Learn Arabic › A1 › عَرَف
عَرَف
to know (by acquaintance); to recognize /ˈʕa.ra.fa/
verbA1#30 most common
Also: to recognize, to be acquainted with, to find out / realize
Example sentences
أَنَا أَعْرِفُ هَذَا الْوَلَدَ.
I know this boy.
هَلْ تَعْرِفُ الطَّرِيقَ إِلَى الْمَطَارِ؟
Do you know the way to the airport?
عَرَفْتُهُ مِنْ صَوْتِهِ فَوْرًا.
I recognized him immediately from his voice.
لَمْ أَكُنْ أَعْرِفُ أَنَّكَ مَرِيضٌ، وَإِلَّا لَزُرْتُكَ.
I didn't know you were sick, otherwise I would have visited you.
مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ فَقَدْ عَرَفَ رَبَّهُ.
Whoever knows himself has known his Lord.
لَا يُدْرِكُ الْإِنْسَانُ قِيمَةَ الْأَشْيَاءِ إِلَّا بَعْدَ أَنْ يَفْقِدَهَا، فَحِينَئِذٍ يَعْرِفُ كَمْ كَانَتْ غَالِيَةً.
A person does not grasp the value of things until after losing them; only then does he know how precious they were.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَعْرِفُ | عَرَفْتُ | سَأَعْرِفُ |
| 2sg | تَعْرِفُ | عَرَفْتَ | سَتَعْرِفُ |
| 3sg | يَعْرِفُ | عَرَفَ | سَيَعْرِفُ |
| 1pl | نَعْرِفُ | عَرَفْنَا | سَنَعْرِفُ |
| 2pl | تَعْرِفُونَ | عَرَفْتُمْ | سَتَعْرِفُونَ |
| 3pl | يَعْرِفُونَ | عَرَفُوا | سَيَعْرِفُونَ |
Word family
مَعْرِفَةknowledge, acquaintanceتَعْرِيفdefinition; introduction
عَرَّفَto define; to introduce; to inform
اِعْتَرَفَto confess, admit, acknowledge
مَعْرُوفwell-known; a kindness, good deedEtymology
عَرَفَ comes from the Semitic triliteral root ع-ر-ف (ʿ-r-f), expressing recognition, perception, and acquaintance. In Arabic the root branched into a rich family: مَعْرِفَة 'knowledge/gnosis', عُرْف 'custom, convention', and the toponym عَرَفات. It is distinguished from the root ع-ل-م (ʿ-l-m), which conveys factual, propositional 'knowing', whereas عَرَفَ leans toward knowing-by-acquaintance and recognizing.
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