Learn Arabic › A2 › تَفَهَّم
تَفَهَّم
to understand sympathetically; to be understanding toward /taˈfahhama/
verbA2#857 most common
Also: to try to understand, to show understanding, to come to grasp fully
Example sentences
تَفَهَّمَ صديقي موقفي.
My friend understood my position.
تَفَهَّمَتْ أمّي شُعوري بالحُزن.
My mother understood how sad I felt.
حاوَلْتُ أن أَتَفَهَّمَ سببَ غضبِه.
I tried to understand the reason for his anger.
على المُديرِ أن يَتَفَهَّمَ ظُروفَ المُوظَّفينَ قبلَ اتِّخاذِ القَرار.
The manager should understand the employees' circumstances before taking the decision.
رَغمَ خِلافِنا، تَفَهَّمَ كلٌّ مِنّا وُجهةَ نظرِ الآخَرِ بصَبرٍ.
Despite our disagreement, each of us understood the other's point of view with patience.
لم يَكتفِ القاضي بتَطبيقِ نَصِّ القانون، بل تَفَهَّمَ الدوافعَ الإنسانيةَ التي دَفَعَتِ المُتَّهَمَ إلى فِعلتِه.
The judge did not merely apply the letter of the law; he came to understand the human motives that drove the accused to his act.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَتَفَهَّم | تَفَهَّمْتُ | سَأَتَفَهَّم |
| 2sg | تَتَفَهَّم | تَفَهَّمْتَ | سَتَتَفَهَّم |
| 3sg | يَتَفَهَّم | تَفَهَّمَ | سَيَتَفَهَّم |
| 1pl | نَتَفَهَّم | تَفَهَّمْنا | سَنَتَفَهَّم |
| 2pl | تَتَفَهَّمونَ | تَفَهَّمْتُم | سَتَتَفَهَّمونَ |
| 3pl | يَتَفَهَّمونَ | تَفَهَّموا | سَيَتَفَهَّمونَ |
Word family
تَفَهُّمunderstanding, sympathy (verbal noun)
مُتَفَهِّمunderstanding, sympathetic
تَفاهُمmutual understandingفَهْمcomprehensionفَهِمَto understand
Etymology
تَفَهَّم comes from the triliteral Semitic root ف-ه-م (f-h-m), which carries the sense of understanding. It is the Form V verb on the pattern tafaʿʿala, built from the plain verb فَهِمَ, 'to understand.' The Form V shape adds a reflexive and effortful shade, so the meaning shifts from simply grasping a fact to working at understanding or showing sympathy.
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