How to say "sweet" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningsweet
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
حُلْو
ḥulwחלו
حلو
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מתוק
matokمَاتُوك
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
ح-ل-وHalva (חלווה) is Arabic ḥalāwa — 'sweetness' — from this very root ḥ-l-w. The Hebrew name of the sesame treat is pure Arabic.
Related Hebrew word:חלווהkhalvaخَلْڤَا
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
حِلُو
ḥiluחלוPronounced ḥilu, and used constantly for 'pretty, nice, lovely' — not just taste.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
حِلْو
ḥilwחלוPronounced ḥilw, and used constantly for 'pretty, nice'.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
حْلُو
ḥluחלוIn a phrase
الشَّاي حُلْو
ash-shāy ḥulwא-שאי חלוthe tea is sweet
Feminine
حُلْوَة
ḥulwaחלוה