“call” in Arabic dialects
verb
How do you say call across the major spoken Arabic dialects? Compare call (verb) sense by sense across 5 dialects — Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi — with English meaning, native script, transliteration and usage.
What does “call” mean?
verb
- Assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to“They named their son David”
- Ascribe a quality to or give a name of a common noun that reflects a quality“He called me a bastard”
- Get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone“I tried to call you all night”
English definitions from Princeton WordNet.
Quick comparison across dialects
| Dialect | Arabic (call) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | يتصل بـ | yittiṣil bi |
| Levantine Arabic | اتّصل بـ | ittaṣal b- |
| Gulf Arabic | اتّصل | ittaṣal |
| Iraqi Arabic | يخابر | ykhābir |
| Maghrebi Arabic | عيّط لـ | ʿiyyeṭ l- |
Full breakdown by dialect
Egyptian Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يتصل بـ | yittiṣil bi | to call someone on the phone |
| يكلم | yikallim | to talk to, to call on the phone |
| ينادي | yinādi | to call out to someone |
| يسمّي | yisammī | to name, to call something a name |
Levantine Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| اتّصل بـ | ittaṣal b- | to call someone (by phone) |
| تلفن لـ | talfan la- | to telephone someone |
| نادى | nāda | to call out to someone, summon |
Gulf Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| اتّصل | ittaṣal | to telephone someone |
| كلّم | kallam | to call someone on the phone |
| نادى | nāda | to call out for someone |
| سمّى | samma | to name or refer to as |
Iraqi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يخابر | ykhābir | to call on the phone |
| يتصل | yittaṣil | to contact by phone |
| يصيح | yṣīḥ | to shout for someone |
| يسمّي | ysammi | to name or refer to as |
Maghrebi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| عيّط لـ | ʿiyyeṭ l- | to call by phone or name (Moroccan/Algerian) |
| كلّم | kallem | to call by phone (Tunisian) |
| نادى على | nādā ʿlā | to call out to someone, to summon |
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