How to say "laughter" in Arabic
CognateMeaninglaughter
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ضَحِك
ḍaḥikצ'חך
ضحك
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
צחוק
tskhokتْسْخُوك
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ض-ح-كHebrew root
צ-ח-קArabic ض answers Hebrew צ, so ḍaḥik lines up with צחוק — almost: Arabic ends in ك where Hebrew has ק, a famous quirk of this root (Aramaic drifted further still, to גחך). Biblical Hebrew wrote it both צחק and שחק, and Arabic sides with the צ spelling.
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In a phrase
صَوْت الضَّحِك
ṣawt aḍ-ḍaḥikצות א-צ'חךthe sound of laughter