عَرَفَ (ʿarafa) means to know, to recognize. It is a sound Form I verb from the root ع ر ف (ʿ-r-f): عَرَفَ (ʿarafa) in the past, يَعْرِفُ (yaʿrifu) in the present and اِعْرِفْ (iʿrif) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, active and passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of ʿarafa on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for عَرَفَ, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
ʿArafa at a glance
| Root | ع ر ف (ʿ-r-f), starting with the letter ʿayn |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | عَرَفَ (ʿarafa) |
| Present, he | يَعْرِفُ (yaʿrifu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِعْرِفْ (iʿrif) |
| Active participle | عَارِف (ʿārif) |
| Passive participle | مَعْرُوف (maʿrūf) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | مَعْرِفَة (maʿrifa), عِرْفَان (ʿirfān) |
Past tense of ʿarafa
The past tense (al-māḍī) of ʿarafa is one stem, ʿaraf-, plus a suffix that carries the person: عَرَفْتُ (ʿaraftu) for I, عَرَفَتْ (ʿarafat) for she, عَرَفُوا (ʿarafū) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | عَرَفْتُ | ʿaraftu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | عَرَفْنَا | ʿarafnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | عَرَفْتَ | ʿarafta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | عَرَفْتِ | ʿarafti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | عَرَفْتُمَا | ʿaraftumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | عَرَفْتُمْ | ʿaraftum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | عَرَفْتُنَّ | ʿaraftunna |
| he · هو huwa | عَرَفَ | ʿarafa |
| she · هي hiya | عَرَفَتْ | ʿarafat |
| they two m. · هما humā | عَرَفَا | ʿarafā |
| they two f. · هما humā | عَرَفَتَا | ʿarafatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | عَرَفُوا | ʿarafū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | عَرَفْنَ | ʿarafna |
Present tense of ʿarafa
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of ʿarafa has i in the stem, -ʿrif-, which no rule predicts: أَعْرِفُ (aʿrifu) for I, يَعْرِفُ (yaʿrifu) for he, يَعْرِفُونَ (yaʿrifūna) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَعْرِفُ | aʿrifu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَعْرِفُ | naʿrifu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَعْرِفُ | taʿrifu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَعْرِفِينَ | taʿrifīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَعْرِفَانِ | taʿrifāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَعْرِفُونَ | taʿrifūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَعْرِفْنَ | taʿrifna |
| he · هو huwa | يَعْرِفُ | yaʿrifu |
| she · هي hiya | تَعْرِفُ | taʿrifu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَعْرِفَانِ | yaʿrifāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَعْرِفَانِ | taʿrifāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَعْرِفُونَ | yaʿrifūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَعْرِفْنَ | yaʿrifna |
Subjunctive and jussive of ʿarafa
The subjunctive and the jussive of ʿarafa change only the ending of the present: يَعْرِفُ (yaʿrifu) becomes يَعْرِفَ (yaʿrifa) after لن (lan, will not) and يَعْرِفْ (yaʿrif) after لم (lam, did not).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَعْرِفَ (aʿrifa) | أَعْرِفْ (aʿrif) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَعْرِفَ (naʿrifa) | نَعْرِفْ (naʿrif) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَعْرِفَ (taʿrifa) | تَعْرِفْ (taʿrif) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَعْرِفِي (taʿrifī) | تَعْرِفِي (taʿrifī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَعْرِفَا (taʿrifā) | تَعْرِفَا (taʿrifā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَعْرِفُوا (taʿrifū) | تَعْرِفُوا (taʿrifū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَعْرِفْنَ (taʿrifna) | تَعْرِفْنَ (taʿrifna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَعْرِفَ (yaʿrifa) | يَعْرِفْ (yaʿrif) |
| she · هي hiya | تَعْرِفَ (taʿrifa) | تَعْرِفْ (taʿrif) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَعْرِفَا (yaʿrifā) | يَعْرِفَا (yaʿrifā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَعْرِفَا (taʿrifā) | تَعْرِفَا (taʿrifā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَعْرِفُوا (yaʿrifū) | يَعْرِفُوا (yaʿrifū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَعْرِفْنَ (yaʿrifna) | يَعْرِفْنَ (yaʿrifna) |
Imperative of ʿarafa
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَعْرِفْ (taʿrif) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اِعْرِفْ (iʿrif) to one man, اِعْرِفِي (iʿrifī) to one woman, اِعْرِفُوا (iʿrifū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِعْرِفْ | iʿrif |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِعْرِفِي | iʿrifī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِعْرِفَا | iʿrifā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِعْرِفُوا | iʿrifū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِعْرِفْنَ | iʿrifna |
Passive of ʿarafa
The passive of ʿarafa keeps the consonants and changes the vowels: u and i in the past (عُرِفَ (ʿurifa)), the prefix yu- and a before the last root letter in the present (يُعْرَفُ (yuʿrafu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | عُرِفْتُ (ʿuriftu) | أُعْرَفُ (uʿrafu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | عُرِفْنَا (ʿurifnā) | نُعْرَفُ (nuʿrafu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | عُرِفْتَ (ʿurifta) | تُعْرَفُ (tuʿrafu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | عُرِفْتِ (ʿurifti) | تُعْرَفِينَ (tuʿrafīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | عُرِفْتُمَا (ʿuriftumā) | تُعْرَفَانِ (tuʿrafāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | عُرِفْتُمْ (ʿuriftum) | تُعْرَفُونَ (tuʿrafūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | عُرِفْتُنَّ (ʿuriftunna) | تُعْرَفْنَ (tuʿrafna) |
| he · هو huwa | عُرِفَ (ʿurifa) | يُعْرَفُ (yuʿrafu) |
| she · هي hiya | عُرِفَتْ (ʿurifat) | تُعْرَفُ (tuʿrafu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | عُرِفَا (ʿurifā) | يُعْرَفَانِ (yuʿrafāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | عُرِفَتَا (ʿurifatā) | تُعْرَفَانِ (tuʿrafāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | عُرِفُوا (ʿurifū) | يُعْرَفُونَ (yuʿrafūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | عُرِفْنَ (ʿurifna) | يُعْرَفْنَ (yuʿrafna) |
Participles and verbal noun of ʿarafa
The active participle follows the pattern fāʿil: عَارِف (ʿārif). The passive participle follows mafʿūl: مَعْرُوف (maʿrūf). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists two for ʿarafa: مَعْرِفَة (maʿrifa), عِرْفَان (ʿirfān). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under ʿ-r-f in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why ʿarafa conjugates this way
The root letters of عَرَفَ (ʿarafa), ع ر ف (ʿ-r-f), are all strong consonants, with no w, y or hamza and no letter repeated, so nothing in its conjugation changes shape. What has to be learned is the pair of stem vowels: a in the past and i in the present, which no rule predicts.
ʿArafa in sentences
أعرف ابنك.
I know your son.
The verb: أَعْرِفُ (aʿrifu), present, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11500412 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
من يعرف؟
Who knows?
The verb: يَعْرِفُ (yaʿrifu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 12268535 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of ʿarafa?
The present tense of عَرَفَ (ʿarafa) is يَعْرِفُ (yaʿrifu) for he, أَعْرِفُ (aʿrifu) for I and تَعْرِفُ (taʿrifu) for you (one man). Its stem vowel, i, has to be learned with the verb.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of ʿarafa?
مَعْرِفَة (maʿrifa), عِرْفَان (ʿirfān), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is عَارِف (ʿārif), and the passive participle مَعْرُوف (maʿrūf).
Is ʿarafa a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so nothing changes shape; only its stem vowels, a in the past and i in the present, have to be learned with it.