Arabic vocabulary
خَلَفَleft in Arabic
خَلَفَ is how you say “left” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root خ ل ف (kh-l-f)verb (form I)Pronounced khalafa
Meaning of left in Arabic
- to come after, remain, or stay behind following another, especially one who died or perished — matches the sense of being 'left' surviving after someone or something has gone
- to take someone's place, act as their substitute, or become their khalīfah (successor, deputy, vice-regent) — used of heirs, deputies over a family, and rulers
- (of things) to succeed and replace one another, to alternate — said of night following day, or one crop of fruit replacing another
- to come up on someone from behind and seize them, or strike off their head unawares
Central to the phrase خَلَفَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْكَ, said to someone who has lost an irreplaceable relative (father, mother, uncle), meaning roughly "may God be your replacement/support" or "may God restore to you what you have lost." The verbal noun خِلَافَة and the agent-sense behind خَلِيفَة (successor, vice-regent) carry strong Qur'anic and later caliphal resonance, all rooted in the basic idea of coming after and taking another's place.
Words from the same root
- خَلِيفٌsuccessor, vice-regent — one who takes another's place
- خِلَافَةٌsuccession; the office of being someone's successor or vice-regent
- خَلَفٌa successor; that which takes the place of what came before
- خَلْفٌposterity, those who come after (esp. an inferior generation)
- خِلْفَةٌalternation, succession — e.g. of night and day, or fruit after fruit
Common questions
- How do you say "left" in Arabic?
- خَلَفَ (khalafa) — used of remaining or staying behind after another person, especially one who has died or departed.
- What is the core meaning of the root خ-ل-ف?
- It expresses coming after, following, or succeeding — the same idea found in خَليفة (successor/vice-regent) and خِلافة (succession).
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
يا آدم، لا تجزع من قولي لك اخرج منها، فلك ولصالح ذريتك خلّفتها
O Adam, do not grieve over My saying to you: 'Get out of it,' for I created it for you and your righteous descendants.
خَلَّفْتُهَا — I have left it. Past-tense verb 'left behind, set aside'; the ending '-tu' = 'I' and '-ha' = 'it' — 'I set it aside'.
From: Adam's Descent →
Related words
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