Learn ArabicB2 › صادَف

صادَف

to come across; to meet by chance /ˈsˤaː.da.fa/

verbB2#3307 most common

Also: to encounter, to happen upon, to coincide with

Example sentences

صادَفْتُ صَديقي في السّوق.
I ran into my friend at the market.
هَل صادَفْتَ أَحَدًا تَعرِفُهُ في الحَفلة؟
Did you happen to meet anyone you know at the party?
صادَفَتْ فَريقَنا مَشاكِلُ كَثيرة أَثناءَ المَشروع.
Our team ran into many problems during the project.
صادَفَني مَنظَرٌ جَميلٌ وَأَنا أَتَجَوَّلُ في الجَبَل.
I came across a beautiful view while wandering in the mountain.
صادَفَ نَجاحُ الشَّرِكةِ تَغَيُّرًا كَبيرًا في السّوقِ العالَمِيّ.
The company's success coincided with a major shift in the global market.
قَلَّما تُصادِفُ فُرصةً كَهذِهِ في حَياتِكَ المِهَنِيّة.
Rarely do you come across an opportunity like this in your professional life.

Conjugation

Present ActiveSimple Past ActiveSimple Future Active
1sgأُصادِفُصادَفْتُسَأُصادِفُ
2sgتُصادِفُصادَفْتَسَتُصادِفُ
3sgيُصادِفُصادَفَسَيُصادِفُ
1plنُصادِفُصادَفْناسَنُصادِفُ
2plتُصادِفونَصادَفْتُمْسَتُصادِفونَ
3plيُصادِفونَصادَفواسَيُصادِفونَ

Word family

صُدْفةcoincidence, chance
مُصادَفةchance encounter, coincidence (verbal noun of صادَف)
تَصادَفَto happen to coincide, to meet by mutual chance
صَدَفseashell, mother-of-pearl
مُصادِفcoincidental, coinciding

Etymology

Ṣādafa comes from the Semitic root ṣ-d-f, which also gives ṣadaf, the word for seashell, and ṣudfa, the word for coincidence. The verb is built on the Form III pattern fāʿala, which often marks an action directed at or shared with another party. Over time the root's sense of something turning up unexpectedly, like a shell washed onto a beach, became the core meaning of the verb: to meet or find something by chance. Arabic is a Semitic language, so it has no Indo-European root.

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