خاف khāf — fear | Arabic (Egyptian) Grammar

خاف / بيخاف khāf / biyikhāf is the everyday Cairene verb for becoming afraid, fearing something, or habitually being afraid. It is a hollow verb from خ-و-ف: third-person perfect خاف has long ā, but suffixed perfect خفت has short i. The active participle خايف is often the most natural way to present a current emotional state.

English permits direct fear something and adjectival be afraid of something. Mainstream Cairo normally organizes the feared source with من and the person or thing one worries about with على. The choice is semantic, not a translation of English of or for.

For the wider stem system, see hollow verbs; this page teaches only the lexical behavior of خاف.

Complete practical paradigm

The short perfect stem خِفـ appears before ـت، ـنا، ـتوا. Third feminine and third plural retain long ā. The imperfect stem is ـخافـ throughout.

Person	Perfect	Bare imperfect	b-imperfect	ḥa-future
أنا	خِفْتْ khift	أَخَافْ ʾakhāf	بَخَافْ bakhāf	حَخَافْ ḥakhāf
إنت	خِفْتْ khift	تِخَافْ tikhāf	بِتْخَافْ bitkhāf	حَتْخَافْ ḥatkhāf
إنتي	خِفْتِي khifti	تِخَافِي tikhāfi	بِتْخَافِي bitkhāfi	حَتْخَافِي ḥatkhāfi
هو	خَافْ khāf	يِخَافْ yikhāf	بِيِخَافْ biyikhāf	حَيِخَافْ ḥayikhāf
هي	خَافِتْ khāfit	تِخَافْ tikhāf	بِتْخَافْ bitkhāf	حَتْخَافْ ḥatkhāf
إحنا	خِفْنَا khifna	نِخَافْ nikhāf	بِنِخَافْ binikhāf	حَنِخَافْ ḥanikhāf
إنتوا	خِفْتُوا khiftu	تِخَافُوا tikhāfu	بِتْخَافُوا bitkhāfu	حَتْخَافُوا ḥatkhāfu
هم	خَافُوا khāfu	يِخَافُوا yikhāfu	بِيِخَافُوا biyikhāfu	حَيِخَافُوا ḥayikhāfu

The positive commands are خاف khāf, خافي khāfi, and خافوا khāfu. They occur in warnings and fixed advice such as خاف على نفسك “take care of yourself,” but negative ماتخافش “don't be afraid” is much more frequent in ordinary reassurance.

خفت لما النور قطع وأنا لوحدي.

khift lamma n-nūr ʾaṭaʿ wi-ʾana liwaḥdi.

I got scared when the power went out and I was alone.

ابني بيخاف من الكلاب الكبيرة.

ibni biyikhāf min il-kilāb il-kibīra.

My son is afraid of big dogs. (habitual)

مش لازم تخافي من أول مقابلة.

mish lāzim tikhāfi min ʾawwil moʾābala.

You don't need to be afraid of the first interview. (to one woman)

Rule 1: من marks the source of fear

The productive frame is خاف من + person, thing, or situation. When the complement is pronominal, it attaches to من: منه، منها، منهم. Base خاف is not directly transitive in this everyday frame.

هي خايفة من الامتحان عشان ماحضرتش كويس.

hiyya khāyfa min il-imtiḥān ʿashān ma-ḥaḍḍaritish kowayyis.

She's afraid of the exam because she didn't prepare well.

ماتخافش منه؛ صوته عالي بس هو طيب.

ma-tkhāfsh minnu; ṣōtu ʿāli bass huwwa ṭayyib.

Don't be afraid of him; his voice is loud, but he's kind.

English fear him has no preposition, while Egyptian requires منه in the intended sense. The pronoun therefore belongs to the preposition, not the verb.

💡

Ask “source or concern?” Use من for the source that causes fear. Use على when the emotion is concern for someone's safety or a valued outcome.

Rule 2: على marks concern for someone or something

خاف على means worry about, fear for, or protectively care about. It does not present that person as frightening. Compare خايف منه “afraid of him” with خايف عليه “worried about him.”

أنا خايف على أمي عشان تعبانة ومابتردش.

ʾana khāyif ʿala ʾommi ʿashān taʿbāna wi-ma-bitiroddish.

I'm worried about my mother because she's unwell and isn't answering.

خافوا على المشروع لما التمويل اتأخر.

khāfu ʿala l-mashrūʿ lamma t-tamwīl itʾakhkhar.

They became worried about the project when the funding was delayed. (workplace)

هي بتخاف عليه أكتر ما بتخاف منه.

hiyya bitkhāf ʿalēh ʾaktar ma bitkhāf minnu.

She worries about him more than she is afraid of him.

That minimal contrast is lexical and productive. English uses different idioms, but Egyptian preserves the same verb and changes the preposition.

Rule 3: finite fear and خايف give different viewpoints

Perfect خاف presents the onset or bounded experience. The b-imperfect can express a recurring tendency. خايف / خايفة / خايفين presents fear as the subject's current state and takes independent مش.

الطفل خاف أول ما سمع صوت الرعد.

iṭ-ṭifl khāf ʾawwil ma simiʿ ṣōt ir-raʿd.

The child got scared as soon as he heard the thunder.

أنا مش خايف من النتيجة؛ أنا خايف على الوقت.

ʾana mish khāyif min in-natīga; ʾana khāyif ʿala l-waʾt.

I'm not afraid of the result; I'm worried about the time.

Finite perfect negation keeps the short hollow stem inside ما...ش:

ماخفتش من السؤال؛ بس كنت قلقان من الوقت.

ma-khiftish min is-suʾāl; bass kont ʾalʾān min il-waʾt.

I wasn't afraid of the question; I was just worried about the time.

With future meaning, حـ presents a projected reaction: حيخاف “he'll become/be afraid.” A planned current concern can remain participial if the state, rather than its onset, is central.

لو عرف الحقيقة حيخاف ويغير رأيه.

law ʿirif il-ḥaʾīʾa ḥayikhāf wi-yighayyar raʾyu.

If he learns the truth, he'll get scared and change his mind.

Rule 4: causative خوّف takes the frightened person as object

Pattern II خوّف / بيخوّف khawwif / biyikhawwif means “frighten, scare.” Its object clitic attaches directly: خوّفني “it scared me.” This is a lexical relative, not an optional stronger pronunciation of خاف.

صوت الفرامل خوفني وأنا بعدي الشارع.

ṣōt il-farāmil khawwifni wi-ʾana baʿaddi sh-shāriʿ.

The sound of the brakes scared me while I was crossing the street.

The noun خوف “fear” and adjective-like مخوّف “frightening/worrying” have their own collocations. Do not invent a passive participle of خاف merely because English says “frightened”; ordinary Egyptian normally uses خايف or a finite causative clause.

A short dialogue

أ: إنت خايف من العملية؟

A: inta khāyif min il-ʿamaliyya?

A: Are you afraid of the operation?

ب: شوية، بس الدكتور طمني وقاللي ماتخافش.

B: shwayya, bass id-duktūr ṭammanni wi-ʾālli ma-tkhāfsh.

B: A little, but the doctor reassured me and told me not to worry.

Register and variation

These forms are mainstream urban Cairene (informal/neutral). Formal MSA uses خَافَ / يَخَافُ with formal endings (formal/MSA); those endings do not enter the Cairo paradigm. Religious advice may use خاف ربنا without من as a fixed direct frame (religious/idiomatic); do not generalize it to everyday feared objects. Alexandria, the Delta, Upper Egypt, Bedouin-associated varieties, and community styles may vary in vowels or preferred reassurance formulas (regional/community). Performance language can exaggerate fear vocabulary for dramatic or comic effect (performance).

Common Mistakes

1. Keeping the long stem before the first-person suffix.

❌ أنا خافت لما الباب خبط.

Incorrect first-person perfect—خافت is third-person feminine; use خفت.

✅ أنا خفت لما حد خبط على الباب بالليل.

ʾana khift lamma ḥadd khabaṭ ʿala l-bāb bil-lēl.

I got scared when someone knocked on the door at night.

2. Copying English direct-object syntax.

❌ البنت خايفة الكلب.

Incorrect for ordinary ‘afraid of the dog’—the feared source requires من.

✅ البنت خايفة من الكلب اللي عند البوابة.

il-bint khāyfa min il-kalb illi ʿand il-bawwāba.

The girl is afraid of the dog by the gate.

3. Confusing fear of with concern for.

❌ أنا خايف من ابني عشان اتأخر.

Wrong frame for the intended concern—this says the son himself is frightening.

✅ أنا خايف على ابني عشان اتأخر في الرجوع.

ʾana khāyif ʿala bni ʿashān itʾakhkhar fir-rogūʿ.

I'm worried about my son because he's late coming back.

4. Negating the participle with verbal ما...ش.

❌ هو ماخايفش من السفر.

Incorrect in the neutral baseline—خايف is a participial predicate and takes مش.

✅ هو مش خايف من السفر لوحده.

huwwa mish khāyif min is-safar liwaḥdo.

He isn't afraid of traveling alone.

Key Takeaways

Memorize خاف / خفت / بيخاف / خايف as one hollow lexical set.
Use من for the source of fear and على for protective concern.
Negate finite forms with ما...ش, but current-state خايف with مش.
Use causative خوّف when someone or something frightens a direct object.

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