Word details help you understand a word before or after review. Use them when a gloss is not enough.
Every word can carry meaning, examples, root, wazn, plurals, dialect notes, and usage warnings. Not every word has every kind of information. Read what is useful for the word in front of you.
How to open word details
Open word details from any inspectable word: in Collections, My Vocabulary, bookmarks, flags, and the back of a Review card after you have answered.
For words already in your vocabulary, the details also list the word's review cards. From there you can suspend a card that is costing more than it teaches, or bring a suspended one back.
When a word keeps causing mistakes, do not only repeat it. Inspect it.
Example word
Below is the entry for (to learn), a Form V verb.
Verb
to learn
Definition
To gain knowledge, understanding, or a skill through study, instruction, observation, or experience.
Nuance
تَعَلَّمَ describes the process of acquiring knowledge or becoming able to do something. It comes from the root ع-ل-م, associated with knowledge, and its form presents learning as an active process undertaken by the learner. It works with subjects, facts, languages, skills, and lessons learned through experience.
Examples
- تَعَلَّمَ الطَّالِبُ كَلِمَاتٍ عَرَبِيَّةً جَدِيدَةً.
The student learned new Arabic words.
- أَتَعَلَّمُ كَيْفَ أَسْتَخْدِمُ هٰذَا البَرْنَامَجَ.
I am learning how to use this program.
Meaning and nuance
Start with the definition, but do not stop there when the word is difficult. Arabic words often cover a slightly different range from their nearest English gloss.
The nuance section can explain:
- register;
- connotation;
- near-synonyms;
- when not to use the word;
- what kind of context the word normally appears in.
Examples
Examples show how the word behaves in a sentence. Use them to notice:
- common collocations;
- prepositions that follow the word;
- whether the word is formal, everyday, religious, literary, or technical;
- sentence patterns that are hard to see from a gloss alone.
If a word feels abstract, examples usually make it usable faster than another gloss.
Root, wazn, and form
For verbs and many derived nouns, root and pattern help you connect new words to families you already know.
For example, تَعَلَّمَ shares the root ع ل م with words connected to knowledge and teaching. Its Form V pattern helps explain the relationship between teaching and learning.
Do not memorise morphology as decoration. Use it when it helps you recognise families of meaning.
Plurals
For nouns, read the plural carefully. Arabic plurals are often not predictable, and some nouns have more than one accepted plural.
If plural review is hard, return to word details and learn the singular and plural together.
Pitfalls
Pitfalls warn you about mistakes learners commonly make:
- false friends;
- confusing two similar Arabic words;
- assuming one English gloss covers every use;
- misreading a form or plural;
- using a word in the wrong register.
Do not treat pitfalls as trivia. Use them to avoid the mistake the word most often causes.
When to use word details
Use word details especially:
- Before adding an unfamiliar word to My Vocabulary.
- After rating a card Again or Hard.
- When two words look like synonyms but are not interchangeable.
- When a plural, root, or form keeps slipping.
Where to go next
- Nouns, verbs, and pieces: why different word types have different review needs.
- Collections, categories, and books: where words come from before you add them.
- How reviews work: how this information supports review.