Learn Arabic › A1 › لَطِيف
لَطِيف
kind /laˈtˤiːf/
adjectiveA1#596 most common
Also: gentle, pleasant, nice, delicate, subtle
Example sentences
هُوَ وَلَدٌ لَطِيف.
He is a nice boy.
جارَتُنا اِمْرَأَةٌ لَطِيفَة.
Our neighbor is a kind woman.
كُنْتَ لَطِيفاً جِدّاً عِنْدَما ساعَدْتَني.
You were very kind when you helped me.
تَحَدَّثَ بِصَوْتٍ لَطِيفٍ حَتّى لا يُوقِظَ الطِّفْل.
He spoke in a gentle voice so as not to wake the child.
تَتَطَلَّبُ هَذِهِ المَسْأَلَةُ لَمْسَةً لَطِيفَةً وَكَثِيراً مِنَ الصَّبْر.
This matter requires a delicate touch and a lot of patience.
في الفَرْقِ بَيْنَ الكَلِمَتَيْنِ مَعْنىً لَطِيفٌ لا يُدْرِكُهُ إِلّا المُتَخَصِّص.
In the difference between the two words there is a subtle sense that only a specialist grasps.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | لَطِيفٌ | لُطَفاءُ |
| Genitive | لَطِيفٍ | لُطَفاءَ |
| Accusative | لَطِيفاً | لُطَفاءَ |
| Vocative | يا لَطِيفُ | يا لُطَفاءُ |
Word family
لُطْفkindness, gentleness, grace
لَطافَةniceness, delicacy
لَطَّفَto soften, to mitigate
تَلَطَّفَto be gentle, to show kindness
لَطِيفَةsubtle joke, fine point
Etymology
لَطِيف comes from the Semitic root l-ṭ-f, which covers the ideas of gentleness, kindness, and fineness. It follows the faʿīl adjective pattern. The same root gives the noun luṭf, meaning kindness, and the verb laṭṭafa, meaning to soften. In Islamic tradition al-Laṭīf is one of the names of God.
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