Learn · cognates
You already know this.
Modern Hebrew speakers already know more Arabic than they think. Some of it's ancient — the body parts, the family, the ordinary verbs. Some of it's last Tuesday — yallah, sababa, basa. And some of it is where Saadia wrote a thousand years ago.
Israeli slang from Arabic
You use these every day. Each one is unmistakably Arabic — vocative particles, dual endings, classical roots. Israeli Hebrew is, in the end, a Mediterranean creole.
- #01You knowיאללהyalla · let's go, c'monIt's Arabicيا اللهyā AllāhSaadia writes itיא אללה
Literally 'O God' in Arabic — pure direct address. In Hebrew slang it's a permission slip, a hurry-up, a let's-go. The same יא you say in 'yallah balagan' is the classical Arabic vocative particle.
- #02You knowסבבהsababa · cool, fine, greatIt's Arabicصبابةṣabāba
From Arabic ṣabāba — a kind of yearning, lovesick fondness. The romance got sanded off; now it just means 'sweet.'
- #03You knowאחלהachla · awesome, the bestIt's Arabicأحلىaḥlā
'Sweeter, sweetest' — Arabic comparative of حلو 'sweet'. Israeli use is the same vibe: 'this is the sweetest.'
- #04You knowבסהbasa · drag, bummerIt's Arabicبئسةbiʾsa
From Arabic biʾsa — 'wretched, miserable.' One of the few imported words for the specifically Israeli flavor of disappointment.
- #05You knowכיףkef · fun, pleasureIt's Arabicكيفkayf
In classical Arabic kayf means 'how?' or, as a noun, a state of pleasant feeling. The pleasant-feeling sense came into Hebrew.
- #06You knowסחתייןsahtein · good for you, well doneIt's Arabicصحتينṣaḥtayn
Literally 'two healths' — said after a meal, an achievement, a strong workout. The dual ending -ein is pure Arabic.
- #07You knowמבסוטmabsut · happy, contentIt's Arabicمبسوطmabsūṭ
Passive participle of basaṭa, 'to spread out, to make easy.' Mabsūṭ = the one whose mood has been spread out flat. A relaxed, satisfied state.
- #08You knowדוגריdugri · straight up, honestlyIt's Arabicدُغريdughrī
Spoken Arabic for 'straight ahead, directly.' Imported into Hebrew with the directness intact.
Body parts
Most are one-to-one. Same three letters, same meaning, slightly different vowels. The mouth and the heart took divergent paths.
- #0934× · 31vYou knowראשrosh · headIt's ArabicرأسraʾsSaadia writes itראס
Same three letters: ר-א-ש in Hebrew, ر-أ-س in Arabic. Different vowels, identical meaning, identical position in your skull.
- #1046× · 41vYou knowידyad · handIt's ArabicيدyadSaadia writes itיד
Two letters, identical in both languages, identical sound.
- #1129× · 25vYou knowעיןʿayin · eye; springIt's ArabicعينʿaynSaadia writes itעין
Eye and spring of water — both languages keep both senses. The metaphor is universal: water rises out of the ground the way tears rise out of you.
- #127× · 7vYou knowאוזןozen · earIt's ArabicأذنudhunSaadia writes itאד'ן
Same root: א-ז-ן in Hebrew, أ-ذ-ن in Arabic. The Hebrew ז corresponds to the Arabic ذ (dh) — in JA, that ذ is written as ד'.
- #138× · 8vYou knowפהpeh · mouthIt's ArabicفمfamSaadia writes itפם
Same root letters, with the Arabic preserving the final mem the Hebrew dropped. Biblical Hebrew sometimes shows 'פום' too.
- #1420× · 20vYou knowלבlev · heartIt's ArabicقلبqalbSaadia writes itקלב
Saadia uses قلب where the Hebrew has לב. Arabic kept the initial qaf the Hebrew dropped; the rest is the same skeleton.
- #1615× · 15vYou knowשיערseʿar · hairIt's ArabicشَعرshaʿrSaadia writes itשער
ש and ش are the same letter in JA orthography. Same word, same root ש-ע-ר / ش-ع-ر.
Family
The smallest, oldest words. Two letters apiece — and identical in both languages.
- #174× · 4vYou knowאבav · fatherIt's ArabicأبabSaadia writes itאב
Two letters. Same word.
- #1823× · 20vYou knowאםem · motherIt's ArabicأمummSaadia writes itאם
Two letters. Same word. (The Arabic vowels you to umm, the Hebrew vowels you to em.)
- #1938× · 37vYou knowאחaḥ · brotherIt's ArabicأخakhSaadia writes itאכ'
Hebrew ח corresponds to Arabic خ here — in JA, that خ is written as כ' (kaf with apostrophe). Saadia never uses the bare word — always 'his brother' (אכ'יה), 'your brother' (אכ'יך), etc.
- #20309× · 271vYou knowבןben · sonIt's ArabicابنibnSaadia writes itאבן
Hebrew lost the initial alef; Arabic kept it. The biblical Hebrew 'בן' and the Arabic 'ابن' are the same morpheme.
- #21623× · 519vYou knowבניbnei · sons ofIt's ArabicبَنيbanīSaadia writes itבני
Plural construct, 'sons of' — same in both languages, used constantly in the Tafsir ('Bnei Israel').
Sky, sea, sun
Sun, sea, sky, water, stars: same words in both languages. Fire and moon picked different roots — but the Hebrew word for 'lamp' (ner) and the Arabic word for fire (nar) tell on each other.
- #2224× · 24vYou knowשמשshemesh · sunIt's ArabicشمسshamsSaadia writes itשמס
Sun in both languages, sister-shaped: shemesh / shams. Hebrew double-shin, Arabic shin + sin.
- #232× · 2vYou knowירחyare'aḥ · moonIt's ArabicقمرqamarSaadia writes itקמר
Different roots — Hebrew chose ירח (related to 'wandering'), Arabic chose قمر. Saadia translates the Hebrew ירח with قمر, the standard Arabic word.
- #241× · 1vYou knowכוכבkokhav · starIt's ArabicكوكبkawkabSaadia writes itכוכב
Same word — Hebrew and Arabic both go back to kawkab, with the same letters in the same order.
- #25You knowיםyam · seaIt's ArabicيَمّyammSaadia writes itים
Pure cognate, both languages. (Modern Arabic prefers بحر — but yamm is the classical word, especially in poetry.)
- #2683× · 74vYou knowשמייםshamayim · sky, heavensIt's ArabicسماءsamāʾSaadia writes itסמא
Hebrew dual ('two heavens'), Arabic singular — but it's the same root ש-מ-י / س-م-و. Both end in a long ā.
- #27744× · 554vYou knowמיםmayim · waterIt's ArabicماءmāʾSaadia writes itמא
Hebrew has the dual ending; Arabic dropped it to māʾ. The skeleton is the same.
- #2846× · 45vYou knowאשesh · fireIt's ArabicنارnārSaadia writes itנאר
Different roots — but Hebrew also has the verb 'nahar' for 'shine,' and the related noun ner ('lamp') reflects the same n-r root Arabic uses for fire.
Animals
Domestic animals were named once and the names stuck. Kelev / kalb is exactly the same word.
- #2913× · 13vYou knowכלבkelev · dogIt's ArabicكلبkalbSaadia writes itכלב
Identical letters. Identical meaning.
- #304× · 4vYou knowגמלgamal · camelIt's ArabicجملjamalSaadia writes itגמל
Same root, same animal. The English word 'camel' also comes from this Semitic root — picked up through Greek.
- #318× · 8vYou knowחמורḥamor · donkeyIt's ArabicحمارḥimārSaadia writes itחמאר
Hebrew ḥamor / Arabic ḥimār. Same animal, identical letters, slightly different vowel pattern.
Common verbs
Hearing, writing, eating — the everyday verbs are shared. Sitting is where Arabic and Hebrew diverged.
- #3236× · 35vYou knowשמעshama · heard, listenedIt's ArabicسَمِعsamiʿaSaadia writes itסמע
Hebrew ש and Arabic س map onto each other in this root. Saadia uses سمع where the Hebrew has שמע — same word, same sense.
- #334× · 4vYou knowכתבkatav · wroteIt's ArabicكَتَبkatabaSaadia writes itכתב
Identical root in both languages, identical meaning. The Modern Hebrew מכתב (letter) and Arabic مكتب (office, lit. 'place of writing') are cousins from the same family.
- #3429× · 27vYou knowאכלakhal · ateIt's ArabicأكَلakalaSaadia writes itאכל
Same letters, same act.
- #355× · 5vYou knowישבyashav · sat, settled, dwelledIt's ArabicجَلَسjalasaSaadia writes itגלס
Different roots, despite identical meaning. Saadia uses جلس where the Hebrew has ישב — a place where Arabic and Hebrew chose different verbs for the same action.
False friends
Same letters, different meanings. The same Semitic root specialized differently in each language; the result is words that look identical and mean something else.
- #15193× · 167vYou knowרגלregel · foot; (Arabic) manIt's Arabicرِجل / رَجلrijl / rajulSaadia writes itרגל
Same letters, two senses in Arabic: rijl = foot, rajul = man. (The unvowled JA looks identical for both — only context tells you which.) Hebrew kept only the 'foot' sense.
- #36You knowלחםleḥem · Hebrew: bread; Arabic: meatIt's ArabicلحمlaḥmSaadia writes itלחם
Same three letters, opposite ends of the menu. Classical Semitic ל-ח-ם meant 'food/substance' generally; Hebrew narrowed it to bread, Arabic narrowed it to meat. Bet-leḥem = 'house of bread.' Bayt-laḥm = same town, in Arabic, with the meat reading.
- #3711× · 11vYou knowספרsefer · Hebrew: book; Arabic: travelIt's ArabicسفرsafarSaadia writes itספר
Different specialization of the same Semitic root — Hebrew ended up with 'book/scroll,' Arabic with 'journey.' (The Arabic word for book is كتاب, from the writing root.)