Skip to content
Free Arabic lessons — no ads, no paywalls.Start with the alphabet
أWeLearnArabic

Vocabulary · essentials

Opposites in Arabic

Learn 20 pairs of Arabic opposites — big/small, hot/cold, near/far — a fast way to double your vocabulary, with example sentences.

beginneressentials40 wordsTap to hear audio
Share
Word wall of Arabic opposite pairs, including كبير/صغير (big/small) and حار/بارد (hot/cold).
Quick-glance word wall — 40 essential Arabic words with transliteration.

All words

Every word with transliteration — tap a word to hear it pronounced.

Showing 40 of 40 words

  • 1

    kabeer

    big

  • 2

    ṣagheer

    small

  • 3

    jadeed

    new

  • 4

    qadeem

    old

  • 5

    ṭaweel

    long / tall

  • 6

    qaṣeer

    short

  • 7

    ḥaar

    hot

  • 8

    baarid

    cold

  • 9

    sahl

    easy

  • 10

    ṣa3b

    difficult

  • 11

    saree3

    fast

  • 12

    baṭee'

    slow

  • 13

    ghaalee

    expensive

  • 14

    rakheeṣ

    cheap

  • 15

    naẓeef

    clean

  • 16

    wasikh

    dirty

  • 17

    qawiyy

    strong

  • 18

    ḍa3eef

    weak

  • 19

    sa3eed

    happy

  • 20

    ḥazeen

    sad

  • 21

    katheer

    many / a lot

  • 22

    qaleel

    few / a little

  • 23

    fawqa

    above

  • 24

    taḥta

    below

  • 25

    yameen

    right

  • 26

    yasaar

    left

  • 27

    qareeb

    near

  • 28

    ba3eed

    far

  • 29

    maftooḥ

    open

  • 30

    mughlaq

    closed

  • 31

    layl

    night

  • 32

    nahaar

    day(time)

  • 33

    jameel

    beautiful

  • 34

    qabeeḥ

    ugly

  • 35

    mubakkir

    early

  • 36

    muta'akhkhir

    late

  • 37

    awwal

    first

  • 38

    aakhir

    last

  • 39

    ghaniyy

    rich

  • 40

    faqeer

    poor

Learning opposites in pairs is one of the fastest ways to double your vocabulary — every word you learn immediately gives you its opposite. Tap any word above to hear it.

The pairs

ArabicTransliterationOppositeTransliterationMeaning
كبيرkabeerصغيرṣagheerbig / small
جديدjadeedقديمqadeemnew / old
طويلṭaweelقصيرqaṣeerlong / short
حارḥaarباردbaaridhot / cold
سهلsahlصعبṣa3beasy / difficult
سريعsaree3بطيءbaṭee’fast / slow
غاليghaaleeرخيصrakheeṣexpensive / cheap
نظيفnaẓeefوسخwasikhclean / dirty
قويqawiyyضعيفḍa3eefstrong / weak
سعيدsa3eedحزينḥazeenhappy / sad
كثيرkatheerقليلqaleelmany / few
قريبqareebبعيدba3eednear / far
مفتوحmaftooḥمغلقmughlaqopen / closed
مبكرmubakkirمتأخرmuta’akhkhirearly / late
غنيghaniyyفقيرfaqeerrich / poor

Opposites in sentences

ArabicTransliterationMeaning
البيت كبير لكن الغرفة صغيرةal-bayt kabeer laakin al-ghurfa ṣagheerathe house is big but the room is small
القهوة حارة والماء باردal-qahwa ḥaara wa al-maa’ baaridthe coffee is hot and the water is cold
هذا الكتاب جديد وذاك قديمhaadha al-kitaab jadeed wa dhaaka qadeemthis book is new and that one is old
هي سعيدة وهو حزينhiya sa3eeda wa huwa ḥazeenshe is happy and he is sad
المتجر مفتوح أم مغلق؟al-matjar maftooḥ am mughlaq?is the shop open or closed?

Learning tip

Practice opposites as flashcard pairs: cover one column and recall the other. Since many opposites are also common adjectives, this list doubles as a review of gender agreement — كبير becomes كبيرة, جديد becomes جديدة, and so on.

Practice

What is the opposite of 'كبير' (big)?

hint: Think 'small'

How do you say 'hot' in Arabic?

hint: Its opposite is 'بارد' (cold)

How do you say 'the shop is closed'?

hint: Use 'مغلق' for 'closed'

Match each pair — start with Arabic (left)

0 / 8

Arabic

English

← Select an Arabic word, then tap its meaning →

Build on these with more describing words: see common Arabic adjectives.

Related lessons & word lists

Common Arabic Adjectives

Go deeper

Adjectives and Agreement in Arabic

Go deeper

Share this word list

Help someone start learning Arabic today.

Share what you know

0 notes from learners — add an example, a tip, or a correction

Know something that would help?

Add an example, a tip, or a correction for other learners.

Sign in to contribute