Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wali

/ˈwɑːliː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.60 in modern English

Syllables: wali
IPA: /ˈwɑːliː/

7

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A provincial governor in certain Muslim contexts.

noun

A saint or prophet.

name

A surname from Arabic.

Example Sentences

"For much of the last century, the mountainous region of Swat was ruled as a princely kingdom where a benign autocrat, the wali, bestowed schools for girls, health care for everyone and the chance to get a degree abroad for the talented."
"You see the shrine was founded in memory of a great Wali, seer, holy man – but apparently a Mohammedan."

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic وَالٍ (wālin).

Origin

Source language: Arabic

Word Breakdown

Root: وَالٍ, و ل ي, وَلِيّ

Inflected Forms

walis (plural) wāli (alternative) vali (alternative)

Derived Forms

waliship

Frequently Paired Words

sanjakbey mutasarrif kaymakam mudir

Questions

How do you pronounce wali?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɑːliː/.
What does wali mean?: A provincial governor in certain Muslim contexts.
Where does wali come from?: It is traced to Arabic.

How to pronounce wali

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wali”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwɑːliː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wali”.
Repeat and practice — Say “wali” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.