# My pen has run out of ink



## Talib

I am translating "my pen has run out of ink" and I came up with: قلمي نفد من الحبر. 

But this doesn't sound right to me. Would it be correct to just say قلمي نفد الحبر? Or is there a different word I should be using?


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## Haroon

نفد ما بقلمي من حبر  or  نفد ما في قلم من حبر


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## ayed

*نفد حبر قلمي*


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## Talib

I don't understand why this different syntax is needed. Is it necessary to place the verb at the beginning?


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## AndyRoo

Yes, the verb is usually put at the front.

I think you could also say:

نفد الحبر من قلمي


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## n2009

You can start with قلمي and the sentence will be جمله اسميه
so you can say
قلمي نفد حبره


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## Talib

Why is it حبر and not الحبر? It's not "an ink."

How about: نفد الحبر من قلمي.

There are so many ways to say such a simple phrase!


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## xebonyx

Talib said:


> Why is it حبر and not الحبر? It's not "an ink."


 
Because in Ayed's example it's an iDaafa ("ink of my pen"). 



> How about: نفد الحبر من قلمي.
> 
> There are so many ways to say such a simple phrase!


 
Your suggestion is what Andyroo also posted .


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## Talib

Oh, now I see.

I didn't see that he had posted that. I came up with it on my own, but if it's correct, great.

But what would be the most natural way to say "my pen has run out of ink"?


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## n2009

In slang, you can say 
قلمي خلص حبره أو قلمي فضي


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## Talib

I have conferred with a native speaker who says قلمي نفد من الحبر (my original idea) is correct. 

The difference, according to him, is that my example says "my pen ran out of ink" while, say نفد ما في قلم من حبر is more like "my pen has run out of what ink is inside." It's a difference of phrasing.

Any thoughts are welcome. I'm just looking for the most direct way to say it. I like Ayed's نفد حبر قلمي as well.


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## commandante

hello Talib

ok i'm gonna try to make it simple ;
I'd say all of the answers you got from other members deliver the message, that there isn't ink in your pen anymore, the question is how would you like to say ;

My pen ran out of ink ; in this order ,would be : نفذ قلمي من الحبر
the other answers you got would mean : 
نفذ ما في قلمي من الحبر : The ink in my pen has ran out .
نفذ حبر قلمي : My pen's ink has ran out .
نفذ الحبر من قلمي : The ink has ran out of my pen

hope this helped .


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## ayed

Talib said:


> I have conferred with a native speaker who says قلمي نفد من الحبر (my original idea) is correct.
> 
> The difference, according to him, is that my example says "my pen ran out of ink" while, say نفد ما في قلم من حبر is more like "my pen has run out of what ink is inside." It's a difference of phrasing.
> 
> Any thoughts are welcome. I'm just looking for the most direct way to say it. I like Ayed's نفد حبر قلمي as well.


You can say : *نفد مداد يراعي*


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## shining_star24

commandante said:


> hello Talib
> 
> ok i'm gonna try to make it simple ;
> I'd say all of the answers you got from other members deliver the message, that there isn't ink in your pen anymore, the question is how would you like to say ;
> 
> My pen ran out of ink ; in this order ,would be : نفذ قلمي من الحبر
> the other answers you got would mean :
> نفذ ما في قلمي من الحبر : The ink in my pen has ran out .
> نفذ حبر قلمي : My pen's ink has ran out .
> نفذ الحبر من قلمي : The ink has ran out of my pen
> 
> hope this helped .




Hello everyone,

I would like to correct something that Commandante wrote, the correct word of run out is نــفـــد not نــفـــذ. Actually there is a big difference between both of them: the first means run out but the second means escape as in نـــفـــذت مــنــه which means هربت منه.

I preferred to post this thread here as it has something related to the above mentioned question...

Hope that would help


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## Talib

Thank you for clarifying that. I wasn't sure of the difference between نفد and نفذ myself.





ayed said:


> You can say : *نفد مداد يراعي*


Interesting. What exactly does that mean?


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## commandante

shining_star24 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I would like to correct something that Commandante wrote, the correct word of run out is نــفـــد not نــفـــذ. Actually there is a big difference between both of them: the first means run out but the second means escape as in نـــفـــذت مــنــه which means هربت منه.
> 
> I preferred to post this thread here as it has something related to the above mentioned question...
> 
> Hope that would help



you're right .its a common mistake ,even though my attention was brought to this point long time ago when i had the Quranic verse (( قل لو كان البحر مدادا لكلمات ربي لنفد البحر
قبل أن تنفد كلمات ربي)) explained to me but too much "nafaTHa" on TV i guess !


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## djamal 2008

قلمي نفد من الحبر 

من هذا المنطلق يعني أن القلم الذي نفد و ليس الحبر؛

و اقول أن الحبر نفد من او في القلم؛


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## Talib

شكرا لك يا جمال على هذا الشرح


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## ayed

Talib said:


> Thank you for clarifying that. I wasn't sure of the difference between نفد and نفذ myself.Interesting. What exactly does that mean?


 It means the same sentence: *نفد حبر قلمي*


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## djamal 2008

In algerian dialect there is a verb wich can apply to the pen and it is : خوى

القلم خوى منه الحبر او خلصلُ (اليه) الحبر


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## ayed

djamal 2008 said:


> in algerian dialect there is a verb wich can apply to the pen and it is : خوى
> 
> القلم خوى منه الحبر او خلصلُ (اليه) الحبر


* أصبح القلم : كأنه أعجاز نخل خاوية*


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## shining_star24

In Palestinian dialect, we use خلّص so we say : قلمي خلّص even without mentioning the word ink.


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## ayed

shining_star24 said:


> In Palestinian dialect, we use خلّص so we say : قلمي خلّص even without mentioning the word ink.


 In Saudi, some people say :
*قلمي كمّل حبره*
*قلمي قضى حبره*


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## Talib

ayed said:
			
		

> It means the same sentence: نفد حبر قلمي


Yes but what does each individual word mean?


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## ayed

Talib said:


> Yes but what does each individual word mean?


نفد مداد يراعي
نفد=ran out
مداد=ink
يراعي=my pen


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## Talib

I realized the word مداد is in the Qur'anic verse commandante posted (قل لو كان البحر مدادا لكلمات ربي لنفد البحر
قبل أن تنفد كلمات ربي) which I translate: If the sea were ink (to write) the words of your Lord, it would not run out until after the words of your Lord had run out.

Out of curiosity what is the difference between حبر and مداد?

Also between يراعي and قلمي. Is it a dialectal word?


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## commandante

shining_star24 said:


> In Palestinian dialect, we use خلّص so we say : قلمي خلّص even without mentioning the word ink.



In Jordan we say خلّص too , or نشف (meaning : dried out).


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## cherine

Talib said:


> I realized the word مداد is in the Qur'anic verse commandante posted (قل لو كان البحر مدادا لكلمات ربي لنفد البحر
> قبل أن تنفد كلمات ربي) which I translate: If the sea were ink (to write) the words of your Lord, it would not run out until after the words of your Lord had run out.


This is the opposite of the meaning. The verse says that the sea would end before it finishes writing the Lord's words.


> Out of curiosity what is the difference between حبر and مداد?
> Also between يراعي and قلمي. Is it a dialectal word?


I don't know the exact difference between مداد and حبر but مداد is not as commonly used nowadays as حبر . The same goes for يراع which is not known by everyone.

Back to your sentence, I'd like to draw your attention to a difference between the Arabic and the English structures:
In English, you say "run out of ink", but in Arabic it's the ink that runs out. This is why the subject of the verb should be الحبر/المداد and not القلم/اليراع .
So, it's نفد الحبر من قلمي and not نفد قلمي من الحبر .
I think someone noted this, so it's just to confirm it.


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## elroy

shining_star24 said:


> In Palestinian dialect, we use خلّص so we say : قلمي خلّص even without mentioning the word ink.


 Personally, I would say قلمي بطل يكتب (_alami baTTal yuktob_). If it's necessary to specify the reason, I would say either خلص الحبر (_khiles il-7iber_) or نشف الحبر (_nishef il-7iber_).


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## Talib

cherine said:


> This is the opposite of the meaning. The verse says that the sea would end before it finishes writing the Lord's words.


My apologies. I meant to phrase it so.


> I don't know the exact difference between مداد and حبر but مداد is not as commonly used nowadays as حبر . The same goes for يراع which is not known by everyone.
> 
> Back to your sentence, I'd like to draw your attention to a difference between the Arabic and the English structures:
> In English, you say "run out of ink", but in Arabic it's the ink that runs out. This is why the subject of the verb should be الحبر/المداد and not القلم/اليراع .
> So, it's نفد الحبر من قلمي and not نفد قلمي من الحبر .
> I think someone noted this, so it's just to confirm it.


شكرًا جزيلآً على هذا الشرح
I think that حبر would generally be preferable then, no?


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## cherine

I don't know if there's a general preference. Maybe there are regional differences. The sure thing is that both words are correct, and you can use the one you prefer.
In Egypt, unfortunately, the word مداد won't be understood by the younger generations.


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## Mahaodeh

Talib said:


> Also between يراعي and قلمي. Is it a dialectal word?


 
Originally, yaraa3 meant cane (قصب), singular  يراعة; it was also used to mean the writing tool that was made of cane (something like a quill but you don't use a feather).

In modern use, it's generally used to mean pen in a poetic, sometimes even romantic way.


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