“fat” in Arabic dialects
adjective
How do you say fat across the major spoken Arabic dialects? Compare fat (adjective) sense by sense across 5 dialects — Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi — with English meaning, native script, transliteration and usage.
What does “fat” mean?
adjective
- Having an (over)abundance of flesh“he hadn't remembered how fat she was”
- Having a relatively large diameter“a fat rope”
- Containing or composed of fat“fatty food”
English definitions from Princeton WordNet.
Quick comparison across dialects
| Dialect | Arabic (fat) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | تخين | tikhīn |
| Levantine Arabic | ناصح | nāṣeḥ |
| Gulf Arabic | متين | matīn |
| Iraqi Arabic | سمين | smīn |
| Maghrebi Arabic | غليض | ghlīḍ |
Full breakdown by dialect
Egyptian Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| تخين | tikhīn | overweight (for a person) |
| دسم | disim | fatty, greasy (for food) |
Levantine Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| ناصح | nāṣeḥ | overweight, plump (for a person, polite) |
| سمين | smīn | fat (for a person, direct) |
| دسم | desem | fatty, rich (for food) |
Gulf Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| متين | matīn | fat, stout (common term) |
| سمين | samīn | fat (more formal/descriptive) |
| دب | dubb | very fat (lit. 'bear', can be offensive) |
| مربرب | murabrab | chubby, plump (often in a cute way) |
Iraqi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| سمين | smīn | overweight (for people/animals) |
| دسم | dasim | greasy, fatty (for food) |
Maghrebi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| غليض | ghlīḍ | overweight (person) (Moroccan) |
| سمين | smīn | overweight (person) (Algerian/Tunisian) |
| ميدم | myeddem | greasy, fatty (food) |
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