Sometime in the early 20th century, Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky said “every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul".
Decades later, pop star Madonna released her 1989 hit single Express Yourself, in which she encouraged women to feel empowered and to stand up for themselves, reminding them of the importance of self-expression.
This week’s Arabic word of the week is taabeer, which translates to expression. It has universally been appreciated as an important means through which ideas and feelings can be shared. It brings with it benefits such as personal growth or creating meaningful art.
Taabeer is a noun, which in classical and colloquial Arabic means expression. It has two plural variations, tabeerat or taabeer which are used depending on context.
Taabeer also has several meanings in an Arabic context.
It can refer to the act of representing or communicating one's thoughts, feelings or ideas through a variety of media. This can include speech, writing, or through the arts, such as painting, poetry or performance. Taabeer can also be seen through someone’s body language or facial expressions.
It can also refer to a particular phrase or word or a representation or explanation of how something was expressed.
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Hob is the Arabic word for love, but can be used in many contexts -
The Arabic word helu translates, in English, to sweet -
Nashef is the Arabic word for dry, but has many connotations, depending on the context in which you use it -
The Arabic word hurriyeh translates to freedom in English -
The Arabic word tayeb can mean delicious or good, depending on the context -
The Arabic word mustaqbal is best expressed as future in English -
Waqaa, the Arabic word for fall, can signify a loss of power, stature, health or grace -
Hudood means borders in English -
The Arabic word rooh translates to spirit or soul in English -
The Arabic word ain means eye in English -
Waraq, the Arabic word of the week means paper in English -
Bahr, the Arabic for sea, has a poetic lilt -
Kareem means generous in English -
Bab means door in English -
Eid means holiday or festival -
Najm means star for the night sky and cosmos, but also has plenty of other meanings, including ambition or fame -
Alwan, the Arabic word for colours, has many shades of meaning -
Akel can refer to home-cooked meals, embezzlement, fire and rust -
Jamal is the Arabic word for beauty, be it literal or figurative -
Herfe translates to profession or craft -
Tabiaa translates to nature and can frame landscapes and portraits -
Sehha is the Arabic word for health -
Ijaza is Arabic for holiday and shines in summer but is not stress-free -
Aamal is the Arabic word for work -
Al dahr translates to time -
Qalb is a word for heart, with poetic roots -
Lugha in Arabic translates to language in English -
Insaan means human being -
Na'eeman is an idiomatic expression used when someone has had a shower or bath, a haircut or had their beard trimmed -
The Arabic word for life touches on eternity, death and accomplishment -
Qamar is the Arabic for moon -
The Arabic word for strength or power is quwwa -
Burj is Arabic for tower -
The Arabic word for sun is shams -
Sabr in English can translate to patience -
Hayba is the Arabic word for prestige -
The Arabic term al shay'e translates as 'the thing' in English -
The Arabic word for road is tareeq -
The Arabic word for read has mystical and scholarly connotations -
Istikan is the Arabic word for a type of tea cup -
The Arabic word hanan means affection in English -
The Arabic word atlal means ruins in English -
Kura is the Arabic word for ball, in all its forms -
Janaah in Arabic means wing in English -
The Arabic word sana translates to year in English -
Qasida is the Arabic for poem, not poetry -
Ameer, the Arabic word for prince, which influenced another English title -
Nakhla translates to palm tree in English -
Al samt is the Arabic for silence -
Kalimaat translates to words in English -
Markaz is Arabic for centre -
Beshara is the Arabic word for good news -
Bayt is the Arabic for house or home -
Fann is the Arabic word for art, and can be either a verb or an adjective -
Isim, which means name, is made up of three letters, alif, seen and meem -
Dunya is the Arabic word for world -
Nazaafah translates to cleanliness in English -
Many traditions revolve around drinking coffee, including weddings, funerals and business meetings -
Fajr is the Arabic word for dawn -
Maghrib is the Arabic word for sunset -
The Arabic language is filled with idioms, quotes and colloquial quips involving the mirror -
Raei is the Arabic word for opinion -
Wa'ed is a multifaceted word for 'promise', as well as a female name -
Qussa is the Arabic word for story -
Sadaaka is the Arabic word for friendship -
Akhbaar is the Arabic word for news -
Rasem is made up of the three Arabic letters Rah, Seen and Meem. While it can simply mean a drawing or a sketch it’s also a malleable word whose definition can change depending on context and dialect – particularly between colloquial and classical Arabic. -
As well as finishing a task, khatem denotes a deeper sense of finality -
Commonly translated to blessed, mubarak is used as a popular greeting on auspicious days -
The Arabic word for lighthouse is also a term that has become closely associated with Islam -
Siyaam, the Arabic word for fasting is also connected to silence -
Tawbah, the Arabic word for repentance, is also connected to Ramadan -
Safar, the Arabic Word for travel can also refer to sunny days, a brighter-blazing fire or exile. The National
There is taabeer majaazi, which refers to figures of speech that aren’t meant to be understood literally. For example, if someone was overwhelmed and said, “my head is going to explode”.
There is also taabeer istalaahee, which refers to expressions or proverbs that make sense only within the context of a particular topic. For example, "birds of a feather flock together" when used to describe a group of people who are similar to each other and so spend a lot of time together.
Taabeer is derived from the verb abbara, which translates to the action of showing one's ideas or emotions through words, actions, or facial expressions. It’s also the action of releasing or expressing whatever is inside oneself.
Abbara is made up of three Arabic letters, ain, bah and rah. The same three letters pronounced slightly differently create the word abbarah – which while not a direct origin of taabeer – has close conceptual ties to the meaning of the word.
Abbara translates to the ideas of passing over or crossing from one side to another. This concept is reflected in the meaning of taabeer as the idea of passing a message or emotion inside us to the wider world.
