceded.

لولا إذا كانت مع الأسماء فهي شرط، وإذا كانت مع الأفعال فهي بمعنى هلا

'Lawla', when it is with nouns, it is conditional, and when it is with verbs, it means 'Halla'.

وهل هي إلا حظة أو تطليق

It is nothing but a moment or a divorce.

هل زلت تقوله بمعنى ما زلت تقوله

'Hal zaltu taqūluhu' means 'Ma ziltu taqūluhu' (You have been saying it).

وهل زلتم تأوي العشيرة فيكم

And have you been sheltering the tribe among you?

فهل عند رسم دارس من معول؟

'So is there any refuge at a desolate ruin?'

هذا ظاهره استفهام لنفسه ومعناه التحضيض لها على البكاء

This, on its surface, is a self-interrogation, and its meaning is an exhortation to oneself to weep.

فهل أشكرك أي فلأشكرنك

'So shall I thank you?' meaning 'Then let me thank you'.

وهل أتى على الإنسان ؟

'Has there not come upon man...?'

معناه قد أتى

Its meaning is 'it has come'.

فلا بد في جوابهم من نعم ملفوظا بها أو مقدرة

So in their answer, 'yes' must be stated or implied.

إذا قيل هل لك في كذا وكذا؟ قلت: لي فيه، وإن لي فيه، وما لي فيه

If it is said, 'Hal laka fi kadha wa kadha?' (Do you want such and such?), you say: 'Li fihi, wa inna li fihi, wa ma li fihi' (I have an interest in it, and indeed I have an interest in it, and I have no interest in it).

والتأويل: هل لك فيه حاجة فحذفت الحاجة لما عرف المعنى

And the interpretation is: 'Hal laka fihi hajah?' (Do you need it?), and the word 'need' is omitted because the meaning is understood.

هل حقيقة استفهام، تقول: هل كان كذا وكذا؟

'Hal' is truly an interrogative particle; you say: 'Hal kana kadha wa kadha?' (Did such and such happen?).

أهل أنت واصله اضطرار لأن هل حرف استفهام وكذلك الألف، ولا يستفهم بحرفي استفهام.

'Ahal anta' is a necessity, because 'hal' is an interrogative particle, as is the 'alif', and one does not use two interrogative particles.

هلا كلمة تحضيض مركبة من هل ولا.

'Halla' is a particle of exhortation composed of 'hal' and 'la'.