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One-letter-words, that are based on a root, are very rare. They are only possible in the imperative (أَمْر) of some verbs.
These verbs have two weak letters (حَرْف الْعِلّة) in the root and only one “strong” consonant.
One-letter-words in Arabic – let's look at some examples.
| meaning | verb | pronunciation | imperative |
| protect! | وَقَى | qi! | !قِ |
| pay attention! | وَعَى | 3i! | !عِ |
| carry out! | وَفَى | fi! | !فِ |
WATCH OUT!
It can be difficult to understand these forms correctly. Let's have a look at this example:
| …and protect us from the punishment of the Fire (Sura 2:201) | … وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ |
That was a quick bite.
If you are still interested in reading more – learn how to use Arabic for encryption. Or read one of the following articles:
- What does Dunya mean?
- Does the negation with ما or لم convey the same meaning?
- Arabic letters without dots – Does it work?
- الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِن الْنَّوْمِ: “Prayer is better than sleep” – Is it really “better”?
- What is a masdar mu'awwal in Arabic?
picture credit: Image by Pexels from Pixabay
“Ri” is also one letter imperative arabic word.
How are such imperatives pronounced in pausa? I understand each has an alternative form with a final هاء (e.g., قِهْ, عِهْ, فِهْ and لِهْ), which is pronounced with the vowel and a final [h], but is it even possible for the forms without the هاء to be pronounced in pausa?