Big / Great / Large
In English, the word “great” is usually used for ideas or abstract things and means something like excellent or wonderful. You don’t use it for size.
The words “big” and “large” mean the same thing, but “large” sounds more formal than “big”.
In Arabic:
The most common word for “big” or “large” is:
كَبِيرٌ
Plural: كِبَارٌ or كُبَرَاءُ
The most common word for “great” is:
عَظِيمٌ
Plural: عُظَمَاءُ
Examples:
He came up with a great idea to save the company.
طَرَحَ فِكْرَةً عَظِيمَةً لِإِنْقَاذِ ٱلشَّرِكَةِ.
There was a big/large fish lying on the table, ready to be cooked.
كَانَتْ هُنَاكَ سَمَكَةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ مَمْدُودَةٌ عَلَى ٱلطَّاوِلَةِ وَجَاهِزَةٌ لِلطَّهْيِ.
The librarian could barely lift the big/large volume from the shelf.
بِٱلْكَادِ تَمَكَّنَ أَمِينُ ٱلْمَكْتَبَةِ مِنْ رَفْعِ ٱلْكِتَابِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ مِنْ عَلَى ٱلرَّفِّ.
Harrods is a very big/large store in London.
هَارُودْز (هُوَ) مَتْجَرٌ كَبِيرٌ جِدًّا فِي لَنْدَن.
We went out for my birthday and had a great meal at the new Indian restaurant.
خَرَجْنَا لِلٱحْتِفَالِ بِعِيدِ مِيلَادِي، وَأَكَلْنَا وِجْبَةً رَائِعَةً فِي ٱلْمَطْعَمِ ٱلْهِنْدِيِّ ٱلْجَدِيدِ.
Important Notes:
• Sometimes, كَبِيرٌ is used to mean “old”, like كَبِيرُ ٱلسِّنِّ (old in age), especially in respectful language.
Example:
She’s a big woman.
هِيَ ٱمْرَأَةٌ سَمِينَةٌ / ضَخْمَةٌ.
He is an old man and deserves our respect.
هَذَا ٱلرَّجُلُ كَبِيرٌ وَيَسْتَحِقُّ ٱلٱحْتِرَامَ.
• When كَبِيرُ is the first word in an iḍāfah (possessive) phrase and the second word is plural, it usually means chief or head in English.
Examples:
كَبِيرُ ٱلْأَطِبَّاءِ – Head physician
كَبِيرُ ٱلْقُضَاةِ – Chief justice / Magistrate