How to say "state, country" in Arabic
New wordMeaningstate, country
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
دَوْلَة
dawlaדולה
دولة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מדינה
medinaمِدِينَا
How the two words are related
New word
No Hebrew relative — learn it fresh.
Arabic root
د-و-لNo Hebrew relative: dawla comes from d-w-l 'to take turns' — a dawla was originally a dynasty's turn at power. And beware the mismatch: Hebrew מדינה 'state' pairs with Arabic madīna, which means 'city'.
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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
دَوْلِة
dōleדולהThe aw diphthong flattens to ō and the ending softens to -e: dōle.
In a phrase
دَوْلَة صَغِيرَة
dawla ṣaghīraדולה צע'ירהa small state
Plural
دُوَل
duwalדולBroken plural CuCaC — دولة→دول, like أمة→أمم.