Learn Arabic › A2 › تَوَفَّى
تَوَفَّى
to take (a soul) in death; (of God) to claim in full; (passive تُوُفِّيَ) to pass away, die /ta.ˈwaf.faː/
verbA2#1379 most common
Also: to take or receive in full, to claim a soul (of God), to decease, be deceased
Example sentences
تُوُفِّيَ جَدِّي.
My grandfather passed away.
تُوُفِّيَ الرَّجُلُ في المُستَشفى.
The man died in the hospital.
تُوُفِّيَتْ جَدَّتي العامَ الماضي بَعدَ مَرَضٍ طَويل.
My grandmother passed away last year after a long illness.
تَوَفَّى اللهُ الأنبياءَ جَميعاً، ولكنَّ ذِكراهُم باقِية.
God took all the prophets in death, but their memory remains.
يُؤمِنُ المُسلِمونَ أنَّ اللهَ يَتَوَفَّى الأنفُسَ حينَ مَوتِها وفي مَنامِها.
Muslims believe that God takes the souls at the time of their death and during their sleep.
لمّا تَوَفَّاهُ اللهُ في عِزِّ شَبابِهِ، تَرَكَ وَراءَهُ إرثاً فِكرِيّاً لا يَزالُ النُّقّادُ يَتَناوَلونَهُ بِالدِّراسَة.
When God took him in death in the prime of his youth, he left behind an intellectual legacy that critics still study.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَتَوَفَّى | تَوَفَّيْتُ | سَأَتَوَفَّى |
| 2sg | تَتَوَفَّى | تَوَفَّيْتَ | سَتَتَوَفَّى |
| 3sg | يَتَوَفَّى | تَوَفَّى | سَيَتَوَفَّى |
| 1pl | نَتَوَفَّى | تَوَفَّيْنَا | سَنَتَوَفَّى |
| 2pl | تَتَوَفَّوْنَ | تَوَفَّيْتُمْ | سَتَتَوَفَّوْنَ |
| 3pl | يَتَوَفَّوْنَ | تَوَفَّوْا | سَيَتَوَفَّوْنَ |
Word family
وَفَاةdeath, decease
مُتَوَفّىdeceased person, the late
وَفَّىto fulfill, pay in full
وَفَاءfaithfulness, loyalty
اِستَوفىto collect in full, exhaust a right
Etymology
The verb comes from the Semitic root و-ف-ي, which carries the sense of fullness, completion, and paying in full. It is the Form V (تَفَعَّل) derivative, so it means roughly to take or receive in full. From there it became the standard religious term for God taking a soul completely, that is, causing death, and its passive form became the polite word for dying.
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