شتان

Arabic

Etymology

From the root ش ت ت (š-t-t). One of a special group of words known in Arabic as أَسْمَاء أَفْعَال (ʔasmāʔ ʔafʕāl, “noun verbs”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃat.taː.na/

Verb

شَتَّانَ • (šattāna)

1. (defective, intransitive) What a difference! How different they are!

   شَتَّانَ بَيْنَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَٱلْبَاطِلِ.

   šattāna bayna l-ḥaqqi wal-bāṭili.

   There is a great difference between the right and the wrong.

   شَتَّانَ ٱلْفَقْرُ وَٱلْغِنَى.

   šattāna l-faqru wal-ḡinā.

   There is a great difference between poverty and richness.

Usage notes

The verb is defective and does not conjugate or receive case endings; it is used the same way with the same final vowels in all contexts.