“old” in Arabic dialects
adjective
How do you say old across the major spoken Arabic dialects? Compare old (adjective) sense by sense across 5 dialects — Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi — with English meaning, native script, transliteration and usage.
What does “old” mean?
adjective
- (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age“his mother is very old”
- Of long duration; not new“old tradition”
- (used for emphasis) very familiar“good old boy”
English definitions from Princeton WordNet.
Quick comparison across dialects
| Dialect | Arabic (old) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | قديم | adīm |
| Levantine Arabic | كبير بالعمر | kbīr bil-ʿumor |
| Gulf Arabic | قديم | gadīm |
| Iraqi Arabic | چبير بالعمر | chibīr bil-ʿumur |
| Maghrebi Arabic | كبير | kbir |
Full breakdown by dialect
Egyptian Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| قديم | adīm | of a thing, not new |
| كبير في السن | kebīr fi-s-sinn | of a person, advanced in age |
| عجوز | ʿagūz | of a person, elderly |
Levantine Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| كبير بالعمر | kbīr bil-ʿumor | old, elderly (for a person) |
| قديم | ʾadīm | old, not new (for a thing) |
| سابق | sābiq | former, previous |
Gulf Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| قديم | gadīm | not new (for objects) |
| كبير في السن | kibīr fis-sinn | advanced in age (for people, polite) |
| شايب | shāyib | old man (used as an adjective) |
| عجوز | ʿajūz | old woman (used as an adjective) |
Iraqi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| چبير بالعمر | chibīr bil-ʿumur | of a great age (for people) |
| عتيگ | ʿatīg | old, antique (for things) |
| قديم | qadīm | old, not new (for things) |
Maghrebi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| كبير | kbir | old, senior (for a person) |
| قديم | qdim | old, ancient (for a thing) |
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