How to say "Arab" in Arabic
CognateMeaningArab
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
عَرَبِيّ
ʿarabīערבי
عربي
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
ערבי
araviأَرَاڤِي
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ع-ر-بHebrew root
ע-ר-בʿArabī and ערבי are the same word letter for letter — one of the most transparent cognates in the whole language pair. The collective عرب ʿArab, 'the Arabs', is the base; -ī makes it singular, again the reverse of how Hebrew usually builds a plural.
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In a phrase
صَدِيقِي عَرَبِيّ
ṣadīqī ʿarabīצדיקי ערביmy friend is Arab
Plural
عَرَب
ʿarabערבcollective plural — 'the Arabs', the base word from which ʿarabī is derived (singulative)
Feminine
عَرَبِيَّة
ʿarabiyyaערביה