تَحَدَّثَ is a high-frequency Form-V verb meaning “speak, talk, or discuss.” It comes from root ح-د-ث, the same family as حَدِيث “speech, conversation, report.” The verb itself is structurally sound: its doubled دّ belongs to the Form-V pattern and remains throughout the paradigm.
The central grammar lies in the complements. A conversational partner normally follows مع, a topic follows عن, and a person or audience being addressed can follow إلى. English can say “discuss the budget” with a direct object; Arabic normally says تحدث عن الميزانية. The verb is therefore best learned as a small network of frames, not as a one-word translation.
The Form-V overview explains the general pattern. For the closest high-frequency lexical alternative, compare the تكلم reference.
Lookup card and principal parts
| Item | Verified form | Use |
|---|---|---|
| root and Form | ح-د-ث، Form V | sound derived verb with pattern-internal gemination |
| perfect | تَحَدَّثَ | he spoke / talked |
| imperfect indicative | يَتَحَدَّثُ | he speaks / is speaking |
| imperative, 2 m.sg. | تَحَدَّثْ | speak! / talk! |
| verbal noun | تَحَدُّثٌ | speaking; talking |
| active participle | مُتَحَدِّثٌ | speaker; spokesperson; someone speaking |
| passive | تُحُدِّثَ — يُتَحَدَّثُ | was spoken of — is spoken of |
| passive participle | مُتَحَدَّثٌ عَنْهُ | spoken about; under discussion |
The principal-parts chain is تَحَدَّثَ — يَتَحَدَّثُ — تَحَدَّثْ — تَحَدُّثًا. There is no weak-letter deletion and no supporting imperative alif. The active participle مُتَحَدِّث has kasra under the doubled د, while passive مُتَحَدَّث has fatḥa there. In unvocalized writing both appear as متحدث, so syntax and meaning identify the reading.
تحدثت المهندسة مع فريق الصيانة صباحا.
taḥaddathati l-muhandisatu maʿa farīqi ṣ-ṣiyānati ṣabāḥā.
The engineer spoke with the maintenance team that morning. (Formal neutral.)
يتحدث التقرير عن أثر الجفاف في الزراعة.
yataḥaddathu t-taqrīru ʿan ʾathari l-jafāfi fī z-zirāʿa.
The report discusses the effect of drought on agriculture. (Formal written register; an inanimate text is presented as speaking about a topic.)
Compact conjugation and mood
The perfect stem is stable: تَحَدَّثْتُ، تَحَدَّثْتَ، تَحَدَّثَتْ، تَحَدَّثْنَا، تَحَدَّثُوا. Notice that تحدثت without vowels can mean تَحَدَّثْتُ “I spoke,” تَحَدَّثْتَ “you (m.) spoke,” تَحَدَّثْتِ “you (f.) spoke,” or تَحَدَّثَتْ “she spoke.” Agreement and context resolve the ambiguity.
The imperfect is أَتَحَدَّثُ، تَتَحَدَّثُ، يَتَحَدَّثُ، نَتَحَدَّثُ. Mood affects its ending regularly: يَتَحَدَّثُ indicative, لَنْ يَتَحَدَّثَ subjunctive, لَمْ يَتَحَدَّثْ jussive. Commands are تَحَدَّثْ، تَحَدَّثِي، تَحَدَّثَا، تَحَدَّثُوا، تَحَدَّثْنَ.
سأتحدث مع المحررة بعد انتهاء المقابلة.
saʾataḥaddathu maʿa l-muḥarrirati baʿda ntihāʾi l-muqābala.
I will speak with the editor after the interview ends. (Formal neutral.)
لن يتحدث الشاهد إلى وسائل الإعلام قبل الجلسة.
lan yataḥaddatha sh-shāhidu ʾilā wasāʾili l-ʾiʿlāmi qabla l-jalsa.
The witness will not speak to the media before the hearing. (Formal; subjunctive after لن.)
لم نتحدث عن الأسماء خلال المفاوضات.
lam nataḥaddath ʿani l-ʾasmāʾi khilāla l-mufāwaḍāt.
We did not discuss names during the negotiations. (Formal; jussive after لم.)
تحدث ببطء كي يتمكن المترجم من متابعتك.
taḥaddath bibuṭʾin kay yatamakkana l-mutarjimu min mutābaʿatik.
Speak slowly so that the interpreter can follow you. (Formal instruction to one man.)
Ranked meanings and government
1. Speak with someone: مع
Use مع for the other participant in a conversation. This framing presents the exchange as interaction, even if the example reports only one person's contribution. The complement may be a noun or an attached pronoun: مع المدير، معه، معها، معهم.
تحدث الطبيب مع والدي الطفل قبل العملية.
taḥaddatha ṭ-ṭabību maʿa wālidayi ṭ-ṭifli qabla l-ʿamaliyya.
The doctor spoke with the child's parents before the operation. (Formal neutral.)
هذه هي الخبيرة التي تحدثنا معها بشأن العقد.
hādhihi hiya l-khabīratu llatī taḥaddathnā maʿahā bishaʾni l-ʿaqd.
This is the expert we spoke with concerning the contract. (Formal; resumptive pronoun after مع.)
In a relative clause, formal Arabic keeps the resumptive pronoun: الخبيرة التي تحدثنا معها, literally “the expert whom we spoke with her.” English deletes the object after with; Arabic does not leave مع stranded.
2. Speak or write about a topic: عن
Use عن for the subject matter. This can describe conversation, a lecture, an article, or a report. When English discuss takes a bare noun, Arabic still uses عن with تحدث.
تحدث الخبير عن مخاطر تخزين النسخ في خادم واحد.
taḥaddatha l-khabīru ʿan makhāṭiri takhzīni n-nusakhi fī khādimin wāḥid.
The expert discussed the risks of storing the copies on a single server. (Formal technical register.)
لا أريد أن أتحدث عن زملائي في غيابهم.
lā ʾurīdu ʾan ʾataḥaddatha ʿan zumalāʾī fī ghiyābihim.
I do not want to talk about my colleagues in their absence. (Formal neutral.)
في may introduce a field or an issue treated at some length: تحدث في الاقتصاد، تحدث في هذه المسألة. It often sounds more like “speak on / treat the subject of” (formal/academic), whereas عن is the broad neutral choice for “about.” These meanings overlap; do not turn the tendency into an absolute ban.
3. Speak to an audience: إلى
Use إلى when speech is directed toward a person, institution, or public: تحدث إلى الصحافة، تحدث إلى الطلاب. With one individual, تحدث إلى foregrounds addressing that person; تحدث مع foregrounds the two-way conversation.
تحدثت الوزيرة إلى الجمهور عبر بث مباشر.
taḥaddathati l-wazīratu ʾilā l-jumhūri ʿabra baththin mubāshir.
The minister spoke to the public in a live broadcast. (Formal.)
تحدث الممرض إلى المريض، ثم ناقش الخطة مع أسرته.
taḥaddatha l-mumarriḍu ʾilā l-marīḍi, thumma nāqasha l-khuṭṭata maʿa ʾusratih.
The nurse spoke to the patient, then discussed the plan with his family. (Formal neutral.)
تحدث and تكلم: overlap without identity
In contemporary MSA, تحدث and تكلم often both mean “speak/talk,” and both can occur with مع and عن. تحدث is especially common in news, reports, interviews, and formal descriptions of speaking. تكلم readily describes the act or ability of speaking and is conventional with language names: تكلم العربية or تكلم بالعربية. These are usage centers, not rigid register walls.
For a language of communication, تحدث بالعربية is also entirely normal: بـ means “in/by means of Arabic.” A direct language object such as تحدث العربية occurs, but learners wanting a dependable contrast can use تحدث بالعربية and reserve the bare language object for تكلم العربية or أجاد العربية.
تحدث الوفدان بالإنجليزية خلال الجزء التقني من الاجتماع.
taḥaddatha l-wafdāni bil-ʾingilīziyyati khilāla l-juzʾi t-tiqniyyi mina l-ijtimāʿ.
The two delegations spoke in English during the technical part of the meeting. (Formal.)
Passive and participles
Because active تحدث is normally intransitive, its passive is most natural in an impersonal prepositional frame: يُتَحَدَّثُ عن القضية “the issue is talked about.” The passive participle likewise normally carries its complement: الموضوع المتحدث عنه “the topic being discussed.” Bare متحدث is much more likely to be active مُتَحَدِّث “speaker/spokesperson.”
يتحدث عن هذا الاحتمال كثيرا في التقارير الاقتصادية.
yutaḥaddathu ʿan hādhā l-iḥtimāli kathīran fī t-taqārīri l-iqtiṣādiyya.
This possibility is discussed frequently in economic reports. (Formal impersonal passive.)
المتحدث باسم الوزارة سيعقد مؤتمرا بعد الظهر.
al-mutaḥaddithu bismi l-wizārati sayaʿqidu muʾtamaran baʿda ẓ-ẓuhr.
The ministry spokesperson will hold a conference this afternoon. (Formal institutional register.)
High-frequency collocations
| Collocation | Meaning and register |
|---|---|
| تَحَدَّثَ مَعَ | speak with (neutral) |
| تَحَدَّثَ عَنْ | speak/discuss about (neutral) |
| تَحَدَّثَ إِلَى الصَّحَافَةِ | speak to the press (formal/journalistic) |
| تَحَدَّثَ بِاسْمِ | speak on behalf of (formal) |
| تَحَدَّثَ بِصَرَاحَةٍ | speak frankly (neutral/formal) |
| مُتَحَدِّثٌ رَسْمِيٌّ | official spokesperson (institutional) |
Common Mistakes
Making the topic a direct object after تحدث
❌ تحدثنا الخطة الجديدة في الاجتماع.
Incorrect with تحدث—the topic normally follows عن; use ناقشنا for a direct-object ‘discuss.’
✅ تحدثنا عن الخطة الجديدة في الاجتماع.
taḥaddathnā ʿani l-khuṭṭati l-jadīdati fī l-ijtimāʿ.
We talked about the new plan at the meeting.
Using عن for the conversational partner
❌ تحدثت عن المحامية بشأن موعد الجلسة.
Incorrect for ‘spoke with the lawyer’—عن makes the lawyer the topic of conversation.
✅ تحدثت مع المحامية بشأن موعد الجلسة.
taḥaddathtu maʿa l-muḥāmiyati bishaʾni mawʿidi l-jalsa.
I spoke with the lawyer about the hearing date.
Stranding مع in a relative clause
❌ قابلت الخبير الذي تحدثت مع أمس.
Incorrect in formal MSA—مع needs a resumptive pronoun referring to الخبير.
✅ قابلت الخبير الذي تحدثت معه أمس.
qābaltu l-khabīra lladhī taḥaddathtu maʿahu ʾams.
I met the expert whom I spoke with yesterday.
Adding an imperative alif that Form V does not have
❌ اتحدث بوضوح أمام اللجنة.
Incorrect spelling of the Form-V command—the imperative begins directly with ت: تحدث.
✅ تحدث بوضوح أمام اللجنة.
taḥaddath biwuḍūḥin ʾamāma l-lajna.
Speak clearly before the committee.
Key Takeaways
- The Form-V principal parts are تَحَدَّثَ، يَتَحَدَّثُ، تَحَدَّثْ، تَحَدُّثًا with the pattern's doubled middle radical.
- Use مع for a conversational partner, عن for a topic, and إلى for an addressee or audience.
- English discuss + object normally maps to تحدث عن or direct-object ناقش.
- The unvocalized form متحدث can represent active مُتَحَدِّث or passive مُتَحَدَّث; complements and context decide.
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- أجاب — answer with عن or direct-object patterns and a hollow Form IV stemA2 — Use أجاب for people, questions, wording, and requests while controlling its hollow Form-IV stem changes.
- تكلم — speak a language or converseB1 — Conjugate تكلم and distinguish speaking a language, speaking in a language, conversing with someone, and talking about a topic.
- كان — beA2 — Reference the hollow verb كان across its full paradigm, copular and existential senses, predicate case, conditionals, and high-frequency collocations.
- Resumptive PronounsB1 — Link relative clauses and left-dislocated topics to their antecedents with the return pronoun that Arabic requires or favors inside the clause.
- Form V تفعّلA2 — Build Form V from t- plus the Form II shape and distinguish reflexive, result, developmental, and fully lexicalized meanings.