# All dialects/MSA: to faint, lose consciousness



## sara-lingo

[Moderator note: this thread is merged out of 3 different threads about the same topic. Cherine]

Hi, what is the correct way to say that 'someone has lost consciousness' in both Egyptian arabic and Standard Arabic?
Thanks
Sara


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## rayloom

Hi,

For the masculine:
MSA: أغمي عليه 
2ughmiya 3alayh(i)

EA: أغمى عليه
2ughma 3aleeh
also I think: 2ughman 3aleeh

Other forms used in MSA:
فقد وعيه faqada wa3yah(u)
غشي عليه ghushiya 3alayh


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## Sidjanga

Hi,





rayloom said:


> For the masculine:
> MSA: أغمي عليه


May I ask what the literal meaning of this phrase is? I've been wondering about that for a while. 

(and the same form's used in Palestinian Arabic, too, isn't it?)


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## samatar

in Palestine (north, at least) we say

صَفْرَن


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## إسكندراني

i think in EA we can also say 'wa2a3 men Tuulu'


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## AndyRoo

Sidjanga said:


> Hi,May I ask what the literal meaning of this phrase is? I've been wondering about that for a while.


 
Literally 2ughmiya 3alayh means "he was overcome". Note it is in the passive, as is the similar phrase ghushiya 3alayh


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## Sidjanga

Hi again,



Sidjanga said:


> rayloom said:
> 
> 
> 
> For the masculine:
> MSA: أغمي عليه
> 
> 
> 
> [...] (and the same form's used in Palestinian Arabic, too, isn't it?)
Click to expand...

...and one of the replies I received was:





samatar said:


> in Palestine (north, at least) we say
> 
> صَفْرَن


So I'd like to ask in this separate thread (on PA)

- whether أغمي عليه _is _used anywhere else in PA. I read it in a story that's actually in colloquial (see below), but maybe the athor did mix in a few MSA expressions here and there.

- what word class "صَفْرَن" is (to me at least, it doesn't look like a verb; well, not a typical one, anyway ), and how it is used, i.e., if in the sentence below, for example, I could simply substitute أغمي عليه with صفرن or if I'd need to change anything else.

(the story is about a lumberjack/logger):

الشجرة بتبكي وبتقول: من فضلك, ما تقطعنيش, خلّيني محلي في الغابة, وأنا مستعدّة أساعدك في شو ما بدك.
إستغرب الحطاب كيف الشجرة صارت  تحكي معو ووقع على الأرض من كتر الخوف وأغمي عليه.
ولما صحي تأكد إنو الشجرة هي إلي كانت تحكي معو...


شكراً


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## elroy

Yes, أغمي عليه is used, but صفرن is more common.  There's also غاب عن الوعي.

صفرن is a 4-root verb, like برمج and دردش.

And yes, you could use صفرن in your context.


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## samatar

In northern Palestine, I rarely (if ever) hear أغمي عليه
True - غاب وعيه أو غاب عن الوعي is used, but the default is صفرن

It is my understanding that it is also used in Jerusalem 

The etymology of صفرن probably has to do with the yellowing (اصفرار) of the face, since when one loses consciousness it has to do with insufficient levels of oxygenated blood reaching the brain


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## elroy

samatar said:


> It is my understanding that it is also used in Jerusalem


 Yes, it is.


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## ARB87

The MSA verb I found for "to faint" is غُشِيَ  (passive form of غَشِيَ ).  I hope that is correct, and I hope someone can check these sentences for me:

You fainted at the hospital.
غُشِيتَ بالمستشفى

Be careful, don't faint !
انتبه, ﻻ تُغشا !

شكرا


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## elroy

I'm not familiar with that verb.  I would use غاب عن الوعي.

غبتَ عن الوعي في المستشفى
انتبه، لا تغب عن الوعي


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## analeeh

There's also أُغميت عليه _ughmiyat 3alayhi_.


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## elroy

analeeh said:


> There's also أُغميت عليه _ughmiyat 3alayhi_.


 Yes, that's a synonym, but it should be masculine: أُغمي عليه (ughmiya 3alayhi).


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## Ghabi

ARB87 said:


> غُشِيتَ You fainted


That would be غُشِيَ عليك, the verb being passive and invariable (cf. Post#6).


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## analeeh

Yeah, I don't know where that -t came from.

In any case the Syrian equivalent is غمي عليه _ghimi 3aleeh _which is likewise invariable (like all passives where the object promoted is preceded by a preposition).


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## ahmedcowon

In EA, the verb سورق /soora2/ is also used and common.


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## ARB87

Ghabi said:


> That would be غُشِيَ عليك, the verb being passive and invariable (cf. Post#6).



If using  " غُشِيَ عليه  " , how do you say:

_You will faint_ (male, future tense)
_Don't faint_ (male, imperative)  

Will it be:
سيُغشا عليك
ﻻ يُغش عليك


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## Ghabi

That would be سيُغشى عليك. For the imperative I think you need to use Elroy's suggestion in Post#12.


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## be.010

Hello!
In Syria we say ughma 3alee أغمى عليه
صفرن Safran is also widely used.


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## Hemza

Hello,

In Morocco, we use the verb "صخف/يصخف". I don't know if my fellow مغاربة use it too.


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## momai

be.010 said:


> In Syria we say ughma 3alee أغمى عليه
> صفرن Safran is also widely used.


I've never heard safran used this way in Syria.I have always used and heard it used when someone doesn't feel well and probably going to throw up.
(a regional usage maybe?)
I personally use the phrase "faqad el wa3i" but I heard ughme 3leh too,though.


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## analeeh

According to what I've been told, صفرن in Syrian means 'go pale' (from fright or illness).

Is _ghimi 3aleeh_ a very regional usage then? I've heard both but assumed _ughmi 3aleeh_ was just a recent Fushaism.


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## be.010

momai said:


> I've never heard safran used this way in Syria.I have always used and heard it used when someone doesn't feel well and probably going to throw up.
> (a regional usage maybe?)
> I personally use the phrase "faqad el wa3i" but I heard ughme 3leh too,though.


Regional... Perhaps not common in Damascus but is still widely used especially in central and northern regions (but still understood in Damascus). To be honest I've never heard it in the sense of someone going to throw up (maybe half-fainted... but not just feeling sick). I lived my whole life in Damascus and I have relatives from Hama, maybe it's a regional difference after all? 

[Update:] I've just made a little survey among 4 friends from Damascus and got the following results:
1. To faint: وقع wə2e3, غوطن 3'ooTan was very natural, ughmi 3alee is also acceptable. Safran is understood to mean the same but is not Damascene.
2. wə2e3, Safran, 3'ooTan, ughmi 3alee, all used and mean the same.  فقد وعيه fa2ad wa3yo sounds like MSA.
3&4.  Safran means got scared (or went pale because of that)...


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## Zoghbi

> Hello,
> 
> In Morocco, we use the verb "صخف/يصخف". I don't know if my fellow مغاربة use it too.



Hello, in my city we use ينْصرع (an additionnal ص-verb to this topic) and outside they may use يتغاشى.


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