Learn Arabic › B1 › عَزَف
عَزَف
to play (a musical instrument) /ʕaˈzafa/
verbB1#1893 most common
Also: to perform music, to turn away from / abstain from (with the preposition عَن)
Example sentences
أَنَا أَعْزِفُ الْعُودَ.
I play the oud.
هِيَ تَعْزِفُ الْبِيَانُو كُلَّ يَوْمٍ.
She plays the piano every day.
عَزَفَ الْمُوسِيقِيُّ لَحْنًا جَمِيلًا فِي الْحَفْلَةِ.
The musician played a beautiful melody at the party.
عَزَفَ الطَّالِبُ عَنِ الدِّرَاسَةِ بَعْدَ أَنْ فَقَدَ الْأَمَلَ.
The student turned away from studying after he lost hope.
عَزَفَتِ الْفِرْقَةُ سِيمْفُونِيَّةً كَامِلَةً أَمَامَ جُمْهُورٍ غَفِيرٍ.
The band played a full symphony before a large crowd.
كُلَّمَا عَزَفَ عَلَى الْكَمَانِ، عَزَفَ النَّاسُ عَنْ أَحَادِيثِهِمْ وَأَصْغَوْا إِلَيْهِ.
Whenever he played the violin, people turned away from their conversations and listened to him.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَعْزِفُ | عَزَفْتُ | سَأَعْزِفُ |
| 2sg | تَعْزِفُ | عَزَفْتَ | سَتَعْزِفُ |
| 3sg | يَعْزِفُ | عَزَفَ | سَيَعْزِفُ |
| 1pl | نَعْزِفُ | عَزَفْنَا | سَنَعْزِفُ |
| 2pl | تَعْزِفُونَ | عَزَفْتُمْ | سَتَعْزِفُونَ |
| 3pl | يَعْزِفُونَ | عَزَفُوا | سَيَعْزِفُونَ |
Word family
عَازِفplayer, musician
عَزْفthe act of playing musicمَعْزُوفَةa musical piece
عَزُوفreluctant, disinclined
مِعْزَفa stringed instrument
Etymology
The verb comes from the Semitic triliteral root ع-ز-ف (ʿ-z-f). Classical Arabic tied it to sound and to the wind that hums over sand, and from there to the sounding of instruments. The same root also carries the sense of turning away, used with the preposition عَن.
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