# طفل
## Arabic

* Root
* ط ف ل (ṭ f l)
* 5 terms

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tˤifl/

### Noun

طِفْل • (ṭifl) m (plural أَطْفَال (ʔaṭfāl))
* child (a minor)
** 1967, “زَهْرَة الْمَدَائِن [Flower of Cities]”, Said Akl (lyrics), Rahbani brothers (music)‎performed by Fairuz:الطِّفْلُ فِي الْمَغَارَة وَأُمُّهُ مَرْيَم وَجْهَانِ يَبْكِيَانِ يَبْكِيَانِ لِأَجْلِ مَنْ تَشَرَّدُوا لِأَجْلِ أَطْفَالٍ بِلَا مَنَازِلaṭ-ṭiflu fī l-maḡāra(t) waʔummuhu maryam wajhāni yabkiyāni yabkiyāni liʔajli man tašarradū liʔajli ʔaṭfālin bilā manāzilThe child and his mother Maryam in the cave, two faces crying. Crying for those made homeless, For children without houses.
* (collective) children (a minor)
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 22:05:وَنُقِرُّ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ مَا نَشَاءُ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ثُمَّ نُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْwanuqirru 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 ye 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 النِّسَاءِʔawi aṭ-ṭifli allaḏīna lam yaẓharū ʕalā ʕawrāti n-nisāʔior children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness.

#### 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

## Egyptian Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic طِفْل (ṭifl).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈtˤɪfl]

### Noun

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

## Persian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic طِفْل (ṭifl).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [tifl]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [t̪ʰɪfl]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [t̪ʰɪfl]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [t̪ʰɪfl]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [t̪ʰifl̥]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [t̪ʰefl̥]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [t̪ʰifl]

### Noun

| Dari | طفل |
| Iranian Persian | طفل |
| Tajik | тифл |
طفل • (tefl)
* infant

## South Levantine Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic طِفْل (ṭifl).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tˤifl/, [ˈtˤɪ.f(ɪ)l]
* Audio (Ramallah):(file)

### Noun

طفل • (ṭifl) m (plural أطفال (ʔaṭfāl), feminine طفلة (ṭifle))
* (formal) young child, toddler, baby

#### See also

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

## Urdu
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian طفل (tifl), from Arabic طِفْل (ṭifl).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /t̪ɪfl/
* Rhymes: -ɪfl

### Noun

طِفْل • (tifl) m (formal plural اطفال, Hindi spelling तिफ़्ल)
* boy, child

### Further reading

* “طفل”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* “طفل”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.
* Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “طفل”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.