طفل

طفل

Arabic

Etymology

From the root ط ف ل‎ (ṭ-f-l).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tˤifl/

Noun

طِفْل • (ṭifl) m (plural أَطْفَال‎ (ʔaṭfāl))

1. child (a minor)
2. (collective) children (a minor)
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 22:05:

     ‏وَنُقِرُّ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ مَا نَشَاءُ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ثُمَّ نُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ‎

     wanuqirru fī l-ʔarḥāmi mā našāʔu ʔilā ʔajalin musamman ṯumma nuḵrijukum ṭiflan ṯumma litabluḡū ʔašuddakum

     ˹Then˺ We settle whatever ˹embryo˺ We will in the womb for an appointed term, then bring you forth as infants, so that you may reach your prime. Some of you ˹may˺ die ˹young˺, while others are left to reach the most feeble stage of life so that they may know nothing after having known much.

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 24:31:

     ‏أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَى عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ‎

     ʔawi ṭ-ṭifli allaḏīna lam yaẓharū ʕalā ʕawrāti n-nisāʔi

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Declension

Declension of noun طِفْل (ṭifl)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	طِفْل ṭifl	الطِّفْل‎ aṭ-ṭifl	طِفْل ṭifl
Nominative	طِفْلٌ ṭiflun	الطِّفْلُ‎ aṭ-ṭiflu	طِفْلُ ṭiflu
Accusative	طِفْلًا‎ ṭiflan	الطِّفْلَ‎ aṭ-ṭifla	طِفْلَ ṭifla
Genitive	طِفْلٍ ṭiflin	الطِّفْلِ‎ aṭ-ṭifli	طِفْلِ ṭifli
Dual	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	طِفْلَيْن‎ ṭiflayn	الطِّفْلَيْن‎ aṭ-ṭiflayn	طِفْلَيْ‎ ṭiflay
Nominative	طِفْلَانِ‎ ṭiflāni	الطِّفْلَانِ‎ aṭ-ṭiflāni	طِفْلَا‎ ṭiflā
Accusative	طِفْلَيْنِ‎ ṭiflayni	الطِّفْلَيْنِ‎ aṭ-ṭiflayni	طِفْلَيْ‎ ṭiflay
Genitive	طِفْلَيْنِ‎ ṭiflayni	الطِّفْلَيْنِ‎ aṭ-ṭiflayni	طِفْلَيْ‎ ṭiflay
Plural	basic broken plural triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَطْفَال‎ ʔaṭfāl	الْأَطْفَال‎ al-ʔaṭfāl	أَطْفَال‎ ʔaṭfāl
Nominative	أَطْفَالٌ‎ ʔaṭfālun	الْأَطْفَالُ‎ al-ʔaṭfālu	أَطْفَالُ‎ ʔaṭfālu
Accusative	أَطْفَالًا‎ ʔaṭfālan	الْأَطْفَالَ‎ al-ʔaṭfāla	أَطْفَالَ‎ ʔaṭfāla
Genitive	أَطْفَالٍ‎ ʔaṭfālin	الْأَطْفَالِ‎ al-ʔaṭfāli	أَطْفَالِ‎ ʔaṭfāli

Descendants

• Maltese: tifel
• → Persian: طفل‎ (tefl)
• → Turkish: tıfıl
• → Urdu: طفل‎ (tifl)

References

• Wehr, Hans (1979), “طفل”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

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Egyptian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic طِفْل‎ (ṭifl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtˤɪfl]

Noun

طفل • (ṭifl) f (plural اطفال‎ (aṭfāl))

1. child

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Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic طِفْل‎ (ṭifl).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /tifl/

• (Dari Persian) IPA^(key): /tɪfl/

• (Iranian Persian) IPA^(key): /tefl/

• (Tajik) IPA^(key): /tifl/

Noun

Dari	طفل
Iranian Persian
Tajik	тифл (tifl)

طفل • (tefl)

1. infant

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South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic طِفْل‎ (ṭifl).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tˤifl/, [ˈtˤɪ.f(ɪ)l]

• Audio (Ramallah)

  (file)

Noun

طفل • (ṭifl) m (plural أطفال‎ (ʔaṭfāl), feminine طفلة‎ (ṭifle))

1. (formal) young child, toddler, baby

See also

• بيبي‎ (bēbi, “baby”)
• ولد‎ (walad, “child; boy”)

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Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian طفل‎ (tefl), from Arabic طِفْل‎ (ṭifl).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /t̪ɪfl/

Noun

طِفْل • (tifl) m (Hindi spelling तिफ़्ल)

1. infant, child

References

• “طفل”, in اُردُو لُغَت (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “طفل”, in Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2023.