Learn Arabic › A1 › تَكَلَّم
تَكَلَّم
to speak, to talk /taˈkallama/
verbA1#326 most common
Also: to talk, to converse
Example sentences
أَنَا أَتَكَلَّمُ العَرَبِيَّةَ.
I speak Arabic.
هَلْ تَتَكَلَّمُ الإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةَ؟
Do you speak English?
تَكَلَّمَ المُعَلِّمُ بِبُطْءٍ لِكَيْ نَفْهَمَ.
The teacher spoke slowly so that we would understand.
لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ أَحَدٌ خِلَالَ الاِجْتِمَاعِ الطَّوِيلِ.
No one spoke during the long meeting.
تَكَلَّمَتْ بِثِقَةٍ أَمَامَ الجُمْهُورِ رَغْمَ خَوْفِهَا.
She spoke with confidence before the audience despite her fear.
لَوْ تَكَلَّمْنَا بِصَرَاحَةٍ مُنْذُ البِدَايَةِ، لَمَا وَصَلْنَا إِلَى هٰذَا الخِلَافِ.
Had we spoken frankly from the start, we would not have reached this dispute.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَتَكَلَّمُ | تَكَلَّمْتُ | سَأَتَكَلَّمُ |
| 2sg | تَتَكَلَّمُ | تَكَلَّمْتَ | سَتَتَكَلَّمُ |
| 3sg | يَتَكَلَّمُ | تَكَلَّمَ | سَيَتَكَلَّمُ |
| 1pl | نَتَكَلَّمُ | تَكَلَّمْنَا | سَنَتَكَلَّمُ |
| 2pl | تَتَكَلَّمُونَ | تَكَلَّمْتُمْ | سَتَتَكَلَّمُونَ |
| 3pl | يَتَكَلَّمُونَ | تَكَلَّمُوا | سَيَتَكَلَّمُونَ |
Word family
كَلِمَةword
كَلَامspeech, talk
كَلَّمَto speak to, address
مُتَكَلِّمspeaker; (grammar) first person
تَكَلُّمthe act of speaking
Etymology
تَكَلَّمَ is the Form V (reflexive) verb built on the Semitic triliteral root ك-ل-م, the same root behind كَلِمَة 'word' and كَلَام 'speech.' The ta- prefix with a doubled middle radical turns the basic idea of 'word' into the act of producing speech oneself. The root is Proto-Semitic, not Indo-European. A related root in Hebrew carries the sense of wounding or shaming, which some scholars tie to the notion of cutting words.
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