How to say "falafel" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningfalafel
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
فَلَافِل
falāfilפלאפל
فلافل
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
פלאפל
falafelفَالَافِل
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
פלאפל is Arabic falāfil straight across, no adaptation needed — already a plural in form (singular falāfila), which is why 'one falafel ball' technically wants the singular in Arabic even though English and colloquial Hebrew both treat 'falafel' as a single lump word.
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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
طَعْمِيَّة
ṭaʿmiyyaטעמיהCairo's falafel is ṭaʿmiyya, made from fava beans rather than chickpeas.
In a phrase
طَبَق فَلَافِل
ṭabaq falāfilטבק פלאפלa plate of falafel