A new word or phrase from the Hans Wehr dictionary, every Wednesday.
هفهفة hafhafa sough, whispering of the wind
Root: ه-ف-ه-ف
Page: 1207*
Example: “لا صَوتَ هُنا إلّا هَفهَفةَ الرّيحِ في أَعالي الأَشجار”
Translation: “here, the only sound is the whispering of the wind in the treetops”
Notes:
- The root ه-ف-ه-ف is an example of a reduplicated quadriliteral—its phonology is related to the action or sound it denotes!
- At the start of the example sentence, we see لا صوتَ—take a look at The Absolute Negation in Arabic if you need a refresher about this construction
- Finally, curious about how إلا and similar words affect the grammar of whatever follows? Read (Over) Seven Ways to Say “Except” in Arabic–Plus the Grammar to get up to speed
Revise all of the vocab from the series on Quizlet:
* The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th Edition
The Arabic Pages 