Learn Arabic › B2 › نَأَى
نَأَى
to move away, to become distant /naˈʔaː/
verbB2#3312 most common
Also: to withdraw, to distance oneself, to grow apart
Example sentences
نَأَى الوَلَدُ عَنِ البَيْتِ.
The boy moved away from the house.
نَأَتِ الفَتَاةُ عَنْ أَصْدِقَائِهَا.
The girl grew distant from her friends.
نَأَى الرَّئِيسُ بِنَفْسِهِ عَنِ الخِلَافِ.
The president distanced himself from the dispute.
كُلَّمَا كَبِرْنَا، نَأَيْنَا عَنْ أَحْلَامِ الطُّفُولَةِ.
The older we grew, the more we drifted from our childhood dreams.
يَنْأَى كَثِيرٌ مِنَ السَّاسَةِ بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَنِ المَسْؤُولِيَّةِ عِنْدَ الأَزَمَاتِ.
Many politicians distance themselves from responsibility during crises.
نَأَتْ بِيَ الظُّرُوفُ عَنْ وَطَنِي حَتَّى غَدَوْتُ غَرِيبًا فِي أَرْضِي.
Circumstances carried me far from my homeland until I became a stranger in my own land.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَنْأَى | نَأَيْتُ | سَأَنْأَى |
| 2sg | تَنْأَى | نَأَيْتَ | سَتَنْأَى |
| 3sg | يَنْأَى | نَأَى | سَيَنْأَى |
| 1pl | نَنْأَى | نَأَيْنَا | سَنَنْأَى |
| 2pl | تَنْأَوْنَ | نَأَيْتُمْ | سَتَنْأَوْنَ |
| 3pl | يَنْأَوْنَ | نَأَوْا | سَيَنْأَوْنَ |
Word family
نَأْيdistance, remoteness
نَائٍdistant, far-off
مَنْأًىa remote or safe place
تَنَاءَىto grow mutually apart, drift apart
Etymology
The verb comes from the Semitic triliteral root ن-أ-ي (n-ʾ-y), which carries the core sense of physical or emotional distance. Classical Arabic dictionaries list نَأَى next to its noun نَأْي (distance) and adjective نَائٍ (far-off), all built on the same root. The verb keeps its formal, literary register today, most often in the fixed phrase نأى بنفسه عن, meaning to keep oneself removed from something.
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