Word
النجدة!
Meaning
Help!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of النجدة!
النجدةan-najda
help!
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Questions & Answers about النجدة!
How do I pronounce النجدة!?
The usual pronunciation in Modern Standard Arabic is an-najdah!
A rough breakdown:
- an- because the article الـ changes in pronunciation here
- naj with ج like j in judge
- -dah at the end when you stop
A simple stress pattern is an-NAJ-dah.
Why doesn’t الـ sound like al- here?
Because ن is a sun letter.
In Arabic, when الـ is followed by a sun letter, the l sound assimilates to the next consonant. So:
- written: النجدة
- pronounced: an-najdah
In fully vocalized writing, this is shown with a shadda on ن: النَّجْدَة.
Why does Arabic use الـ here when English just says Help!?
Because Arabic and English do not match word-for-word in how they use the definite article.
In this case, النجدة! is a fixed Arabic exclamation. Even though it literally contains the, the natural English equivalent is still just Help!
So you should learn النجدة! as a whole expression, not as a literal translation of the help!
Is النجدة! a full sentence?