Learn Arabic › B2 › تَسَلَّل
تَسَلَّل
to sneak in, infiltrate /taˈsal.la.la/
verbB2#3229 most common
Also: to slip in unnoticed, to creep in (also figurative, e.g. fear, doubt), to steal across (a border)
Example sentences
هُوَ تَسَلَّلَ مِنَ البَيْتِ.
He sneaked out of the house.
تَسَلَّلَتِ القِطَّةُ إِلَى المَطْبَخِ.
The cat sneaked into the kitchen.
حَاوَلَ اللِّصُّ أَنْ يَتَسَلَّلَ عَبْرَ النَّافِذَةِ.
The thief tried to sneak in through the window.
تَسَلَّلَ الجُنُودُ إِلَى دَاخِلِ المَدِينَةِ لَيْلًا دُونَ أَنْ يَشْعُرَ بِهِمْ أَحَدٌ.
The soldiers infiltrated the city at night without anyone noticing them.
تَسَلَّلَ الخَوْفُ إِلَى قُلُوبِ السُّكَّانِ بَعْدَ سَمَاعِهِمُ الخَبَرَ.
Fear crept into the hearts of the residents after they heard the news.
عَلَى الرَّغْمِ مِنَ الإِجْرَاءَاتِ الأَمْنِيَّةِ المُشَدَّدَةِ، تَمَكَّنَ المُخْتَرِقُونَ مِنْ أَنْ يَتَسَلَّلُوا إِلَى الشَّبَكَةِ الحُكُومِيَّةِ دُونَ أَنْ يُكْتَشَفُوا.
Despite the tightened security measures, the hackers managed to infiltrate the government network without being detected.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَتَسَلَّلُ | تَسَلَّلْتُ | سَأَتَسَلَّلُ |
| 2sg | تَتَسَلَّلُ | تَسَلَّلْتَ | سَتَتَسَلَّلُ |
| 3sg | يَتَسَلَّلُ | تَسَلَّلَ | سَيَتَسَلَّلُ |
| 1pl | نَتَسَلَّلُ | تَسَلَّلْنَا | سَنَتَسَلَّلُ |
| 2pl | تَتَسَلَّلُونَ | تَسَلَّلْتُمْ | سَتَتَسَلَّلُونَ |
| 3pl | يَتَسَلَّلُونَ | تَسَلَّلُوا | سَيَتَسَلَّلُونَ |
Word family
تَسَلُّلinfiltration, sneaking in (verbal noun); also the offside rule in soccer
مُتَسَلِّلinfiltrator, intruder
سَلَّto draw out, unsheathe
سُلَالَةlineage, descent, breed
اِسْتَلَّto pull out, extract
Etymology
تَسَلَّل is the Form V reflexive of the root س-ل-ل, whose basic sense is to draw or pull something out slowly and quietly, as in سَلَّ سَيْفَهُ, 'he drew his sword.' The ta- prefix and the doubled middle consonant turn the action back onto the subject: instead of drawing something else out, the person draws himself in or out without being noticed. This is a native Semitic formation built entirely within Arabic's own root system, not a borrowing from another language.
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