Learn Arabic › B1 › شَفَقَة
شَفَقَة
compassion /ˈʃa.fa.qa/
nounB1#1775 most common
Also: pity, tenderness, sympathy
Example sentences
عِنْدَهُ شَفَقَة.
He has compassion.
نَظَرَتْ إِلَيْهِ بِشَفَقَة.
She looked at him with compassion.
عَامَلَ الأَطْفَالَ بِشَفَقَة كَبِيرَة.
He treated the children with great compassion.
شَعَرْتُ بِشَفَقَة نَحْوَ الرَّجُلِ المِسْكِينِ.
I felt compassion toward the poor man.
لَا تَخْلُو قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ شَفَقَة عَلَى الضُّعَفَاءِ.
Their hearts are not without compassion for the weak.
إِنَّ الشَّفَقَةَ عَلَى الظَّالِمِ ظُلْمٌ لِلْمَظْلُومِ.
Compassion for the oppressor is injustice to the oppressed.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | شَفَقَةٌ | شَفَقَاتٌ |
| Genitive | شَفَقَةٍ | شَفَقَاتٍ |
| Accusative | شَفَقَةً | شَفَقَاتٍ |
| Vocative | يَا شَفَقَةُ | يَا شَفَقَاتُ |
Word family
أَشْفَقَto feel compassion or anxious care for
مُشْفِقcompassionate, tender
إِشْفَاقcompassion, concern
شَفَقtwilight, red afterglow
Etymology
The word comes from the Arabic triliteral root ش-ف-ق (sh-f-q), which carries the sense of tender feeling joined with concern for another. The same root yields شَفَق, the red glow of twilight, and the verb أَشْفَقَ, to feel pity or anxious care. The noun شَفَقَة names the feeling itself: soft-hearted care for someone who suffers.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free