Arabic Vocabulary Lists > Arabic Prepositions
Arabic has about twenty prepositions, of which nine are in daily use: min (from), ila (to), ʿan (about), ʿala (on), fi (in), bi- (with), li- (for), ka- (like) and hatta (until). Every one of them puts the noun that follows into the genitive case, marked by a kasra.
One transliteration scheme runs through this page, the same one as our list of common Arabic phrases and their dialect versions: ʿ is ع, a squeeze in the throat, and ʾ is the glottal stop ء. Long vowels are unmarked, because the script column is fully vowelled and carries them.
The full list of Arabic prepositions
Arabic grammar counts twenty huruf al-jarr, the particles that force the genitive, and the thirteen below cover everything outside a poetry class. Five are prefixes, joined to the next word with no space: bi-, li-, ka- and the two oath particles. The rest are separate words. Left out are khala, ʿada, hasha, kay, laʿalla and mata.
| Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning | Separate or prefixed | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| مِنْ | min | from, out of, some of | Separate word | خَرَجَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ kharaja mina l-bayti, he went out of the house |
| إِلَى | ila | to, toward | Separate word | ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ dhahabtu ila l-madrasati, I went to the school |
| عَنْ | ʿan | about, away from | Separate word | سَأَلَ عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ saʾala ʿani t-tariqi, he asked about the road |
| عَلَى | ʿala | on, upon, against | Separate word | الْكِتَابُ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ al-kitabu ʿala t-tawilati, the book is on the table |
| فِي | fi | in, inside, at | Separate word | الْمَاءُ فِي الْكُوبِ al-maʾu fi l-kubi, the water is in the cup |
| بِـ | bi- | with (a tool), by, in | Prefix | كَتَبَ بِالْقَلَمِ kataba bi-l-qalami, he wrote with the pen |
| لِـ | li- | for, to, belonging to | Prefix | الْكِتَابُ لِلطَّالِبِ al-kitabu li-t-talibi, the book belongs to the student |
| كَـ | ka- | like, as | Prefix | هُوَ كَالْأَسَدِ huwa ka-l-asadi, he is like a lion |
| حَتَّى | hatta | until, up to and including | Separate word | حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ hatta matlaʿi l-fajri, until the break of dawn (Quran 97:5) |
| مُنْذُ, مُذْ | mundhu, mudh | since, for (a stretch of time) | Separate word | مَا رَأَيْتُهُ مُنْذُ الصَّبَاحِ ma raʾaytuhu mundhu s-sabahi, I have not seen him since the morning |
| رُبَّ | rubba | many a, how often | Separate word | رُبَّ رَجُلٍ كَرِيمٍ rubba rajulin karimin, many a generous man (literary) |
| وَ | wa- | by (in an oath) | Prefix | وَاللَّهِ wa-llahi, by God |
| تَ | ta- | by (oath, only with God's name) | Prefix | تَاللَّهِ ta-llahi, by God |
The place and time words that behave like prepositions
Maʿa (with), ʿinda (at) and tahta (under) are not prepositions in Arabic grammar. They are adverbs of place and time, zuruf: nouns in the accusative sitting as the first half of a possessive construction. The word after them is genitive all the same, so the effect on the reader is identical. The tell is the word itself, since a zarf carries a fatha and a preposition has no ending to change.
| Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| مَعَ | maʿa | with, together with | ذَهَبْتُ مَعَ صَدِيقِي dhahabtu maʿa sadiqi, I went with my friend |
| عِنْدَ | ʿinda | at, by, in the possession of | عِنْدَ الْبَابِ ʿinda l-babi, at the door |
| بَيْنَ | bayna | between, among | بَيْنَ الْبَابِ وَالنَّافِذَةِ bayna l-babi wa-n-nafidhati, between the door and the window |
| قَبْلَ | qabla | before | قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ qabla z-zuhri, before noon |
| بَعْدَ | baʿda | after | بَعْدَ الْعَشَاءِ baʿda l-ʿashaʾi, after dinner |
| فَوْقَ | fawqa | above, on top of | فَوْقَ الشَّجَرَةِ fawqa sh-shajarati, above the tree |
| تَحْتَ | tahta | under, below | تَحْتَ الْكُرْسِيِّ tahta l-kursiyyi, under the chair |
| أَمَامَ | amama | in front of | أَمَامَ الْبَيْتِ amama l-bayti, in front of the house |
| خَلْفَ | khalfa | behind | خَلْفَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ khalfa l-madrasati, behind the school |
Those time words are what telling the time in Arabic runs on: qabla z-zuhri, before noon.
Every Arabic preposition puts the next noun in the genitive
The noun after any Arabic preposition goes into the genitive, majrur: a kasra when definite, a tanwin kasra when indefinite. Most lists state that and stop. Here is the same noun on its own and then after a preposition.
| On its own | After a preposition | What moved |
|---|---|---|
| الْبَيْتُ al-baytu, the house | فِي الْبَيْتِ fi l-bayti, in the house | Final damma becomes a kasra: -u to -i |
| بَيْتٌ baytun, a house | فِي بَيْتٍ fi baytin, in a house | Tanwin damma becomes tanwin kasra: -un to -in |
| الْمُدَرِّسُونَ al-mudarrisuna, the teachers | مِنَ الْمُدَرِّسِينَ mina l-mudarrisina, from the teachers | Sound plural ending -una becomes -ina, and the spelling changes from ون to ين |
| الْمُدَرِّسَانِ al-mudarrisani, the two teachers | مَعَ الْمُدَرِّسَيْنِ maʿa l-mudarrisayni, with the two teachers | Dual ending -ani becomes -ayni, spelling ان to ين |
| مَدَارِسُ madarisu, schools | فِي مَدَارِسَ fi madarisa, in schools | A diptote takes a fatha, not a kasra, and never takes tanwin |
Rows three and four matter most when you read. A sound masculine plural and a dual change letters rather than vowel marks, ون to ين and ان to ين. Ordinary Arabic prints no vowel marks, so those endings are the only genitive signals most readers ever see. Row five is the exception: a diptote like madarisu refuses tanwin and takes a fatha.
How prepositions join to pronoun suffixes
A pronoun after an Arabic preposition is a suffix glued to the preposition, not a separate word, and several common prepositions change shape when it lands. Min and ʿan double their n, while ila and ʿala turn their final alif into a y. Li- takes a fatha in every person but the first. A preposition list that stops at the citation form is half a list.
| Preposition | + me | + you (m.) | + him | + us |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| مِنْ min | مِنِّي minni | مِنْكَ minka | مِنْهُ minhu | مِنَّا minna |
| عَنْ ʿan | عَنِّي ʿanni | عَنْكَ ʿanka | عَنْهُ ʿanhu | عَنَّا ʿanna |
| إِلَى ila | إِلَيَّ ilayya | إِلَيْكَ ilayka | إِلَيْهِ ilayhi | إِلَيْنَا ilayna |
| عَلَى ʿala | عَلَيَّ ʿalayya | عَلَيْكَ ʿalayka | عَلَيْهِ ʿalayhi | عَلَيْنَا ʿalayna |
| فِي fi | فِيَّ fiyya | فِيكَ fika | فِيهِ fihi | فِينَا fina |
| بِـ bi- | بِي bi | بِكَ bika | بِهِ bihi | بِنَا bina |
| لِـ li- | لِي li | لَكَ laka | لَهُ lahu | لَنَا lana |
| مَعَ maʿa | مَعِي maʿi | مَعَكَ maʿaka | مَعَهُ maʿahu | مَعَنَا maʿana |
| عِنْدَ ʿinda | عِنْدِي ʿindi | عِنْدَكَ ʿindaka | عِنْدَهُ ʿindahu | عِنْدَنَا ʿindana |
| بَيْنَ bayna | بَيْنِي bayni | بَيْنَكَ baynaka | بَيْنَهُ baynahu | بَيْنَنَا baynana |
Every form in the + me column ends in a long ee except ilayya, ʿalayya and fiyya, so bi and li are said bee and lee; the missing hyphen marks them as whole words rather than prefixes. The suffix for him is -hu after a fatha or damma and -hi after a kasra or a long ee, which is why the column holds both minhu and bihi. Ka-, hatta and rubba are absent because they take nouns, not pronoun suffixes: like him is مِثْلُهُ mithluhu, and joining ka- onto a pronoun is poetic licence.
The suffixes are the same set that marks possession on a noun and an object on a verb; our chart of all 12 Arabic pronouns and their attached suffixes gives it in full.
Notes, exceptions and common mistakes
Min and ʿan grow a vowel before the definite article
A sukun cannot sit against the l of الـ, so both prepositions borrow a vowel: min becomes mina, ʿan becomes ʿani, as in مِنَ الْبَيْتِ mina l-bayti and عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ ʿani t-tariqi. The spelling does not change, only the vowel you say, so a learner who met the words in isolation hears a syllable that is not on the page.
Li- and the definite article fuse into one syllable
Li- plus الـ drops the alif and is written لِلْـ, so for the student is لِلطَّالِبِ li-t-talibi. Bi- and ka- keep the alif in writing but not in speech, which is why بِالْقَلَمِ is written with one and said bi-l-qalami.
Arabic has no verb "to have", so a preposition does the work
Possession runs through ʿinda or li- with a pronoun suffix. عِنْدِي كِتَابٌ ʿindi kitabun is I have a book, literally at me a book. Maʿi narrows it to what you are carrying right now, so someone asking whether you have change on you wants maʿaka, not ʿindaka.
Verbs pick their own preposition and English is no guide
Arabic verbs govern a fixed preposition that rarely matches the English one. To search for is بَحَثَ عَنْ bahatha ʿan, search about; to obtain is حَصَلَ عَلَى hasala ʿala, get on; to listen to is اِسْتَمَعَ إِلَى istamaʿa ila. Learn each verb with its preposition attached, the way you learn a noun with its plural; the verb halves are in our tables of Arabic verb conjugation across all tenses.
The drill that makes this automatic is to take a short list of concrete nouns and put every preposition in front of each one. Food and drink words in Arabic suits it, since everything on a table is above, under, beside or inside something else, and our other Arabic vocabulary lists supply the nouns.
Frequently asked questions
How many prepositions are there in Arabic?
Arabic grammar counts twenty huruf al-jarr, the particles that put a following noun in the genitive. Nine of them carry almost all everyday use: min (from), ila (to), ʿan (about), ʿala (on), fi (in), bi- (with), li- (for), ka- (like) and hatta (until). The remaining eleven are oath particles, the literary rubba, and exception words such as khala and ʿada that a learner meets mainly in classical texts.
What case do Arabic prepositions take?
The genitive, called majrur. A definite noun ends in a kasra, so the house becomes fi l-bayti, in the house. An indefinite noun ends in tanwin kasra, so fi baytin, in a house. A sound masculine plural swaps its ending from -una to -ina and a dual from -ani to -ayni, which changes the spelling rather than only the vowel mark. Diptotes are the exception and take a fatha instead of a kasra.
How do you say to me and from me in Arabic?
To me is ilayya and from me is minni. Both are irregular. Ila and ʿala turn their final alif into a y before a suffix, giving ilayya, ilayka and ilayhi, and ʿalayya, ʿalayka and ʿalayhi. Min and ʿan double their n before -i and -na, giving minni, minna, ʿanni and ʿanna. For me is li, said with a long ee, and the same particle becomes la in every other person: laka, lahu, lana.
Is maʿa a preposition in Arabic?
Not in the strict sense. Maʿa (with), ʿinda (at), bayna (between), qabla (before) and the place words such as tahta and fawqa are adverbs of place and time, called zuruf. They are nouns in the accusative that stand as the first half of a possessive construction, which is why the word after them is genitive anyway. For a learner the effect is identical to a preposition, and the difference only shows when you parse the sentence.
What is the difference between min and ʿan in Arabic?
Min marks a starting point or a source, so kharaja mina l-bayti is he went out of the house. ʿAn marks distance from something, or the topic being spoken about, so saʾala ʿani t-tariqi is he asked about the road. English uses from for both, which is why the pair is worth learning as a contrast rather than as two separate entries.