العيادة مثل المستشفى.

hospital

Breakdown of العيادة مثل المستشفى.

• عيادة: clinic
• مثل: like; similar to

Questions & Answers about العيادة مثل المستشفى.

Why is there no Arabic word for is in this sentence?

Because this is a nominal sentence in the present tense. In Modern Standard Arabic, the verb to be is usually not written or spoken in simple present-tense sentences.

So:

• العيادة مثل المستشفى = The clinic is like the hospital

But in the past or future, Arabic would use a form of كان:

• كانت العيادة مثل المستشفى = The clinic was like the hospital
• ستكون العيادة مثل المستشفى = The clinic will be like the hospital

How do I pronounce العيادة مثل المستشفى?

A careful MSA pronunciation is:

al-ʿiyādatu mithlu al-mustashfā

In pause, many speakers would say it more simply as:

al-ʿiyāda mithl al-mustashfā

A few pronunciation notes:

• ع in العيادة is the sound ʿayn, a throat sound with no exact English equivalent.
• يا in عيادة gives a long yā / īyā sequence: ʿiyā...
• مثل is pronounced mithl or mithlu in full reading.
• المستشفى ends in ى, which is pronounced like a long ā, so mustashfā, not mustashfay.

What does mean here?