نحن

Root entry · 11 derived lemmas

This entry discusses the Arabic pronoun 'naḥnu' (we), its grammatical properties, and its usage. It delves into the debate surrounding its application to the dual number and its construction, particularly the rationale behind its final vowel.

Derived headwords

نَحْنُpronoun

1.
weboth
A first-person plural pronoun, used to refer to the speaker and others. It can also, according to some, refer to the dual number.

أَنَاpronoun

1.
Iboth
The first-person singular pronoun.

اللَّذَانِpronoun

1.
the two (dual)classical
The dual form of the relative pronoun 'alladhī' (who/which).

تَعَارَفَتْverb

1.
knew each otherboth
Past tense verb, third person feminine singular, from the root ع ر ف, meaning to recognize or know one another.

أَرْوَاحnoun

1.
spiritsboth
Plural of 'rūḥ' (spirit, soul).

فَعَلُواverb

1.
they didboth
Past tense verb, third person masculine plural, from the root ف ع ل, meaning to do or make.

أَنْتُمْpronoun

1.
you (plural)both
Second person masculine plural pronoun.

نُحْيِيverb

1.
we give lifeboth
Present tense verb, first person plural, from the root ح ي ي, meaning to give life or revive.

نُمِيتُverb

1.
we cause to dieboth
Present tense verb, first person plural, from the root م و ت, meaning to cause to die or kill.

مَدَّverb

1.
to stretchboth
Past tense verb, third person masculine singular, from the root م د د, meaning to stretch, extend, or prolong.

شَدَّverb

1.
to tightenboth
Past tense verb, third person masculine singular, from the root ش د د, meaning to tighten, strengthen, or intensify.

Parallel reading

ضمير يعنى به الإثنان والجمع: المخبرون عن أنفسهم

A pronoun referred to by it are the dual and the plural: those who speak of themselves.

إطلاقه بمعنى الإثنين مما توقفوا فيه

Its use to mean the dual is something they hesitated about.

وأما قوله: نحن اللذان تعارفت أرواحنا

As for his saying: 'We are the two whose spirits knew each other',

فقالوا إنه مولد

they said it is a neologism.

وهو مبني على الضم

And it is built upon the dammah (vowel).

نحن كلمة يعنى بها جمع أنا من غير لفظها

'Naḥnu' is a word meant to be the plural of 'anā' (I) from a different form.

وحرك آخره بالضم لالتقاء الساكنين

And its end is moved with a dammah due to the meeting of two silent letters.

قول الجوهري إن الحركة في نحن لالتقاء الساكنين لا يصح

Al-Jawhari's statement that the vowel in 'naḥnu' is for the meeting of two silent letters is not correct.

لأن اختلاف صيغ المضمرات يقوم مقام الإعراب

Because the variation in the forms of pronouns stands in place of inflection.

ولهذا بنيت على حركة من أول الأمر نحو هو وهي

And for this reason, they were built upon a vowel from the beginning, like 'huwa' (he) and 'hiya' (she).

ضم لأنه يدل على الجماعة

It is dammah because it indicates the group.

وجماعة المضمرين تدل عليهم الميم أو الواو نحو: فعلوا وأنتم

And the group of pronouns indicates them, the 'mīm' or the 'wāw', like: 'faʿalū' (they did) and 'antum' (you plural).

والواو من جنس الضمة

And the 'wāw' is of the same kind as the dammah.

فلم يكن بد من حركة نحن فحركت بالضم لأن الضم من الواو

So there was no avoiding a vowel for 'naḥnu', and it was vocalized with a dammah because the dammah is from the 'wāw'.

فأما قراءة من قرأ: نحن نحيي ونميت، فلا بد أن تكون النون الأولى مختلسة الضم تخفيفا

As for the reading of one who reads: 'We give life and we cause to die', the first 'nūn' must have had its dammah shortened for ease.

وهي بمنزلة المتحركة

And it is equivalent to a vocalized letter.

فأما أن تكون ساكنة والحاء قبلها ساكنة فخطأ

But for it to be silent while the 'ḥāʾ' before it is silent, that is an error.

وإنما بنيت نحن على الضم لئلا يظن بها أنها حركة التقاء الساكنين

And 'naḥnu' was only built upon the dammah so that it would not be thought to be a vowel for the meeting of two silent letters.

إذ الفتح والكسر يحرك بهما ما التقى فيه ساكنان نحو مد وشد

For the fatḥah and kasrah are used to vocalize what meets two silent letters, like 'madda' (he stretched) and 'shadda' (he tightened).