How to say "before" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningbefore
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
قَبْلَ
qablaקבל
قبل
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
לפני
lifneiلِفْنِي
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
ق-ب-لHebrew root
ק-ב-לHebrew picked up the root ק-ב-ל — of קיבל ("received") and מקביל ("parallel") — late, largely via Aramaic. Arabic inherited it natively: what faces you is qabla, "before", and the qibla is the direction you face to pray.
Related Hebrew word:מקבילmakbilمَاكْبِيل
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In a phrase
قَبْلَ الظُّهْر
qabla aẓ-ẓuhrקבל א-ט'הרbefore noon