Levantine Arabic/Verbs perception

The present tense is rarely used for verbs of perception, when they have a passive meaning (eg. “to hear”). A current perception is expressed by the active participle instead. Some of those words can also have an active meaning (eg. “to listen”) depending on the context. Past tense Present tense Active participle English شاف šāf بشوف bišūf شايف šāyef to see تطلّع tṭallaʕ بتطلّع bitṭallaʕ - to look تفرّج tfarraj بتفرّج bitfarraj - to look; to watch سمع simeʕ بسمع bismaʕ سامع sāmeʕ to hear; to listen حسّ ḥass بحسّ biḥess حاسس ḥāses to feel عرف ʔiref بعرف biʔref, biʔraf, byaʔref عارف ʕāref to know فهم fihem بفهم bifham فاهم fāhem to understand