Arabic word sheet
نَاسٌ
Humankind
- Type
- noun
- Root
- ء ن س
Meaning and usage
Humankind
Names human beings as a whole, men and women alike, when speaking of everyone in general.
النَّاسُ يَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَى الْمَاءِ
People need water.
Some people
Also said of a group of persons, without saying which: "some people", "folk". The word always names several persons; for a single one, another word is used.
رَأَى سَامِي نَاسًا فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ
Sami saw some people in the garden.
Word family
What the root means ء ن س
The word is the lightened form of an older word for human beings. The same family gives the word for a human being and the word for the human race.
human being
إِنْسَانٌ
humankind
إِنْسٌ
people, persons
أُنَاسٌ
Synonyms
human beings
بَشَرٌ
Names the human species as against other living beings, whereas the headword is the everyday term for "people".