# to stop / stand up



## Alexxy

So I was looking for the verb 'stand up' in arabic and it said وقف. Also when I was looking for the verb 'stop' it suggested وقف again. Are these two used the same way in arabic?

With thanks
Alexxy


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## AndyRoo

وقف can mean both stand and stop and a range of other things. Usually context will make it clear which meaning is intended. Or you can use a different verb e.g. قام also means stand up.


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## YassinR

Hi,

Yes, 'stand up' and stop are the same word. 
EX: Stop! > قِف  | stand up! > قِف


AndyRoo said:


> وقف can mean both stand and stop and a range of other things. Usually context will make it clear which meaning is intended. Or you can use a different verb e.g. قام also means stand up.



No, قام means 'stood up', since it's past.


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## Alexxy

Oh, I get it now. 
Thanks!


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## fdb

I think Andy was suggesting that you use the imperative _qum_ for "stand up".


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## AndyRoo

YassinR said:


> No, قام means 'stood up', since it's past.





fdb said:


> I think Andy was suggesting that you use the imperative _qum_ for "stand up".



Actually what I meant was قام is the infinitive "[to] stand up" (which is what most dictionaries say) . Sorry for any confusion!


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## fdb

If we really want to be precise: the citation form qāma is 3rd person singular masculine, past tense. The infinitive (maṣdar) is qawma or qiyām. It is, however, convention in European dictionaries of Arabic to gloss the citation form with an English (French, German etc.) infinitive, in this case “to stand up”.


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## AndyRoo

^Precise is good. I think you have cleared up all confusion. Thank you!


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## Alexxy

Err... actually this precious made me more confused. Can you please explain it a little more clearly?


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## AndyRoo

Here is an extract from Hans Wehr:



Hopefully that will make things clear. If not, perhaps you can say which part is not clear.


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## Alexxy

I get it now. Everyone, thank you very much!


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## Rob-san

To me, and to my mother, "ْ*توقّف*" in imperative sounds a lot better and gives a much clearer meaning of "stop doing something", while "ْ*قف*" didn't really hit the meaning in that sense. Same thing for "*توقّفَ*" and *"وقفَ"* in past tense of course.


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## ajamiyya عجمية

^Isn't "ْ*قف*"  what is written on stop signs in the Arab world?  Does it vary from country to country?


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## Hemza

^True, it's written on stop signs in Arab countries.


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## Rob-san

the OP asked for what "Stand up" and "Stop" means 
"stand up" is "قف", definitely
and "قف" is also what's written on stop-signs to mean "stop this car"


I just wanted to add I the word for "stop doing something", and to me "توقّفْ" is what means that 
as in :
توقف عن التحديق بي !
stop staring at me !

hope I didn't cause any confusion !


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## ajamiyya عجمية

So, what you are saying is that "(توقف (عن" is used in the sense of "Cease (such and such an activity)!", which does not carry the same connotation as the "stop" in "stop (the car)"?


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## Rob-san

^Precisely.


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## aurelien.demarest

mutalima.majhoola said:


> So, what you are saying is that "(توقف (عن" is used in the sense of "Cease (such and such an activity)!"



at this point would this version be correct?

where did the man stop? (meaning he was walking and he stopped)
أين توقف الرجل؟

Aurélien


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## cherine

Yes, correct.


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## aurelien.demarest

أشكرك يا شيرين


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## cherine

عفوًا يا أورليان


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## foforum

1 form and 5 root وقف intransitive but in spoken/PA Arabic used only 1 form right?
Form 4 root وقف transitive so to describe next situations 
I stop him to do something, or stop criminal, or stop mechanism I use only form 4, right?
Thank you in advance.


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## Interprete

In a sense, 'stand up' really means 'stop sitting'. So it makes perfect sense to use the same verb for both meanings 
Besides, when you ask someone in motion to stop, you're asking them to 'stand' (still).


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## Ashraf Mahmoud

foforum said:


> 1 form and 5 root وقف intransitive but in spoken/PA Arabic used only 1 form right?
> Form 4 root وقف transitive so to describe next situations
> I stop him to do something, or stop criminal, or stop mechanism I use only form 4, right?
> Thank you in advance.



To foforum, you can see Form 1(وقف) vs Form 5(توقف), and Form 4(أوقف) vs Form 2(وقّف) here.


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