السلاح خطير.

The weapon is dangerous.

Breakdown of السلاح خطير.

• خطير: dangerous
• سلاح: weapon

Questions & Answers about السلاح خطير.

Why is there no word for is in السلاح خطير?

Because Arabic often leaves out the present-tense verb to be.

So السلاح خطير is literally the weapon dangerous, but it means The weapon is dangerous.

This kind of sentence is called a nominal sentence. In the present tense, Arabic usually does not say is/are.

• السلاح خطير = The weapon is dangerous
• In the past, you would add a verb such as كان: كان السلاح خطير = The weapon was dangerous

This is true in both Standard Arabic and Levantine.

What does الـ mean in السلاح?

الـ is the Arabic definite article, meaning the.

So:

• سلاح = a weapon / weapon
• السلاح = the weapon

In this word, the ل of الـ is not fully pronounced, because س is a sun letter. That means the l sound assimilates to the next consonant.

So although it is written السلاح, it is pronounced roughly like:

• Standard Arabic: as-silāḥ
• Levantine: often something like is-slaaḥ or es-slaaḥ, depending on region

The spelling stays ال even though the pronunciation changes.