How to say "to embrace, hug" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningto embrace, hug
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ʿānaqaעאנק
عانق
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
khibekخِيبِك
How the two words are related
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ع-ن-قHebrew root
ע-נ-קRoot ع-ن-ق means 'neck' in Arabic (ʿunq); ʿānaqa, 'to embrace,' is literally 'to put your arms around someone's neck.' Hebrew ע-נ-ק survives only in ענק, a necklace — the same body part, filed under jewelry instead of affection. Everyday Hebrew 'to hug,' חיבק, is a different root.
Related Hebrew word:ענקanakأَنَاك
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
Everyday 'to hug' in Levantine is ḥaḍan (literally 'to hold to one's chest'); ʿānaqa reads as formal or literary.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
Cairo says ḥaḍan as well (ḥuḍn — 'a hug').
In a phrase
He embraced his friend warmly