الطبيب يفحص المريض.

doctor

Breakdown of الطبيب يفحص المريض.

• يفحص المريض: to examine the patient

Questions & Answers about الطبيب يفحص المريض.

What does ال mean in الطبيب and المريض?

ال is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to the.

So:

• الطبيب = the doctor
• المريض = the patient

Because both words have ال, both nouns are definite.

Why is الطبيب pronounced more like aṭ-ṭabīb than al-ṭabīb?

Because ط is a sun letter.

With sun letters, the l sound of ال assimilates to the next consonant in pronunciation, even though the spelling does not change.

So:

• الطبيب is written with ال
• but pronounced aṭ-ṭabīb

By contrast, م in المريض is a moon letter, so the l is pronounced normally:

• المريض = al-marīḍ

Is the word order normal here? I thought Arabic often starts with the verb.

Yes, this word order is normal.

This sentence is subject–verb–object:

• الطبيب = subject
• يفحص = verb
• المريض = object