Learn Arabic › B1 › نَفَق
نَفَق
tunnel /naˈfaq/
nounB1#2041 most common
Also: underground passage, burrow
Example sentences
القِطَارُ فِي النَّفَقِ.
The train is in the tunnel.
يَمُرُّ الطَّرِيقُ عَبْرَ نَفَقٍ طَوِيلٍ.
The road passes through a long tunnel.
حَفَرَ العُمَّالُ نَفَقًا تَحْتَ الجَبَلِ.
The workers dug a tunnel under the mountain.
تَمْتَدُّ أَنْفَاقُ المِتْرو تَحْتَ المَدِينَةِ كُلِّهَا.
The metro tunnels extend under the whole city.
اِنْهَارَ النَّفَقُ أَثْنَاءَ أَعْمَالِ الصِّيَانَةِ، فَأُغْلِقَ الطَّرِيقُ لِأَيَّامٍ.
The tunnel collapsed during maintenance work, so the road was closed for days.
اُسْتُخْدِمَتْ شَبَكَةُ الأَنْفَاقِ لِتَهْرِيبِ البَضَائِعِ بَعِيدًا عَنْ أَعْيُنِ الرَّقَابَةِ.
The network of tunnels was used to smuggle goods away from the eyes of the authorities.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | نَفَقٌ | أَنْفَاقٌ |
| Genitive | نَفَقٍ | أَنْفَاقٍ |
| Accusative | نَفَقًا | أَنْفَاقًا |
| Vocative | يَا نَفَقُ | يَا أَنْفَاقُ |
Word family
أَنْفَاقtunnels (plural)
نَافِقَاءa jerboa's escape hole
نِفَاقhypocrisy
مُنَافِقhypocrite
أَنْفَقَto spend (money)
Etymology
The word comes from the Arabic root ن-ف-ق (n-f-q), tied to the idea of passing through or exiting. Its oldest sense is the burrow of a jerboa, a hole dug with a hidden exit. From that image it broadened to mean any tunnel or underground passage.
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