Learn Arabic › B1 › قَفّ
قَفّ
to bristle, to stand on end (of hair or skin) /ˈqafːa/
verbB1#1554 most common
Also: to shudder, to shiver (from fear or cold), to shrivel, to dry up
Example sentences
قَفَّ شَعْري مِنَ الخَوْف.
My hair stood on end from fear.
قَفَّ جِلْدي عِنْدَما سَمِعْتُ الصَّوْت.
My skin crawled when I heard the sound.
قَفَّ شَعْرُ رَأْسي حينَ رَأَيْتُ ظِلًّا يَتَحَرَّكُ في الظَّلام.
The hair on my head stood on end when I saw a shadow moving in the dark.
كُلَّما تَذَكَّرْتُ تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةَ، قَفَّ جِلْدي مِنْ هَوْلِ ما حَدَثَ.
Whenever I remember that night, my skin bristles at the horror of what happened.
لم أَكُنْ أُصَدِّقُ أنَّ حِكايَةً قَديمَةً قَدْ تَجْعَلُ شَعْري يَقُفُّ على هذا النَّحْوِ.
I did not believe an old tale could make my hair stand on end like that.
ما إنْ بَلَغَ الرّاوي ذِرْوَةَ الحِكايَةِ حتّى قَفَّتْ أَبْدانُ الحاضِرينَ واقْشَعَرَّتْ جُلودُهُم.
The moment the narrator reached the climax of the tale, the bodies of those present bristled and their skin crept.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَقُفُّ | قَفَفْتُ | سَأَقُفُّ |
| 2sg | تَقُفُّ | قَفَفْتَ | سَتَقُفُّ |
| 3sg | يَقُفُّ | قَفَّ | سَيَقُفُّ |
| 1pl | نَقُفُّ | قَفَفْنا | سَنَقُفُّ |
| 2pl | تَقُفُّونَ | قَفَفْتُمْ | سَتَقُفُّونَ |
| 3pl | يَقُفُّونَ | قَفُّوا | سَيَقُفُّونَ |
Word family
قُفوفthe bristling or standing on end (verbal noun)
قافّbristling, standing on end
قَفْقَفَto shiver, to chatter (of teeth)
قُفّةpalm-leaf basket
Etymology
The verb comes from the Semitic triliteral root ق-ف-ف (q-f-f), a geminate root whose last two radicals are identical. The core sense joins the ideas of drying up and contracting, from which the meaning of skin or hair tightening and standing on end developed. Classical usage fixed it in expressions of fear and horror.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free