accent in Arabic: لهجة (lahjah) – meaning, pronunciation, examples

Other meanings

نَبر nabr — stress mark · a mark placed over a vowel to indicate that it should be stressed
تَأْكِيد taʾkīd — emphasis · special importance, emphasis, or prominence given to something

How to use it

In Arabic, 'lahjah' (لهجة) is the most common word for accent, referring to how someone speaks a language, often indicating their origin. 'Nabr' (نبر) refers to the stress or accent mark used in writing, especially in older texts or for pronunciation guides. 'Ta'keed' (تأكيد) means emphasis.

Example sentences

لَدَيْهِ لَهْجَةٌ إِغْرِيقِيَّةٌ وَاضِحَةٌ.

ladayhi lahjatun ʾighrīqiyyatun wāḍiḥatun.

He has a clear Greek accent.
يُشِيرُ الرَّمْزُ إِلَى مَكَانِ النَّبْرِ فِي الْكَلِمَةِ.

yushīru r-ramzu ʾilā makāni n-nabri fī l-kalimati.

The symbol indicates the place of accent in the word.
أَرَادَ أَنْ يَضَعَ تَأْكِيدًا عَلَى هَذِهِ النُّقْطَةِ.

ʾarāda ʾan yaḍaʿa taʾkīdan ʿalā hādhihi n-nuqṭati.

He wanted to put an accent on this point.

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.

Tom has a British accent.

لدى توم لكنة بريطانية.

I have a perfect native Berber accent.

لديّ لكنة أمازيغية محليّة مثاليّة.

He speaks English with a German accent.

إنه يتكلم الإنجليزية بلكنة ألمانية.

I have a Kabyle accent when I speak Berber.

لدي لكنة قبائلية عند تكلّم الأمازيغية.

He is a foreigner, as is evident from his accent.

هو غريب، كما يبدو من لهجته.

In a thick Arabic accent, my brain went, "Berfect."

ففكرت بلكنة عربية سميكة، "Berfect"

From his accent, I would guess that man is Scottish.

نبرة هذا الرجل تنبئني أنه اسكتلندي.

One of them said in a deep Aleppean accent: What, sister?

قال لي أحدهم: أشو خيتو؟

Political leadership at such a moment demands a Churchillian accent.

إن الزعامة السياسية تتطلب اليوم لغة أشبه بلغة تشرشل.

His accent, while a part of his image, limited the roles he could play.

ورغم ان لكنته كانت جزءا من صورته، فقد حدد الأدوار التي يلعبها.

Their commander, who spoke with a distinct Liberian accent, called himself Captain Goldteeth.

كان قائد المتمردين، الذي تحدث بلكنة ليبيرية واضحة، يسمى نفسه القائد " جولد تيث " أو " الأسنان الذهبية ".

For the role, he had to take lessons in perfecting an Indian-English accent, as his native English accent was so strong the producers felt if he kept the accent the film would be less believable.

لهذا الدور كان عليه أن يأخذ دروسا في اتقان لهجة الهندية ولهجة الإنجليزية، والبريطاني لهجته الأصلية كانت قوية لدرجة شعر المنتجين إذا احتفظ بها لهجة الفيلم سيكون أقل تصديق.

Questions and answers

What's the difference between 'lahjah' and 'nabr'?

'Lahjah' refers to a person's way of speaking, their accent. 'Nabr' refers to the written mark indicating stress on a syllable or letter.

Can 'accent' also mean emphasis?

Yes, in English, 'accent' can mean emphasis. In Arabic, the word for emphasis is 'ta'keed' (تأكيد).