“arrest” in Arabic dialects
verb
How do you say arrest across the major spoken Arabic dialects? Compare arrest (verb) sense by sense across 5 dialects — Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi — with English meaning, native script, transliteration and usage.
What does “arrest” mean?
verb
- Take into custody“the police nabbed the suspected criminals”
- Hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of“Arrest the downward trend”
- Attract and fix“His look caught her”
English definitions from Princeton WordNet.
Quick comparison across dialects
| Dialect | Arabic (arrest) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | يقبض على | yeʾboḍ ʿala |
| Levantine Arabic | اعتقل | iʿtaqal |
| Gulf Arabic | قبض على | gibaḍ ʿala |
| Iraqi Arabic | يعتقل | yʿtaqil |
| Maghrebi Arabic | شدّ | shedd |
Full breakdown by dialect
Egyptian Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يقبض على | yeʾboḍ ʿala | to seize someone by legal authority |
Levantine Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| اعتقل | iʿtaqal | to seize someone by legal authority and take into custody |
| حبس | ḥabas | to imprison or take into custody |
Gulf Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| قبض على | gibaḍ ʿala | to seize by legal authority |
| مسك | misak | to catch or seize, colloquial |
Iraqi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يعتقل | yʿtaqil | to take into legal custody |
| يلزم | yilzam | to catch or apprehend (colloquial) |
Maghrebi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| شدّ | shedd | to catch or seize (by police) |
| قبض على | qbeḍ ʿla | to arrest (slightly more formal) |
| حكم | ḥkem | to catch, to arrest (esp. Algerian) |
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