A share, a multiple and a difference: three tools of counting
A share, a multiple and a difference are three different tools, and mixing them up is costly. For example: “انخفض السعر بثلث” — The price fell by a third. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A share, a multiple and a difference are three different tools, and mixing them up is costly.
A share is built with an idafa. "Sulth al-yawm" — a third of the day; "hissa min al-halwaa" — a share of the sweets. The second word after the share is the possessive sense with no preposition: two words simply stood together. "One and a half" is assembled honestly: "saaʿa wa-nisf" — an hour and a half.
The multiple goes through "diʿf" — a double share: "yarbahu diʿf al-maal" — earns twice the money, "salaasaat aʿdaaf" — threefold. And the difference is expressed by the preposition "bi": "aqall bi-sulth" — less by a third. Do not mix: "bi-sulth" — by a third, and "salaasaat aʿdaaf" — three times over. One letter of a preposition separates "by how much" from "how many times".
Table
| what we express | how | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| a share | sulth/nasiib + idafa | sulth al-yawm | a third of the day |
| one and a half | number + wa-nisf | saaʿa wa-nisf | an hour and a half |
| twice | diʿf | diʿf al-maal | twice the money |
| threefold | ثلاثة أضعاف | salaasaat aʿdaaf | threefold |
| by a third | bi + sulth | aqall bi-sulth | less by a third |
| a ratio | nisba … ilaa | nisbat al-maaʾ ilaa al-milh | the ratio of water to salt |
| roughly | taqriiban | taqriiban alf | roughly a thousand |
By example
- انخفض السعر بثلثинхафад ас-сиʿр би-сультThe price fell by a third
- انتظرت ساعة ونصفинтазарт сааʿа ванисфHe waited an hour and a half
- قسما الماء أجزاء متساويةкассама аль-мааʾ аджааʾ мутасаавийаThey divided the water into equal parts
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Fractions in Arabic?
A share, a multiple and a difference are three different tools, and mixing them up is costly.
How to say one and a half in Arabic?
A share is built with an idafa. "Sulth al-yawm" — a third of the day; "hissa min al-halwaa" — a share of the sweets. The second word after the share is the possessive sense with no preposition: two words simply stood together. "One and a half" is assembled honestly: "saaʿa wa-nisf" — an hour and a…
The ratio of two amounts in Arabic?
A share is built with an idafa. "Sulth al-yawm" — a third of the day; "hissa min al-halwaa" — a share of the sweets. The second word after the share is the possessive sense with no preposition: two words simply stood together. "One and a half" is assembled honestly: "saaʿa wa-nisf" — an hour and a…
How to say by a third in Arabic?
The multiple goes through "diʿf" — a double share: "yarbahu diʿf al-maal" — earns twice the money, "salaasaat aʿdaaf" — threefold. And the difference is expressed by the preposition "bi": "aqall bi-sulth" — less by a third. Do not mix: "bi-sulth" — by a third, and "salaasaat aʿdaaf" — three times…
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“انخفض السعر بثلث” (инхафад ас-сиʿр би-сульт) — The price fell by a third. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.