Ripeness and maturity
ناضِج / يانِع / طاب
The word ناضِج is used both literally, for the produce of the earth, and figuratively for humans.
The word يانع is not used to describe the maturity of human beings; and according to some, it expresses a maturity short of the previous term.
The verb طاب means « to be good » or « to become good », literally and figuratively, as in French. The adjective thus takes the sense of « good » in the broad sense; but regarding fruits in particular, it means « become good » and thus « ripened ».
The other near-synonyms
- Near-synonyms: light, shadow, clouds and rain
- Near-synonyms: sea and mountain, gardens and fruits
- Near-synonyms: camels, horses and ships
- Near-synonyms: the human being and the family
- Near-synonyms: houses, castles and chambers
- Near-synonyms: to ascend and to descend
- Near-synonyms: to go, to come, to return and to stay
- Near-synonyms: to stand up, to sit, to lie down, to sleep and to wake up
- Near-synonyms: to see and to look, to hear and to listen, to feel
- Near-synonyms: to speak and to be silent
- Near-synonyms 1: spirit and soul; heart and intellect; body
- Near-synonyms 2: to know and to act; to understand and to be aware
- Near-synonyms 3: to want and to be able
- Near-synonyms 4: to love and to fear
- Near-synonyms 5: to hope, to despair and to be angry
- Near-synonyms 6: to believe (think) and to doubt
- Near-synonyms 7: good and bad deeds; reward and punishment
- Near-synonyms 8: religion, way, interpretation
- Near-synonyms 9: generosity and avarice
- Near-synonyms 10: creation and mercy
- Near-synonyms: the poor
- Near-synonyms: the years
- Near-synonyms: « perhaps » (laʿalla and ʿasā)
- Near-synonyms: garments
Learn Qur’anic Arabic
These shades of meaning are best studied directly on the text. At Institut Imtiyaz, Quranic Arabic is approached through its roots and semantic fields, in groups of no more than nine students.
Institut Imtiyaz teaches its classes in French. The textbook sets out the same method in English, for readers working on their own: Qur’anic Arabic 1: Understanding the Qur’anic language, on Amazon.