“make” in Arabic dialects
verb
How do you say make across the major spoken Arabic dialects? Compare make (verb) sense by sense across 5 dialects — Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi — with English meaning, native script, transliteration and usage.
What does “make” mean?
verb
- Engage in“make love, not war”
- Give certain properties to something“get someone mad”
- Make or cause to be or to become“make a mess in one's office”
English definitions from Princeton WordNet.
Quick comparison across dialects
| Dialect | Arabic (make) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | يعمل | yiʿmil |
| Levantine Arabic | عِمِل | ʿimil |
| Gulf Arabic | سوّى | sawwa |
| Iraqi Arabic | سوّى | sawwa |
| Maghrebi Arabic | صايَب | ṣāyeb |
Full breakdown by dialect
Egyptian Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يعمل | yiʿmil | to make, do, or create |
| يخلّي | yikhalli | to make someone do something, to cause |
| يجبر | yigbir | to make or force someone |
Levantine Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| عِمِل | ʿimil | to make, do (general use) |
| ساوَى | sāwā | to make, create (esp. Syria/Lebanon) |
| خَلّى | khallā | to make someone do something, compel |
Gulf Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| سوّى | sawwa | to do, make, or create (general purpose) |
| صنع | ṣanaʿ | to manufacture or craft |
| خلّى | khalla | to cause to be, to make someone do something |
| صلّح | ṣallaḥ | to make or prepare (e.g. coffee, food) |
Iraqi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| سوّى | sawwa | to make, create, or do |
| خلّى | khalla | to make someone do something, to cause |
Maghrebi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| صايَب | ṣāyeb | to make, to prepare (Morocco) |
| خْدَم | khdam | to make, to work on (Algeria/Tunisia) |
| دار | dār | to do, to make (very general) |
| صْنَع | ṣnaʿ | to manufacture, to create |
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