Learn ArabicA2 › تَصَرَّف

تَصَرَّف

to behave, to act /taˈsˤarrafa/

verbA2#771 most common

Also: to conduct oneself, to dispose of (something), to handle a matter as one sees fit

Example sentences

تَصَرَّفَ بِأَدَبٍ.
He behaved politely.
كَيْفَ تَصَرَّفْتَ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ الْيَوْمَ؟
How did you behave at school today?
يَجِبُ أَنْ نَتَصَرَّفَ بِحِكْمَةٍ فِي هَذَا الْمَوْقِفِ.
We must act wisely in this situation.
تَصَرَّفَ الْمُدِيرُ فِي أَمْوَالِ الشَّرِكَةِ دُونَ إِذْنٍ.
The manager disposed of the company's funds without permission.
عِنْدَمَا فُوجِئَ بِالسُّؤَالِ، تَصَرَّفَ بِسُرْعَةٍ وَأَنْقَذَ الْمَوْقِفَ.
When he was caught off guard by the question, he acted quickly and saved the situation.
لَا يَحِقُّ لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يَتَصَرَّفَ فِي الْمِلْكِيَّةِ الْعَامَّةِ وَكَأَنَّهَا مِلْكٌ خَاصٌّ بِهِ.
No one has the right to dispose of public property as if it were their own.

Conjugation

Present ActiveSimple Past ActiveSimple Future Active
1sgأَتَصَرَّفُتَصَرَّفْتُسَأَتَصَرَّفُ
2sgتَتَصَرَّفُتَصَرَّفْتَسَتَتَصَرَّفُ
3sgيَتَصَرَّفُتَصَرَّفَسَيَتَصَرَّفُ
1plنَتَصَرَّفُتَصَرَّفْنَاسَنَتَصَرَّفُ
2plتَتَصَرَّفُونَتَصَرَّفْتُمْسَتَتَصَرَّفُونَ
3plيَتَصَرَّفُونَتَصَرَّفُواسَيَتَصَرَّفُونَ

Word family

تَصَرُّفbehavior, conduct; disposal
صَرَفَto spend; to turn away, dismiss
مُتَصَرِّفone who acts; (historical) Ottoman district governor
تَصْرِيفgrammatical conjugation; disposal; drainage
مَصْرِفbank; drainage outlet

Etymology

تَصَرَّف belongs to the root ص-ر-ف, whose core sense is turning, diverting, and spending. It is the Form V (reflexive) stem, so it means to turn or handle matters for oneself, hence to behave or to dispose of something freely. The same root gives صَرْف (money exchange, grammatical inflection) and مَصْرِف (bank).

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