How to say "generous" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaninggenerous
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
كَرِيم
karīmכרים
كريم
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
נדיב
nadivنَادِيڤ
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ك-ر-مHebrew root
כ-ר-םRoot כ-ר-ם is exactly Hebrew kerem (כרם), 'vineyard' — Arabic even keeps that literal sense too, in the separate word karm (كَرْم). karīm pushes the same root a step further: a word for a fruit-bearing, prized piece of land became an adjective for someone who gives freely of what's valuable — generous, noble.
Related Hebrew word:כרםkeremكِرِم
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In a phrase
مُضِيف كَرِيم
muḍīf karīmמצ'יף כריםa generous host
Plural
كِرَام
kirāmכראםbroken plural CiCāC — also كرماء (kuramāʾ) in more formal registers
Feminine
كَرِيمَة
karīmaכרימה