# It Doesn't Make Sense



## Josh_

I was wondering how you say, "it doesn't make sense," in Arabic?

At first I thought it might be:

*غير منطقي

*But this really means not logical and I came to the realization that a sentence can be logical, but not make sense.

So the closest thing I can think of is:

*لا معنى له

*Is this the way to say it doesn't make sense in Arabic, or is there another way?


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## elroy

This is a problem I've always struggled with.  I don't know of an expression in Arabic that can always work as a translation.  That said, I would just say it depends on context.  Both of the expressions you suggest are fine, provided the context allows for the respective interpretation.


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## cherine

I think we can say : هذا الكلام ليس له معنى/ هذه الجملة ليس لها معنى


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## elroy

Right. Another, more formal-sounding possibility, would be هذا الكلام لا يفيد اي معنى. But again, that only works if you're referring to _what somebody said_.

Sometimes in English a _situation_ "doesn't make sense," in which case غير منطقي might be more appropriate.

But as always, it would depend.


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## Josh_

elroy said:
			
		

> This is a problem I've always struggled with. I don't know of an expression in Arabic that can always work as a translation. That said, I would just say it depends on context. Both of the expressions you suggest are fine, provided the context allows for the respective interpretation.


I'm glad I'm not the only one.  There have been so many times speaking in Arabic when I have wanted to express this idea, but not known how.


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## Youmna

You can say هذا هراء which is more or less similar to    bullshit


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## elroy

That's not the same as "it doesn't make sense"!

I'd also like to remind you to please add one or more  flags (see this post) before language that is questionable, vulgar, or possibly offensive. Thanks!


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## Youmna

It's not the same, but it gives a similar meaning. That's why i said it was more or less like .... what i said before. In Arabic, however, the translation I gave is not offensive.


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## elroy

The Arabic word and the English word you gave are similar in meaning _to each other_, but neither is similar in meaning to "it doesn't make sense."  Unless you mean to be completely dismissive of what has just been said or done - displaying an attitude far more critical than that expressed by "it doesn't make sense" - your suggestion is not appropriate.

And I realize that the Arabic expression is not as offensive as the English one.  That's why I didn't place flags before it.


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## Youmna

Hey again!

Following Al Mawred Eng-Ar/ Ar-Eng dictionary, الهراء means nonsense, meaningless talk, humbug....

Talking of nonsense: Words or signs having no intelligible meaning


_noun_ 
Unintelligible or foolish talk: babble, gabble...
*Something that does not have or make sense*
answers . com

Therefore, الهراء = nonsense = Something that does not have or make sense

Some translations can give the exact meaning, whereas others can offer possibilities and explanations. 
That's why when i first replied to this thread I said "you can use", can doesn't mean this is the best answer, it's just an option.

I hope I'm making sense as what I posted here is not a nonsense. 

While translating or reading translations, it's good to understand that there's never a unique correct translation!

Regards


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## elroy

I am aware of the meaning of the word.  All I was saying was that it has a much stronger connotation than simply "it doesn't make sense" in English.  I would translate it as "that's nonsense" - which, while also having the same _denotative_ meaning perhaps, has a stronger connotation of dismissal.  

I believe these differences are important to know.  If Josh doesn't want to get into trouble, he should not use هذا هراء when he just wants to say that something doesn't make sense.


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## cherine

Hey guys,
What do you think of : هذا غير معقول
something that is ma3quul is something that's logic, make sense and have meaning.
In colloquial Egyptian we say it : mesh/mosh ma32uul (it goes for words and situations)


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## elroy

I guess that might work in some situations, although to me the meaning is more along the lines of "that's impossible" or "that's hard to believe."


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## linguist786

السلام عليكم

Can somebody tell me a nice (& polite) way of saying:

_That doesn't make sense_
and also:
_That changes the meaning_

...in fuS7a and also maybe the Saudi dialect.
(The context is talking about a grammatical mistake which makes the sense incomprehensible)

My try for the first one would be (for fuS7a): هذا بلا مغنىً (haadhaa bilaa ma3nan) - (although I think that may mean something a little different (more "That is senseless")

and the second:

هذا يبدل المعنى (haadhaa yabaddal al-ma3na) - not sure about vowels there!

شكرًا على الجميع

edit - please also provide roman script!


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## abusaf

وعليكم السلام

I would say :

هذا ليس منطقيًا

or هذا ليس من المنطق
or هذا ليس معقولاً

Hmm, I'll stop guessing now


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## elroy

In the context you describe, I would translate "that doesn't make sense" as هذا ليس له معنى (_Haadha laysa lahu ma3na_).

For "it changes the meaning," I would say هذا يغير المعنى (_Haadha yughayyiru 'l-ma3na_).

Small correction: شكرًا للجميع


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## linguist786

شكرًا يا أبا سفيجة وإلياس. انتم مفيد جدًا


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## elroy

linguist786 said:


> شكرًا يا أبا صفية وإلياس. انتما مفيدان جدًا


 لا شكر على واجب.


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## MohamedM

May be irrelevant but I translate 'nonsense' to 'لا عقلانية' ... may be right, may be wrong ... I can try 

لا تدخل العقل 
هذا غير عقلانى


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## ayed

Josh Adkins said:


> So the closest thing I can think of is:
> 
> *لا معنى له*
> 
> Is this the way to say it doesn't make sense in Arabic, or is there another way?


*ما لها معنى
ماله معنى*


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## Andrew___

Hello,

The context is, I am saying that someone's argument/position on a political issue does not make sense.

Can I say:

هذا الرأي لا يصدقه العقل؟
or
هذا الرأي ليس معقول؟ 

Does these work? Any other suggestions?  Thanks.


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## Josh_

I would say:

هذه الوضعة/حجة غير معقولة

If the argument is in the frame of a syllogism then maybe you could use غير منطقي .

_It doesn't make sense_ can be a problematic phrase when translating into Arabic and the proper translation depends on context.  Here is a discussion of the phrase in case you are interested.


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## zooz

I'd say: هذا النقاش / الموقف غير منطقي / معقول


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## VicHanson

zooz said:


> I'd say: هذا النقاش / الموقف غير منطقي / معقول


Extending the semantics a bit, an expression that is not an exact translation of “This argument doesn’t make sense” but one that delivers a somewhat similar meaning with a more forceful tone (maybe even irritating) and is even found in print is: (منطق احول) or (منطق اعوج), both meaning a warped logic, with اعوج (crooked) being more common than احول  (cross-eyed). Thus, if you said:

  هذا الرأي مبني على منـطِـق احـول/اعوج  (This opinion is based on a warped logic)

  well, then, you just landed your debater a jab that quite possibly might cause them to start seeing doubles, punningly speaking, that is.


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## jmt356

I have compiled the following summary of the above suggestions and those on the WordReference.com dictionary:
هذا غير منطقي / معقول
لا معنى له
هذا ليس له معنى
هذا ليس معقولاً / منطقياً / متراباً / مفهوماً
هذا لا يكون معقولاً / منطقياً / متراباً / مفهوماً
هذا خالي من المنطق

Can anyone confirm that these are all correct (I am particularly not sure about the اً (تنوين) on the adjectives.


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## Finland

Hello!

The mistake I spotted is خالي. The sentence should go:
هذا خال من المنطق

(Or خالٍ vocalised.)

HTH
S


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