Learn Arabic › B1 › خَلْفَ
خَلْفَ
behind /ˈxal.fa/
particleB1#2386 most common
Also: after (in time), in back of, behind someone's back
Example sentences
البيتُ خَلْفَ المدرسةِ.
The house is behind the school.
الكلبُ يجري خَلْفَ الكرةِ.
The dog runs behind the ball.
وَقَفَ خَلْفِي في الطابورِ.
He stood behind me in line.
تركتُ حقيبتي خَلْفَ البابِ.
I left my bag behind the door.
يسيرُ الجيشُ خَلْفَ قائدِه بثقةٍ.
The army marches behind its leader with confidence.
تَختَبِئُ الحقيقةُ أحيانًا خَلْفَ الكلماتِ المعسولةِ.
Sometimes the truth hides behind sweet-sounding words.
Word family
خَلَفَto succeed, to come after, to replace
خَليفةsuccessor, caliph
خِلافdispute, disagreementمُخَالِفcontrary to, in violation of
خَلْفthe back, the rear partEtymology
خَلْفَ comes from the Arabic triliteral root خ-ل-ف (kh-l-f), which carries the core sense of coming after or standing behind something, in place or in time. The same root gives خَلَفَ, to succeed or follow, and خَليفة, caliph, literally a successor. The root is Semitic rather than Indo-European, so it has relatives in sister Semitic languages instead of a shared prehistoric European ancestor.
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