përqafohen

Përqafohen is an Albanian verb form belonging to the verb përqafoj, which means to embrace or to hug. The form is the present tense, third-person plural, of the reflexive or reciprocal variant of the verb, used to express a mutual action: they hug each other or they are embracing. In Albanian, the reflexive and reciprocal use is common for actions performed cooperatively by two or more subjects, so përqafohen typically denotes a mutual embrace.

Morphology and mood: it consists of the stem përqafo- plus the reflexive/reciprocal ending -hen in the present tense. The broader present tense paradigm for this verb includes: unë përqafohem; ti përqafohesh; ai/ajo përqafohet; ne përqafohemi; ju përqafoheni; ata/ato përqafohen. This pattern shows how the form agrees with a plural subject in the third person.

Usage: the form is used when the subject acts on another member of the same group or when the action is reciprocal. Examples: Shokët përqafohen kur takohen. After the news, the relatives for-qafohen and support one another. Beyond physical hugging, përqafohen can also convey warmth, friendship, or solidarity in a broader, sometimes metaphorical sense.

Context and nuance: as a common present-tense form, përqafohen appears frequently in everyday speech, fiction, and media to describe social gestures of affection or mutual support among people. It is typically contrasted with non-reflexive forms like përqafoj, which state who performs the action.