Learn Arabic › B2 › تَلاعَب
تَلاعَب
to manipulate, to tamper with /taˈlaːʕaba/
verbB2#3065 most common
Also: to toy with, to play tricks on, to rig
Example sentences
هُوَ يَتَلاعَبُ بِالْكُرَةِ أَمَامَ الْجُمْهُورِ.
He shows off tricks with the ball in front of the crowd.
لا تَتَلاعَبْ بِمَشَاعِري مِنْ فَضْلِكَ.
Please don't toy with my feelings.
تَلاعَبَ الْبَائِعُ بِالْأَسْعَارِ لِيَخْدَعَ الزَّبَائِنَ.
The seller manipulated the prices to deceive the customers.
تَلاعَبَتِ الشَّرِكَةُ بِالْأَرْقَامِ فِي تَقْرِيرِهَا الْمَالِيِّ.
The company manipulated the numbers in its financial report.
اُتُّهِمَ الْمُوَظَّفُ بِأَنَّهُ تَلاعَبَ بِالْأَدِلَّةِ قَبْلَ وُصُولِ الشُّرْطَةِ.
The employee was accused of tampering with the evidence before the police arrived.
يَزْعُمُ الْمُعَارِضُونَ أَنَّ الْحُكُومَةَ تَلاعَبَتْ بِنَتَائِجِ الِانْتِخَابَاتِ لِضَمَانِ بَقَائِهَا فِي السُّلْطَةِ.
The opposition claims the government manipulated the election results to secure its hold on power.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَتَلاعَبُ | تَلاعَبْتُ | سَأَتَلاعَبُ |
| 2sg | تَتَلاعَبُ | تَلاعَبْتَ | سَتَتَلاعَبُ |
| 3sg | يَتَلاعَبُ | تَلاعَبَ | سَيَتَلاعَبُ |
| 1pl | نَتَلاعَبُ | تَلاعَبْنَا | سَنَتَلاعَبُ |
| 2pl | تَتَلاعَبُونَ | تَلاعَبْتُمْ | سَتَتَلاعَبُونَ |
| 3pl | يَتَلاعَبُونَ | تَلاعَبُوا | سَيَتَلاعَبُونَ |
Word family
Etymology
The verb comes from the Semitic root ل-ع-ب, which carries the basic sense of play or game. Arabic Form VI (the تَفَاعَلَ pattern) usually adds a reciprocal or feigned quality to an action. Applied to this root, plain playing turns into playing with someone in a dishonest sense: toying with, tricking, or manipulating. Arabic is a Semitic language, not Indo-European, so no PIE root applies here.
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