How to say "wisdom" in Arabic
CognateMeaningwisdom
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
حِكْمَة
ḥikmaחכמה
حكمة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
חוכמה
khokhmaخُوخْمَا
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-םחכמה and ḥikma are identical, root ḥ-k-m, and חכם matches ḥakīm ("wise"). Arabic pushed the root toward authority: ḥākim is a ruler and ḥukūma a government — the wise one gets to judge.
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In a phrase
كَلَام فِيهِ حِكْمَة
kalām fīhi ḥikmaכלאם פיה חכמהwords with wisdom in them
The 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