طَلَبَ is broader than English request. Depending on its object, it can mean “request,” “ask for,” “seek,” “look for,” “order,” or “summon.” The verb normally takes the thing sought or requested as a direct object: طلب نسخة “requested a copy.” When a request is directed to a person, contemporary MSA most often uses من + person, followed by the requested thing or an أنْ clause.
This is a sound Form-I verb from root ط-ل-ب. Its consonants remain stable, but the imperfect vowel is lexical: طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ, not a form that can be predicted from English. Learn the forms and the complement frame together; the Form-I overview explains why this vowel must be stored lexically.
Lookup card and principal parts
| Item | Verified form | Use |
|---|---|---|
| root and Form | ط-ل-ب، Form I | sound verb, فَعَلَ يَفْعُلُ |
| perfect | طَلَبَ | he requested / sought |
| imperfect indicative | يَطْلُبُ | he requests / seeks |
| imperative, 2 m.sg. | اُطْلُبْ | ask for! / request! |
| verbal noun | طَلَبٌ | request, demand, application, order |
| active participle | طَالِبٌ | seeker; requester; lexicalized “student” |
| passive | طُلِبَ — يُطْلَبُ | was / is requested, sought, required |
| passive participle | مَطْلُوبٌ | requested, required, wanted |
The principal-parts chain is طَلَبَ — يَطْلُبُ — اُطْلُبْ — طَلَبًا. The command begins with hamzat al-waṣl. It is pronounced uṭlub at the start of an utterance, but its initial vowel elides after و: واطلب waṭlub. The passive and the passive participle are frequent in notices, job advertisements, and administrative prose.
طلبت الشركة عرضا مفصلا للتكاليف.
ṭalabati sh-sharikatu ʿarḍan mufaṣṣalan lit-takālīf.
The company requested a detailed cost proposal. (Formal business register.)
تطلب هذه الوظيفة خبرة لا تقل عن خمس سنوات.
taṭlubu hādhihi l-waẓīfatu khibratan lā taqillu ʿan khamsi sanawāt.
This job requires at least five years of experience. (Formal employment register.)
A compact working paradigm
The perfect uses the stable stem طلبـ: طَلَبْتُ، طَلَبْنَا، طَلَبُوا. The singular imperfect marks mood with its final vowel: indicative يطلبُ, subjunctive لن يطلبَ, and jussive لم يطلبْ. The commands are اُطْلُبْ، اُطْلُبِي، اُطْلُبَا، اُطْلُبُوا، اُطْلُبْنَ.
| Environment | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| perfect, 1 sg. | طَلَبْتُ | I requested / sought |
| indicative, 3 f.sg. | تَطْلُبُ | she requests / seeks |
| subjunctive | لَنْ يَطْلُبَ | he will not request |
| jussive | لَمْ يَطْلُبْ | he did not request |
| imperative | اُطْلُبْ | request! / ask for! |
لن نطلب تمويلا إضافيا قبل نهاية العام.
lan naṭluba tamwīlan ʾiḍāfiyyan qabla nihāyati l-ʿām.
We will not request additional funding before the end of the year. (Formal.)
اطلبوا المساعدة فور ظهور أي علامة خطر.
uṭlubū l-musāʿadata fawra ẓuhūri ʾayyi ʿalāmati khaṭar.
Ask for help as soon as any warning sign appears. (Formal instruction to a group.)
The passive طُلِبَ / يُطْلَبُ is useful when the requester is irrelevant or already known. مطلوب can be adjectival “required/wanted” or a noun meaning “a wanted person”; context and register decide.
طلب من جميع المتقدمين إحضار جواز السفر.
ṭuliba min jamīʿi l-mutaqaddimīna ʾiḥḍāru jawāzi s-safar.
All applicants were asked to bring a passport. (Formal impersonal passive.)
Ranked meanings and valency
1. Request or order a thing: direct object
The requested item is a direct object: طلب معلومات، طلب موعدا، طلب الطعام. In commercial contexts, the same verb covers ordering goods or food. The person or institution from whom it is requested follows من.
طلبت نسخة من العقد من قسم الموارد البشرية.
ṭalabtu nuskhatan mina l-ʿaqdi min qismi l-mawāridi l-bashariyya.
I requested a copy of the contract from Human Resources. (Formal workplace register.)
Here the first من belongs inside the noun phrase “a copy of the contract”; the second identifies the source of the request. Arabic permits the repetition because the two phrases have different functions, though a writer may rephrase if the sentence becomes heavy.
2. Ask a person to act: من + person + أنْ
The safest contemporary frame is طلب من شخص أن يفعل. أنْ makes the following imperfect subjunctive. A verbal noun can replace the finite clause in denser official prose: طلب من الوفد المغادرة “asked the delegation to leave.”
طلب الطبيب من المريض أن يعود بعد أسبوع.
ṭalaba ṭ-ṭabību mina l-marīḍi ʾan yaʿūda baʿda ʾusbūʿ.
The doctor asked the patient to return after a week. (Formal neutral.)
طلب رئيس الجلسة من الصحفيين مغادرة القاعة مؤقتا.
ṭalaba raʾīsu l-jalsati mina ṣ-ṣaḥafiyyīna mughādarata l-qāʿati muʾaqqatan.
The chair of the session asked the journalists to leave the room temporarily. (Formal institutional.)
3. طلب إلى + person + أنْ: a marked formal alternative
طلب إلى فلان أن يفعل is attested and grammatically accepted. It is especially associated with official, legal, or older administrative prose, where it can sound like a directed formal request. It is not an error, but طلب من is the more transparent neutral choice for most learners and most contemporary contexts.
طلبت المحكمة إلى الخبير أن يقدم تقريره خلال ثلاثين يوما.
ṭalabati l-maḥkamatu ʾilā l-khabīri ʾan yuqaddima taqrīrahu khilāla thalāthīna yawman.
The court formally requested that the expert submit his report within thirty days. (Formal/legal.)
4. Seek, look for, or pursue
With goals such as knowledge, work, refuge, or treatment, طلب means “seek.” These objects remain direct: طلب العلم، طلب العمل، طلب اللجوء، طلب العلاج. English often inserts for, but Arabic does not.
انتقل إلى المدينة طلبا للعمل لا رغبة في ترك أسرته.
intaqala ʾilā l-madīnati ṭalaban lil-ʿamali lā raghbatan fī tarki ʾusratih.
He moved to the city seeking work, not because he wanted to leave his family. (Formal.)
5. Ask for or summon a person
A person can itself be the direct object: طلب الطبيب may mean “asked for the doctor,” and طلب المدير الموظف can mean “the director summoned the employee.” Because the bare frame can be context-dependent, formal prose often adds a purpose or uses a clearer verb such as استدعى when “summon” is specifically intended.
طلب المدير المسؤول عن الأمن لمناقشة الحادث.
ṭalaba l-mudīru l-masʾūla ʿani l-ʾamni li-munāqashati l-ḥādith.
The director asked for the security officer to discuss the incident. (Formal workplace register.)
High-frequency collocations
| Collocation | Meaning and register |
|---|---|
| طَلَبَ الْمُسَاعَدَةَ | asked for help (neutral/formal) |
| طَلَبَ مِنْهُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ | asked him to do (neutral/formal) |
| طَلَبَ الْعِلْمَ / الْعَمَلَ | sought knowledge / work (formal-neutral) |
| قَدَّمَ طَلَبًا | submitted an application/request (administrative) |
| بِنَاءً عَلَى طَلَبِ | at the request of (formal) |
| مَطْلُوبٌ فَوْرًا | wanted/required immediately (advertising or notices) |
Common Mistakes
Calquing English “from” with لـ
❌ طلب المدير للموظف أن يرسل الفاتورة.
Incorrect for the intended neutral frame ‘asked the employee to send’; the addressee normally follows من.
✅ طلب المدير من الموظف أن يرسل الفاتورة.
ṭalaba l-mudīru mina l-muwaẓẓafi ʾan yursila l-fātūra.
The director asked the employee to send the invoice.
Keeping the plural indicative after أنْ
❌ طلبت منهم أن ينتظرون في الخارج.
Incorrect—the five-verb ن drops in the subjunctive after أنْ.
✅ طلبت منهم أن ينتظروا في الخارج.
ṭalabtu minhum ʾan yantaẓirū fī l-khārij.
I asked them to wait outside.
Mispronouncing the imperfect vowel
❌ يطلب العميل إيصالا مطبوعا.
yaṭlibu l-ʿamīlu ʾīṣālan maṭbūʿan
Incorrect reading—the Form-I imperfect is يَطْلُبُ, with u on the second radical.
✅ يطلب الزبون فاتورة مطبوعة.
yaṭlubu z-zabūnu fātūratan maṭbūʿa.
The customer is requesting a printed invoice.
Translating “make a request” word for word
❌ فعلت طلبا للحصول على نسخة.
Incorrect English calque—administrative Arabic uses قدم طلبا for submitting a request or application.
✅ قدمت طلبا للحصول على نسخة.
qaddamtu ṭalaban lil-ḥuṣūli ʿalā nuskha.
I submitted a request to obtain a copy.
Key Takeaways
- Learn طَلَبَ — يَطْلُبُ — اُطْلُبْ — طَلَبًا; the imperfect vowel is part of the lexical entry.
- Make the requested or sought thing a direct object; introduce the source or addressee with من.
- Use طلب من شخص أن يفعل as the neutral contemporary frame; recognize طلب إلى شخص أن يفعل as formal/legal rather than wrong.
- Interpret طالب، مطلوب، طلب from context because each has common lexicalized uses beyond a single English gloss.
Related Topics
- اختار — choose with direct objectsB1 — Conjugate the hollow Form VIII verb اختار and choose accurately among direct-object, من بين, على, and أن-clause frames.
- سمح — allow with لـ and بـ or أنB1 — Conjugate سمح and build accurate permission frames with لـ for the permitted person and بـ or أن for the permitted act.
- كان — beA2 — Reference the hollow verb كان across its full paradigm, copular and existential senses, predicate case, conditionals, and high-frequency collocations.
- Form I: The Lexical BaseA2 — Learn why Form I must be stored through verified principal parts, stem-vowel class, valency, and maṣdar rather than one universal pattern.
- أن + Subjunctive ComplementB1 — Use light أن with a finite subjunctive complement, tracking who performs the embedded action and when a verbal noun is a better alternative.