drive in Arabic: قاد (qāda) – meaning, pronunciation, examples

Other meanings

سَاقَ sāqa — drive · operate a vehicle (synonym of قاد)
دَفَعَ dafaʿa — drive · compel or urge someone to do something

How to use it

The most common verbs for 'to drive' a vehicle are 'qāda' and 'sāqa'. Both mean to operate or steer. 'Dafaʿa' means to push or propel, and can be used metaphorically to mean 'to drive' someone to do something.

Example sentences

هُوَ يُجِيدُ القِيَادَةَ بِسُرْعَةٍ.

huwa yujīdu l-qiyādata bisurʿatin.

He knows how to drive fast.
لَمْ أَسُقْ سَيَّارَةً مُنْذُ سَنَوَاتٍ.

lam ʾasug sayyāratan mundhu sanawātin.

I haven't driven a car for years.
الحَاجَةُ دَفَعَتْهُ لِلْعَمَلِ الشَّاقِّ.

al-ḥājatu dafaʿathu lil-ʿamali š-šāqqi.

Necessity drove him to hard work.

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.

Drive safely.

قد بحذر.

Can you drive?

هل تستطيع أن تقود سيارة؟

Drive carefully.

قُد بحذر.

Women can't drive

المرأة لا يمكنها قيادة السيارات

Initializing Drive

بدء السواقة

Women cannot drive

المرأة لا يمكنها القيادة

Optical Drive tests

اختبارات القارئات البصرية

Average drive speed:

معدل سرعة المشغّل:

Estimated drive speed:

سرعة المشغل حوالي:

Please drive carefully.

قد بحذر من فضلك.

Can I drive? Can I drive?"

هل يمكنني القيادة؟ هل يمكنني القيادة؟"

The drive for transparency must become a drive for consistency.

وهذا يعني أن الجهود المبذولة لأجل الشفافية تُغيّر كي تصبح عزيمة للتناسق.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between 'qāda' and 'sāqa'?

They are largely synonymous when referring to driving a vehicle. 'Qāda' might be slightly more common in MSA.

How do I say 'I drive a car'?

You can say 'ʾanā ʾaqūdu sayyāratan' or 'ʾanā ʾasūqu sayyāratan'.