# Hope



## lightbearer13

Hi all,

I have some questions about the word 'hope' in Arabic. I understand that there are names that mean hope. In one place I saw that Amal is a female name that means hope, and that Raja is a male name that means hope. But can anyone tell me the word hope (the verb form) and show me how it looks in Arabic and can anyone provide an accurate transliteration of the word in the Roman alphabet. I need it for a novel I am writing, so an English reader would be able to pronounce the word. Its a key detail in the plot.

Thanks for your help.


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## cute angel

Yes that's right there are names means hope which is Amal as you said

For the verb it's Amala أمل

and the noun is amal

Examples:the boy hopes to write his own poem=elwalad amala bikitabati kassidatihi.

I don't agree with you Rajaa is a female name too .


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## lightbearer13

Thank you for your response. My next question would be, is there is no masculine verb form of hope, or no male name equivalent? Is it always feminine?


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## cute angel

I didn't get the point how a verb can be musculine or feminine 

when we conjugate it the form yes it changes according to the person if it is feminine or musculine.

Well for the name it is commonly used as a name of females I have never heard a boy called amal.

Regards


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## elroy

Hi Lightbearer, and welcome to the forums. 

You need to tell us more.  There is not just one "verb form" but many, so you need to tell us exactly why you need this word and how you intend to use it in your novel.

As for the names:

أمل (_amal_) is a female name.
رجا (_raja_) is a male name but رجاء (_rajaa'_) is a female name.


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## Xence

lightbearer13 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I In one place I saw that Amal is a female name that means hope, and that Raja is a male name that means hope.


 
"_*Amal*_" and "_*Rajaa'*_"are both _female names_ though they are considered as _masculine nouns_ in Arabic grammar! The same goes for "*3ubayda*" or "*3utba*" which are _male names_ though _feminine nouns_!
I know this may sound a little confusing for non-Arabic speakers, but that's the way it is! 
Furthermore "*Amal*" is a singular form and is rather used in Mashriq (Middle-East), while in Maghrib (North Africa) the plural form "*Aamaal*" is more frequent.


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## elroy

Hi Xence.  Is the name رجا (_raja_ - بدون همزة) used in Algeria?  As I said, it's a male name and it's quite common among Palestinians (but I think it's only used by Christians).  The female name رجاء, on the other hand, is familiar but not very common.  I personally only know one woman with that name, and she's Jordanian.

As for أمل and آمال, both are used as names by Palestinians, but we pronounce the latter "amaal," so the first "a" is short.


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## lightbearer13

Thank you all for your answers.

To Elroy:

The story is this, there is a male child who I want to bear the name Hope.  Would that be Raja?  The importance in the story is that a mysterious ring is incribed with an Arabic word, (for reasons I can't go into), I wanted the ring to be inscribed with the Arabic word for hope but I wanted a verb form as opposed to the noun.  The person who finds the ring thinks it is a gift from the mother of the child, to commemorate her child's birth during which the main  character was present, but the ring is actually something different altogether.  What are the masculine and feminie ways of writing the verb form?  That is I understand depending on how it is conjugated.

I also have questions about Arabic names.  I know about the given name and the son of and grandson of, or daughter of convention, but I also read about mother of or father of being part of a name.  How could you call someone that until after they had children, and why would parents be known by who their children are seems backwards, but I read something stating this.  Is this incorrect?

I thank you all for helping me out.  I may need further help as I go along.

John


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## Xence

elroy said:


> Hi Xence. Is the name رجا (_raja_ - بدون همزة) used in Algeria? As I said, it's a male name and it's quite common among Palestinians (but I think it's only used by Christians). The female name رجاء, on the other hand, is familiar but not very common.


Hi elroy!
To be honest, I've never ever heard such a name (رجا) here in Algeria. As for رجاء  which is more and more used, I think it's widely inspired from Sharqi films and serials .

All the best.


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## lightbearer13

Elroy were you saying the name Raja is used by Palestinians and you said something about. The child in question is Jordanian and Christian. And one of the main characters is Palestinian. The origin of the ring is not known.


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## elroy

lightbearer13 said:


> The story is this, there is a male child who I want to bear the name Hope. Would that be Raja?


 Well, Raja is definitely a male name, and I suppose it's a short form of Rajaa' (although technically it could also mean "he hoped" - hm, have I just inadvertently answered your other question? ), but apparently it's not common all over the Arabic-speaking world.

It is definitely used by Palestinians, and most likely Jordanians as well. 





> What are the masculine and feminie ways of writing the verb form?


 It depends on the form. Some forms are inflected for gender; others are not.

In the second and third persons ("you," "he," "she," and "they"), there are separate masculine and feminine forms, but not in the first person ("I" and "we"). So it really depends on which form you need. You would also need to tell us whether you are interested in the present tense, the past tense, the imperative, or something else completely. 

I hope I've shown you why "verb form" is too vague. It would be best if you told us what you want the inscription to mean ("he hoped"? "you [masc.] hope"? "hope" as an imperative said to a boy?). 





> I also have questions about Arabic names.


 We have several threads that deal with that topic, such as this one and this one, for example. They might answer your questions, and if not, feel free to ask in one of them if appropriate. 


Xence said:


> To be honest, I've never ever heard such a name (رجا) here in Algeria.


 As I said, I think it's only used by Christians, so maybe it's because there aren't many Christians in Algeria. If you know any Christians there, you should ask them if they know the name.


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## lightbearer13

Ok, Elroy. Thank you for the link to the other thread, that may prove helpful on the names.

Say I want the inscription to say "I hope" or "WE hope" If you could help me with those specifically that would be great, both the Arabic word and the English transliteration.

And Raja is not only a male name, but it means hope? Just to clarify that I have it right.

I know nothing about Arabic except what little I've read online so I beg your patience wity my slowness. Also I am new at this kind of discussion, and how it works.

I appreciate all your help.


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## elroy

lightbearer13 said:


> Say I want the inscription to say "I hope" or "WE hope" If you could help me with those specifically that would be great, both the Arabic word and the English transliteration.


 I hope = أرجو (_arju_) or آمل (_aamal_)
We hope = نرجو (_narju_) or نأمل (_na'mal_) 





> And Raja is not only a male name, but it means hope? Just to clarify that I have it right.


 Well, here's the thing. The standard word for hope is رجاء (_rajaa'_). The name Raja *probably* originated as a colloquial pronunciation of the same word (in Palestinian Arabic, we also say _sama_ instead of _samaa'_, for example), but I'm not sure because _rajaa'_ is not the commonly used word for "hope" in spoken Arabic. That would be _amal_, but that's a female name. When we do use _rajaa'_ to mean "hope," that's how we pronounce it. As far as I know, the pronunciation _raja_ is used only for the name.

The other possible meaning would be "he hoped," but I highly doubt that's what the name means.

What I can tell you for sure is that it is a male name.


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## lightbearer13

Thanks Elroy, that is much clearer now and very helpful

Could you explain to me the difference in pronouciation between raja  and rajaa?

Thanks


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## elroy

In _raja_, both vowels are short.
In _rajaa'_, the second vowel is long, and it is followed by a glottal stop.

I forgot to mention in my last post that neither "I hope" nor "we hope" are inflected for gender, so they could both be either masculine or feminine.


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## ayed

In Saudi Arabia:
* R*a*jaa' : a feminine name such as the famous Saudi (fem)writer ( Rajaa Alem)..
* A masculine name such as R*i*jaa.

You can inscribe on that ring the following:

* The Hoper(al-Aamil -- al-Mo'ammil ) *الآمل* / *المؤمل*
*al-Raaji *الراجي*


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## lightbearer13

So let me get this right.

raja  =  rah-jah

rajaa =  rah-jay


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## elroy

ayed said:


> * A masculine name such as R*i*jaa.


 What does that mean? Does it mean the same thing as _rajaa'_? 


> You can inscribe on that ring the following:
> 
> * The Hoper(al-Aamil -- al-Mo'ammil ) *الآمل* / *المؤمل*
> *al-Raaji *الراجي*


But "the hoper" is not what Lightbearer wants the ring to say. 


lightbearer13 said:


> raja = rah-jah
> 
> rajaa = rah-jay


 No - the short "a" sounds like the first "a" in "Annapolis," and the long "a" is like the "a" in "cat."

If you give me an e-mail address, I can send you some sound recordings.


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## lightbearer13

Just to clear up some pronounciation keys.  The a sound in _cat_, is actually a short vowel sound in English not a long one, per my Oxford English dictionary.  The ah sound as in _arm_ is considered a long vowel as is the a in _cake_.  The sound in _ago_ (signified by the upside down e in the dictionary pronounciation key) is I take it the correct sound of the a in _raja_?  ruh-juh?  uh-nnapolis?  

 How can I send you a private message to give you my email for those sound recordings.  That might be the most helpful of all.

Thanks, John


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## elroy

The problem with describing pronunciation is that you often have to use approximations, and in this case we have the added confusion of different understandings of short and long vowels. 

Go here to send me a private message.  You can reach that page by clicking on my user name or avatar and then clicking "Send a private message to elroy."


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## columbe1

Just to add to what elroy has said, my Palestinian father-in-law's name was Raja رجا, and his young grandson has that name now. They are both Muslims, although I think that Raja Snr. was sometimes mistaken for a Christian... but you can say that at least there are two Muslims with the name Raja...


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## ayed

columbe1 said:


> Just to add to what elroy has said, my Palestinian father-in-law's name was Raja رجا, and his young grandson has that name now. They are both Muslims, although I think that Raja Snr. was sometimes mistaken for a Christian... but you can say that at least there are two Muslims with the name Raja...


I have mentioned in my answer No.16 that the name " Rijaa" is a male name but I forgot to mention that it is used in Saudi Arabia as well , and still used so far.


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## elroy

Thanks for your contribution, Columbe1! 

Ayed, what about *Ra*ja?  Is it used in Saudi Arabia?


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## Josh_

When I went to Egypt I stayed at the Hotel Raja (both_ a's_ pronounced like the _a_ in father) which was named after the proprietor who was a man who always walked around with a cigar in his mouth.


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## ayed

elroy said:


> Thanks for your contribution, Columbe1!
> 
> Ayed, what about *Ra*ja? Is it used in Saudi Arabia?


Elroy, for feminine , yes, as the Saudi female writer , Raja Alem.


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## cherine

Josh_ said:


> When I went to Egypt I stayed at the Hotel Raja (both_ a's_ pronounced like the _a_ in father) which was named after the proprietor who was a man who always walked around with a cigar in his mouth.


 Are you sure he was Egyptian? And/or that was his real name? I'm asking because it's the first time I hear this name in Egypt. We only have ragaa2 رجاء and it's a female's name -at least as far I know.


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## elroy

ayed said:


> Elroy, for feminine , yes, as the Saudi female writer , Raja Alem.


 No, I meant the male name "Raja" - رجا بدون همزة.


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## Josh_

cherine said:


> Are you sure he was Egyptian? And/or that was his real name? I'm asking because it's the first time I hear this name in Egypt. We only have ragaa2 رجاء and it's a female's name -at least as far I know.


Well, I guess I can't be sure if he was Egyptian, I might have just assumed that being in Egypt.  He spoke Egyptian Arabic, though.  Raja might not have been his real name but that is what everyone who worked there called him.  After learning Egyptian Arabic I thought it strange that the name was pronounced 'raja' since the ج is pronounced as 'g' in EA, but I did not think too much of it.


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