“man” in Arabic dialects
noun
How do you say man across the major spoken Arabic dialects? Compare man (noun) sense by sense across 5 dialects — Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi — with English meaning, native script, transliteration and usage.
What does “man” mean?
noun
- An adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)“there were two women and six men on the bus”
- Someone who serves in the armed forces; a member of a military force“two men stood sentry duty”
- The generic use of the word to refer to any human being“it was every man for himself”
English definitions from Princeton WordNet.
Quick comparison across dialects
| Dialect | Arabic (man) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | راجل | rāgel |
| Levantine Arabic | زلمة | zalameh |
| Gulf Arabic | ريّال | rayyāl |
| Iraqi Arabic | رجال | rijjāl |
| Maghrebi Arabic | راجل | rājel |
Full breakdown by dialect
Egyptian Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| راجل | rāgel | an adult male human being |
| إنسان | insān | a human being, person (gender-neutral) |
| جوز | gōz | a husband |
Levantine Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| زلمة | zalameh | adult male human (common colloquial) |
| رجل | rajol | adult male human (also common) |
Gulf Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| ريّال | rayyāl | an adult male human being (colloquial) |
| رَجُل | rajul | an adult male human being (standard/formal) |
Iraqi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| رجال | rijjāl | adult male person |
| زلمة | zilma | informal term for a man |
Maghrebi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| راجل | rājel | adult male human |
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