لو
Alviri-Vidari
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lev/
Noun
لو (transliteration needed)
- lip
Arabic
Etymology
Compare Hebrew לוּ (lū).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /law/
Conjunction
لَوْ • (law)
- if (contrary to fact)
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 21:22:
- لَوْ كَانَ فِيهِمَا آلِهَةٌ إِلَّا ٱللّٰهُ لَفَسَدَتَا
- law kāna fīhimā ʾālihatun ʾillā llāhu la-fasadatā
- Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined.
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 7:100:
- أَوَلَمْ يَهْدِ لِلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِن بَعْدِ أَهْلِهَا أَن لَّوْ نَشَاءُ أَصَبْنَاهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَنَطْبَعُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ
- ʾawalam yahdi li-llaḏīna yariṯūna l-ʾarḍa min baʿdi ʾahlihā ʾan llaw našāʾu ʾaṣabnāhum bi-ḏunūbihim wa-naṭbaʿu ʿalā qulūbihim fahum lā yasmaʿūna
- Has it not become clear to those who inherited the earth after its [previous] people that if We willed, We could afflict them for their sins? But We seal over their hearts so they do not hear.
-
- that (often used with the verb وَدَّ (wadda))
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 70:11:
- يَوَدُّ الْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِي مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍ بِبَنِيهِ
- yawaddu l-mujrimu law yaftadī min ʿaḏābi yawmiʾiḏin bi-banīhi
- The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children.
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 15:2:
- رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ
- rubamā yawaddu allaḏīna kafarū law kānū muslimīna
- Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish that they had been Muslims.
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- if only
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:167:
- وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَنَا كَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تَبَرَّؤُوا مِنَّا
- wa-qāla llaḏīna ttabaʿū law ʾanna lanā karratan fa-natabarraʾa minhum kamā tabarraʾū minnā
- Those who followed will say, "If only we had another turn [at worldly life] so we could disassociate ourselves from them as they have disassociated themselves from us."
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Usage notes
- Normally used for conditions that are contrary-to-fact (unlikely to be fulfilled or incapable of being fulfilled). For possible (not contrary-to-fact) conditions, use إِنْ (ʾin).
- Used with the past tense or the present tense, in both cases with a present-tense meaning (although normally translated in English with a past tense).
Antonyms
- لَوْلَا (lawlā)
Descendants
- Gulf Arabic: لو (law)
- South Levantine Arabic: لو (law)
Persian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /low/
Noun
لو • (low)
- (dialectal, Dashtestan) lip
- Synonym: لب (lab)
South Levantine Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic لَو (law).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /law/, [law]
Audio (Ramallah) (file)
Conjunction
لو • (law)
- if (hypothetical condition)
- Synonym: لونّـ (lawenn-)
- polite request (Could you ...?)
Derived terms
- لولا (lawla, lōla, “if not (hypothetical)”)
See also
- إذا (ʔiza, “if”), إن (ʔin, “if”), إنكنّـ (ʔin-kann-, “if”)
- ياريت (yārēt, “if only (whish, hope)”)
Southwestern Fars
Noun
لو (low)
- (Masarm, Deh Sarv, Kuzarg) lip