نحو

See also: نجو

Arabic

Etymology 1.1

Root
ن ح و (n ḥ w)
3 terms

The "grammar" sense, according to a report, is derived from ʿAlī telling ʾAbu al-ʾAswad ad-Duʾali, who is believed to be the first Arabic grammarian: «مَا أَحْسَنَ هٰذَا النَّحْوَ الَّذِي نَحَوْتَ» (“mā ʔaḥsana hāḏā an-naḥwa allaḏī naḥawta”, “How wonderful this direction (naḥw) that you have followed is”) after he showed ʿAlī the grammar he had organized.

Noun

نَحْو • (naḥw) m (plural نُحُوّ (nuḥuww) or أَنْحَاء (ʔanḥāʔ))

1. side, direction
2. region, tract
3. road
4. intention, purpose, tendency
5. kind, sort, manner
6. (linguistics, grammar) syntax, grammar
   • Ibn Malik, Alfiyyah

     وَأَسْتَعِينُ اللَّٰهَ فِي أَلْفِيَّةْ / مَقَاصِدُ النَّحْوِ بِهَا مَحْوِيَّةْ

     waʔastaʕīnu llāha fī ʔalfiyyah / maqāṣidu an-naḥwi bihā maḥwiyyah

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of noun نَحْو (naḥw)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	نَحْو naḥw	النَّحْو an-naḥw	نَحْو naḥw
Nominative	نَحْوٌ naḥwun	النَّحْوُ an-naḥwu	نَحْوُ naḥwu
Accusative	نَحْوًا naḥwan	النَّحْوَ an-naḥwa	نَحْوَ naḥwa
Genitive	نَحْوٍ naḥwin	النَّحْوِ an-naḥwi	نَحْوِ naḥwi
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	نَحْوَيْن naḥwayn	النَّحْوَيْن an-naḥwayn	نَحْوَيْ naḥway
Nominative	نَحْوَانِ naḥwāni	النَّحْوَانِ an-naḥwāni	نَحْوَا naḥwā
Accusative	نَحْوَيْنِ naḥwayni	النَّحْوَيْنِ an-naḥwayni	نَحْوَيْ naḥway
Genitive	نَحْوَيْنِ naḥwayni	النَّحْوَيْنِ an-naḥwayni	نَحْوَيْ naḥway
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	نُحُوّ‎; أَنْحَاء nuḥuww‎; ʔanḥāʔ	النُّحُوّ‎; الْأَنْحَاء an-nuḥuww‎; al-ʔanḥāʔ	نُحُوّ‎; أَنْحَاء nuḥuww‎; ʔanḥāʔ
Nominative	نُحُوٌّ‎; أَنْحَاءٌ nuḥuwwun‎; ʔanḥāʔun	النُّحُوُّ‎; الْأَنْحَاءُ an-nuḥuwwu‎; al-ʔanḥāʔu	نُحُوُّ‎; أَنْحَاءُ nuḥuwwu‎; ʔanḥāʔu
Accusative	نُحُوًّا‎; أَنْحَاءً nuḥuwwan‎; ʔanḥāʔan	النُّحُوَّ‎; الْأَنْحَاءَ an-nuḥuwwa‎; al-ʔanḥāʔa	نُحُوَّ‎; أَنْحَاءَ nuḥuwwa‎; ʔanḥāʔa
Genitive	نُحُوٍّ‎; أَنْحَاءٍ nuḥuwwin‎; ʔanḥāʔin	النُّحُوِّ‎; الْأَنْحَاءِ an-nuḥuwwi‎; al-ʔanḥāʔi	نُحُوِّ‎; أَنْحَاءِ nuḥuwwi‎; ʔanḥāʔi

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: nəhv
• → Turkish: nahiv
• → Uzbek: nahv

Preposition

نَحْوَ • (naḥwa)

1. towards, in the direction of, after, in accordance with
2. like, like as, as for instance, such as, for example
3. about

Inflection

Inflected forms

base form					نَحْوَ (naḥwa)
Personal-pronoun including forms
	singular		dual	plural
	m	f		m	f
1st person	نَحْوِي (naḥwī)		نَحْوَنَا (naḥwanā)
2nd person	نَحْوَكَ (naḥwaka)	نَحْوَكِ (naḥwaki)	نَحْوَكُمَا (naḥwakumā)	نَحْوَكُمْ (naḥwakum)	نَحْوَكُنَّ (naḥwakunna)
3rd person	نَحْوَهُ (naḥwahu)	نَحْوَهَا (naḥwahā)	نَحْوَهُمَا (naḥwahumā)	نَحْوَهُمْ (naḥwahum)	نَحْوَهُنَّ (naḥwahunna)

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884) “نحو”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[1], London: W.H. Allen

Etymology 1.2

Noun

نُحُوّ • (nuḥuww) m pl

1. plural of نَحْو (naḥw)

Etymology 2

Verb

نحو (form I)

1. نَحْوِ (naḥwi) /naħ.wi/: first-person plural non-past active jussive of حَوَى (ḥawā)
2. نُحْوَ (nuḥwa) /nuħ.wa/: first-person plural non-past passive jussive of حَوَى (ḥawā)

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884) “نحو”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[2], London: W.H. Allen

Malay

Noun

نحو

1. Jawi spelling of nahu‎

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic نَحْو (naḥw).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [nahw]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [näɦw]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [näɦw]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [nɑːw]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [näw]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [næɦv]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [näɦw]

Readings
Classical reading?	nahw
Dari reading?	nahw
Iranian reading?	nahv
Tajik reading?	nahv

Noun

نحو • (nahv)

1. syntax
2. grammar
3. manner, mode, way