How to say "gold" in Arabic
CognateMeaninggold
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ذَهَب
dhahabד'הב
ذهب
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
זהב
zahavزَاهَاڤ
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ذ-ه-بHebrew root
ז-ה-בA textbook correspondence: Hebrew ז regularly matches Arabic ذ (dh), so זהב and dhahab are the very same word. Soften the Hebrew z toward th and you are speaking Arabic.
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
ذَهَب
dahabדהבdh becomes d in the Levant: dahab.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
دَهَب
dahabדהבذ becomes d: dahab.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
دْهب
dhebדהבذ becomes d: dheb.
In a phrase
خَاتَم مِن ذَهَب
khātam min dhahabח'אתם מן ד'הבA ring of gold.