Learn Arabic › B2 › خَلا
خَلا
to be empty; to be alone (with) /xaˈlaː/
verbB2#4163 most common
Also: to elapse, pass (of time), to be devoid of, free from, except for (as a fixed exception particle)
Example sentences
خَلَتِ الغُرفةُ.
The room became empty.
خَلا الشارعُ في الليلِ.
The street was empty at night.
خَلا الرجلُ بصديقِه ليتحدّثا سرًّا.
The man was alone with his friend so the two of them could talk privately.
خَلَتْ سنواتٌ طويلةٌ منذ أن التقينا.
Many long years have passed since we met.
وإذا خَلَوْا إلى شياطينِهم قالوا إنّا معكم.
And when they are alone with their devils, they say, We are with you.
فيما خَلا ذلك، لم يطرأ تغييرٌ يُذكر على الوضعِ العامّ.
Except for that, no notable change occurred in the general situation.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَخْلُو | خَلَوْتُ | سَأَخْلُو |
| 2sg | تَخْلُو | خَلَوْتَ | سَتَخْلُو |
| 3sg | يَخْلُو | خَلا | سَيَخْلُو |
| 1pl | نَخْلُو | خَلَوْنا | سَنَخْلُو |
| 2pl | تَخْلُونَ | خَلَوْتُم | سَتَخْلُونَ |
| 3pl | يَخْلُونَ | خَلَوْا | سَيَخْلُونَ |
Word family
خالٍempty, vacant
خَلوةseclusion, a private meeting alone
خَلاءopen space, wilderness, vacuum
إخلاءevacuation, the act of vacating
Etymology
خَلا comes from the Arabic root kh-l-w, a hollow triliteral root whose weak middle radical و surfaces as alif in the past tense. Its core sense is absence or vacancy. From that base sense come the meanings of being empty, being alone with someone in private, and time passing, as in days left vacant behind a person. It is a native Semitic root, not one with a traceable Proto-Indo-European ancestor.
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