How to say "farmer" in Arabic
CognateMeaningfarmer
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
فَلَّاح
fallāḥפלאח
فلاح
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
חקלאי
khaklaiخَاكْلَاي
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ف-ل-حHebrew root
פ-ל-חRoot p-l-ḥ 'split, till' is shared: Biblical פולח ובוקע בארץ 'plowing and splitting the earth' (Psalm 141:7) describes exactly what the fallāḥ does. Modern Hebrew then re-borrowed the Arabic word itself — פלאח, plus פלחה for field crops — in the CaCCāC/qattāl professions pattern.
Related Hebrew word:פלאחfalakhفَالَاخ
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In a phrase
الْفَلَّاح فِي الْحَقْل
al-fallāḥ fī l-ḥaqlאל-פלאח פי אל-חקלThe farmer is in the field.
Plural
فَلَّاحُون
fallāḥūnפלאחוןsound masculine plural -ūn; in dialect you will hear fallāḥīn, the famous 'fellahin'