قَتْل in English: kill – meaning, pronunciation, examples

Other meanings

قَتْل qatl — killing · killing

How to use it

قتل is the basic verb meaning “to kill”. It is used for any act of causing death, whether legal or illegal. The noun قتل (قَتْل) refers to the act itself. Both forms are common in news and literature.

Example sentences

قَتَلَ الجَاسُوسُ العَدُوَّ.

qatala al-jāsūs al-ʿaduwwa.

The spy killed the enemy.
القَتْلُ جَرِيمَةٌ شَدِيدَةٌ.

al-qatlu jarīmatun shadīda tun.

Killing is a serious crime.
نَحْنُ نُقَاتِلُ لِحِمَايةِ الحَيَاةِ.

naḥnu nuqātilu li-ḥimāyat al-ḥayāh.

We fight to protect life.

Examples from real texts

Sentences taken from published bilingual texts (subtitles, documents). They show the word in context and are not reviewed one by one.

واذكروا إذ قتلتم نفسًا فتنازعتم بشأنها، كلٌّ يدفع عن نفسه تهمة القتل، والله مخرج ما كنتم تخفون مِن قَتْل القتيل.

Remember when you killed a man and blamed each other for the deed, God brought to light what you concealed.

اقتلوا يوسف أو ألقوا به في أرض مجهولة بعيدة عن العُمران يخلُص لكم حب أبيكم وإقباله عليكم، ولا يلتفت عنكم إلى غيركم، وتكونوا مِنْ بعد قَتْل يوسف أو إبعاده تائبين إلى الله، مستغفرين له من بعد ذنبكم.

Let us kill Joseph or cast him in some distant land so that we may get our father 's exclusive affection; then play innocent. "

Questions and answers

Is قتل only for humans?

No, it can refer to killing animals or even metaphorically to destroy something.

What is the past participle of قتل?

The participle is مَقْتُول (maqṭūl), meaning “killed”.