UPMSP Intermediate Arabic - Code 125 key terms

Arabic prose writing, as opposed to poetry. Covers essays, short stories, maqamat, and rhetorical prose; exam lessons from prescribed prose texts are analysed for theme, style, and author background.

An ornate rhymed-prose narrative genre perfected by al-Hariri and al-Hamadhani, featuring a witty wandering hero and a narrator. Known for saj' (rhymed prose), wordplay, and moral or satirical episodes.

Rhymed prose in which the final words of successive clauses share a rhyme and rhythm. A defining stylistic feature of maqamat and of the Qur'an's prose style; exam questions often ask students to identify its effect.

A rhetorical figure using two words that are identical or nearly identical in form but different in meaning, creating wit or emphasis. Common in badi' (ornate) prose and poetry and frequently tested in explanation questions.

Antithesis or the pairing of opposites within a sentence or verse, such as night and day or knowledge and ignorance. A badi' device used to sharpen meaning and often asked about in prose and poetry explanation.

An essay or article in modern Arabic prose, usually arguing a viewpoint or reflecting on a topic. Prescribed modern prose lessons often take this form, and candidates should identify thesis, tone, and supporting examples.

The short story, a modern Arabic narrative form with a single incident, limited characters, and a turning point. Candidates should identify setting, conflict, and theme in prescribed stories and relate them to the author's outlook.

A character in a literary work, whether flat or round, and the traits revealed through speech, action, and description. Questions on prose comprehension often ask how a character is portrayed and what the portrayal signifies.

The central idea or theme of a text, stated or implied. In prose and poetry questions candidates must extract the main idea, distinguish it from supporting detail, and justify it with evidence from the passage.

Style: the characteristic way an author chooses and arranges words, sentences, and images. Exam questions ask candidates to describe an author's style as simple, ornate, satirical, or journalistic, and to support the judgment.

Arabic poetry, a metrical and rhymed art with a long pre-Islamic and classical tradition. Prescribed verses require explanation, identification of theme, and knowledge of the poet's era and significance.

A formal Arabic ode built of lines sharing one rhyme and one meter, traditionally opening with a prelude. Longer than a qit'a; candidates should know its structure and the classical convention of the madih or ghazal opening.

The opening line of a poem, especially the first verse of a qasida. It sets tone and theme; exam questions may ask candidates to explain the opening image and its function in the whole poem.

A line or verse of poetry, consisting of two halves (sadr and 'ajuz) with a caesura between them. Counting lines and identifying the two halves is basic to scansion and to quoting verses accurately.

The science of Arabic prosody, which analyzes verse into meters built from feet of long and short syllables. Named meters such as al-tawil and al-kamil are identified by scansion; a frequent objective-question area.

A specific poetic meter in the 'arud system, such as al-tawil, al-basit, al-kamil, or al-ramal. Recognizing the meter of a given line and knowing which meters suit which themes are commonly tested skills.

The rhyme, specifically the final consonant and its vowel before the last letter of a verse, repeated across the poem. Rhyme schemes and rhyme defects are part of prosody and appear in verse-analysis questions.

A poetic image or figure, including simile, metaphor, and personification, used to convey feeling and meaning. Explanation questions ask candidates to unpack the image and state its emotional or thematic effect.

Simile: the explicit comparison of two things using a particle such as ka (like) or mithl, with stated or implied ground of comparison. Identifying its four elements is a standard grammar-and-rhetoric question.

Metaphor: transferring a word from its literal sense to a figurative one on the basis of resemblance, without a comparison particle. Distinguishing it from simile and explaining its effect is a recurring poetry question.

The pre-Islamic era, roughly before 610 CE, known for the mu'allaqat, tribal panegyric, and descriptive poetry. Its conventions of nasib, madih, and fakhr form the backdrop for understanding later Arabic poetry.

Seven or ten celebrated pre-Islamic odes attributed to poets such as Imru' al-Qays, Zuhayr, and Labid. They exemplify the classical qasida structure and are a standard reference point in Arabic literary history.

Panegyric poetry praising a patron's generosity, courage, or lineage; the dominant mode of the Umayyad and Abbasid courts. Its opposite, hijā' (invective), and fakhr (boasting) are related classical genres.

Invective or satirical poetry attacking a person or tribe, often with biting wordplay. A major classical genre, especially in the Umayyad period with poets like Jarir and al-Akhtal, and a frequent literary-history topic.

Boasting poetry in which the poet or tribe claims glory, noble descent, and martial prowess. Together with madih and hija', it belongs to the classical thematic categories of qasida poetry tested in literary history.

The subject or topic of a text, as distinct from its theme or message. Comprehension questions often ask for the mawdu' of a passage before asking about the author's purpose and tone.

The aim or purpose of a text: to inform, persuade, warn, or entertain. Identifying maqsad helps candidates answer higher-order comprehension questions about why a writer chose particular examples or wording.

Vocabulary or lexical items. Unseen-passage questions test the meaning of individual words in context, so candidates should build synonym, antonym, and root-based guessing strategies rather than memorizing isolated glosses.

A synonym: a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another. Synonym questions in the vocabulary section require attention to register and collocation, since Arabic near-synonyms are rarely fully interchangeable.

A nominal sentence beginning with a noun, made of a subject (mubtada') and predicate (khabar). Knowing when the predicate is a single word, a phrase, or a clause is essential for correct i'rab and translation.

A verbal sentence beginning with a verb and containing a subject (fa'il) and often an object (maf'ul). Distinguishing verbal from nominal structure guides word order and agreement in composition tasks.

The system of case and mood endings showing a word's grammatical role, including raf' (nominative), nasb (accusative), jarr (genitive), and jazm (jussive). Parsing exercises require naming the role and its ending.

A particle or function word such as prepositions, conjunctions, and interrogatives, which has no independent meaning but governs other words. Particles like inna, kana, and la govern case and are heavily tested.

The root: usually three consonants that carry a word's core meaning and generate its derived forms. Recognizing roots helps candidates deduce unfamiliar vocabulary and forms in both grammar and comprehension sections.

The morphological pattern of a word, expressed with the letters fa', 'ayn, lam, such as fa'ala or maf'ul. Matching a word to its wazn is the standard method for identifying verb forms and derived nouns.

The verbal noun, an abstract noun naming the action of a verb, such as kitaba from kataba. It is a core derived form and often required in translation and composition where English uses a gerund.

A derived noun formed from a root, including the active and passive participles, the elative, and the noun of place or instrument. Knowing these patterns lets candidates recognize agents, recipients, and places in unseen texts.

Translation. Exam tasks include rendering Arabic prose or verse into Hindi or Urdu and a Hindi/Urdu passage into correct Arabic, with attention to idiom, tense, and agreement rather than word-for-word substitution.

A letter or epistle, formal or personal, with salutation, body, and closing formula. Composition questions may require writing an Arabic letter on a given situation, so standard openings and closings must be memorized.