How to say "wise" in Arabic
CognateMeaningwise
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
حَكِيم
ḥakīmחכים
حكيم
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
חכם
khakhamخَاخَام
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ح-ك-مHebrew root
ח-כ-םSame root as Hebrew chakham (חכם), 'wise' — ḥ-k-m matches letter for letter. In spoken Levantine, the ḥakīm is also the doctor.
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In a phrase
مَلِك حَكِيم
malik ḥakīmמלך חכיםa wise king
Plural
حُكَمَاء
ḥukamāʾחכמאאbroken plural CuCaCāʾ — ḥukamāʾ, 'the sages'
Feminine
حَكِيمَة
ḥakīmaחכימהThe root family
ح-ك-مח-כ-ם· judgment, wisdom
One root, two career paths: Hebrew took wisdom (חכם, חכמה), Arabic took power — ḥukm is a ruling, ḥukūma the government, maḥkama the court. But the older shared sense survives untouched in Arabic ḥakīm "sage" and ḥikma "wisdom", which sit letter-perfect beside חכם and חכמה.
- حُكُومَة ḥukūmagovernment
- حَكَمَ ḥakamahe ruled, judgedחָכַםhe grew wise — ruling vs. knowing
- حُكْم ḥukmruling, judgment, verdict
- حِكْمَة ḥikmawisdomחָכְמָהwisdom — the same word
- حَكِيم ḥakīmwise man, sage (colloquially: doctor)חָכָםwise; a sage
- مَحْكَمَة maḥkamacourt of law