How to say "fly (insect)" in Arabic
CognateMeaningfly (insect)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ذُبَاب
dhubābד'באב
ذباب
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
זְבוּב
zvuvزْڤُوڤ
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ذ-ب-بHebrew root
ז-ב-בDhubāb is zvuv exactly, ذ answering to ז as in dhahab/zahav (gold). If you know the Hebrew phrase baʿal zvuv, 'lord of the flies' — same fly, same root.
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
دِبَّانَة
dibbānaדבאנהCairo: dibbāna — dh → d and a different shape.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
دبَّانَة
debbānaדבאנהDarija: debbāna.
In a phrase
ذُبَاب فِي الْمَطْبَخ
dhubāb fī l-maṭbakhד'באב פי אל-מטבח'a fly in the kitchen
Plural
ذِبَّان
dhibbānד'באןbroken plural CiCCāC