Boats and Setting Sail
When taking to the water, you might travel in a small boat (قارب) or a larger ship (سفينة). Out on the water, you will inevitably encounter a wave (موج).
To say a ship has "set sail," Arabic uses the verb أبحر, which is built from the root word for "sea."
| The small boat sank because of the high wave. | غرق القارب الصغير بسبب الموج العالي.ghariqa l-qâribu s-saghîru bisababi l-mawji l-'âlî. |
| The ship had set sail before the storm. | كانت السفينة قد أبحرت قبل العاصفة.kânati as-safînatu qad abharat qabla al'âsifah |
Parts of the Vessel
To describe your marine adventure, you will need to know the parts of a boat. To talk about the "deck of the ship," use the possession structure (إضافة): سطح السفينة (literally "the deck of the ship").
You should also know the mast (سارية), the sail (شراع), and the heavy anchor (مرساة) used to keep the ship in place.
| Aisha looked from the ship's deck. | نظرت عائشة من سطح السفينة.nazharat â'ishatu min sat'hi s-safînati |
| The wind broke the mast and the sail fell. | كسرت الرياح السارية وسقط الشراع.kasarati r-riyâhu s-sâriyata wa saqaṭa sh-shirâ'u |
| Fatima raised the anchor and the boat set sail. | رفعت فاطمة المرساة وأبحر القارب.rafa'at fâtimatu al-mirsâta wa abhara al-qâribu |
The Crew and the Destination
A ship requires people to run it. A single sailor is a بحار, while the entire crew is referred to as the طاقم. The person in charge of them all is the captain (قبطان).
Smaller boats might require the crew to use a paddle (مجداف) to navigate and finally reach their destination, such as a distant island (جزيرة).
| The sailor used the paddle to move the boat. | استخدم البحار المجداف ليحرك القارب.istakhdama al-bahhâru al-mijdâfa liyuharrika al-qâriba |
| The crew must listen to the captain. | يجب على الطاقم أن يستمع إلى القبطان.yajibu alâ at-tâqimi an yastamia ilâ al-qubtân |
| The captain sailed with the crew to the island. | أبحر القبطان مع الطاقم إلى الجزيرة.abhara al-qubtânu ma'a at-tâqimi ilâ al-jazîrati |