wonder in Arabic: تساءل (tasāʾala) – meaning, pronunciation, examples

Other meanings

دَهْشَة dahsha — wonder · a feeling of amazement

How to use it

"Wonder" can be used as a verb meaning to be curious (to ask oneself) or as a noun meaning amazement. The verb form is transitive with a question word, e.g., "to wonder why" = يَتَسَاءَلُ لِمَاذَا. The noun is feminine and often appears with the definite article.

Example sentences

مَا هَذَا؟ أَنا أَتَسَاءَلُ عَنِ السَّبَبِ.

mā hādhā? anā atasāʾalu ʿani as-sababi.

What is this? I wonder about the cause.
رَأَيْتُ مَنْظَرًا جَمِيلًا فَشَعَرْتُ بِالدَّهْشَةِ.

raʾaytu manẓaran jamīlan fašaʿartu bi-d-dahshi.

I saw a beautiful view and felt wonder.
تَسَاءَلَ الطِّفْلُ عَنِ السَّمَاءِ.

tasāʾala aṭ-ṭifl ʿani as-samāʾi.

The child wondered about the sky.

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.

We wonder why.

نتساءل لِمَ.

I wonder what happened.

أتساءل ما الذي حدث.

Again, makes you wonder.

مرة اخرى لكم ان تتخيلوا

I wonder if he loves me.

أتساءل إن كان يحبني.

I wonder who invented it.

من اخترعه يا ترى؟

I wonder why Tom said that.

أتساءل لماذا قال توم ذلك

I wonder where he is hiding.

أتساءل أين يختبئ.

No wonder the party is over.

ولا عجب إذن أن الحفل قد انتهى.

I wonder what's wrong, Jamal.

أتساءل ما المشكل يا جمال.

"Is there a sense of wonder?"

هل تثير الاندهاش والتعجب؟

I wonder where Yoko has gone.

أتساءل أين ذهبت يوكو.

Makes you wonder about academics, OK?

يجعلكم تشكون في المجال الأكاديمي.

Questions and answers

How do I say "I wonder"?

Say "أَتَسَاءَلُ" (atasāʾalu) or "أَتَسَاءَلُ عَن" followed by the topic.

Is "wonder" always positive?

Usually it expresses curiosity or amazement, not fear. For surprise in a negative sense use "دهشة" with context.