Learn Arabic › B1 › غَفَر
غَفَر
to forgive /ˈɣa.fa.ra/
verbB1#2859 most common
Also: to pardon, to absolve
Example sentences
اللهُ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ.
God forgives sins.
غَفَرَ اللهُ لَهُ.
God forgave him.
أَسْأَلُ اللهَ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لِي.
I ask God to forgive me.
غَفَرَتِ الأُمُّ لِابْنِهَا بَعْدَ أَنِ اعْتَذَرَ.
The mother forgave her son after he apologized.
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ.
My Lord, forgive me and my parents.
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا.
O God, forgive us our sins and our excess in our affairs.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَغْفِرُ | غَفَرْتُ | سَأَغْفِرُ |
| 2sg | تَغْفِرُ | غَفَرْتَ | سَتَغْفِرُ |
| 3sg | يَغْفِرُ | غَفَرَ | سَيَغْفِرُ |
| 1pl | نَغْفِرُ | غَفَرْنَا | سَنَغْفِرُ |
| 2pl | تَغْفِرُونَ | غَفَرْتُمْ | سَتَغْفِرُونَ |
| 3pl | يَغْفِرُونَ | غَفَرُوا | سَيَغْفِرُونَ |
Word family
غُفْرَانforgiveness
مَغْفِرَةforgiveness, pardon
غَفُورmost forgiving (a divine epithet)
اِسْتَغْفَرَto ask for forgiveness
غَافِرone who forgives, a forgiver
Etymology
The root غ ف ر literally means to cover or conceal. Forgiveness in this word picture is God or a person covering over a wrongdoing rather than exposing or punishing it. The same Semitic root, with the sense of covering, shows up in Hebrew and Akkadian, most famously behind the Hebrew word for the Day of Atonement. Arabic kept the plain covering sense in words like a covering helmet, while غَفَر itself narrowed to mean forgive.
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More Arabic words
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