Learn Arabic › A2 › صَفّ
صَفّ
row /ˈsˤaff/
nounA2#804 most common
Also: line, rank, class (school grade)
Example sentences
نَحْنُ فِي الصَّفِّ الأَوَّل.
We are in the first grade.
اِجْلِسْ فِي الصَّفِّ الأَمَامِيّ.
Sit in the front row.
وَقَفَ الطُّلَّابُ فِي صَفٍّ وَاحِد.
The students stood in a single line.
اِصْطَفَّ الجُنُودُ فِي صُفُوفٍ مُنْتَظِمَة.
The soldiers lined up in orderly rows.
تَقَدَّمَ المُتَظَاهِرُونَ فِي صُفُوفٍ مُتَرَاصَّة نَحْوَ السَّاحَة.
The demonstrators advanced in tight ranks toward the square.
شَقَّتِ المُعَارَضَةُ صُفُوفَ الحِزْبِ الحَاكِم.
The opposition split the ranks of the ruling party.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | صَفٌّ | صُفُوفٌ |
| Genitive | صَفٍّ | صُفُوفٍ |
| Accusative | صَفًّا | صُفُوفًا |
| Vocative | يَا صَفُّ | يَا صُفُوفُ |
Word family
صَفَّto line up, arrange in a row
اِصْطَفَّto line up, form a row
صُفُوفrows, ranks (plural)
مَصَفّrank, array
تَصْفِيفarrangement, styling
Etymology
صَفّ comes from the Semitic triconsonantal root ص-ف-ف (ṣ-f-f), which carries the sense of arranging things in a row. The related verb صَفَّ means to line up or set in order. From this base Arabic builds words for ranks, files, and school grades. The Quran has a chapter named الصَّفّ, the Ranks.
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