How to say "to go" in Arabic
False friendMeaningto go
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
dhahabaד'הב
ذهب
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
halakhهَالَاخ
How the two words are related
Sounds like a Hebrew word but means something else — handle with care.
Arabic root
ذ-ه-بCareful: dhahaba (to go) is written exactly like dhahab (gold), the true cognate of Hebrew זהב (dh↔ז). Only the vowels tell you whether it went or it glitters.
Related Hebrew word:זהבzahavزَاهَاڤ
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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
Spoken Levantine says rāḥ for 'went'; dhahaba is strictly written/formal Arabic.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
Cairo says rāḥ as well: rāyiḥ fēn? — 'where are you going?'
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
Darija's 'to go' is msha: mshīt — 'I went'; sīr! — 'go!'
In a phrase
He went to the market