How to say "wall" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningwall
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
جِدَار
jidārג'דאר
جدار
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
קיר
kirكِير
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ج-د-رHebrew root
ג-ד-רSame ג-ד-ר root, slightly different barrier: Hebrew גדר settled on a fence or stone enclosure, while Arabic jidār is the wall itself. Two languages, one line of stones.
Related Hebrew word:גדרgaderگَادِر
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
حَيْط
ḥēṭחיטThe everyday spoken word, from MSA ḥāʾiṭ.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
حِيطَة
ḥēṭaחיטהCairo says ḥēṭa, with the feminine ending.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
حِيط
ḥīṭחיטIn a phrase
الصُّورَة عَلَى الْجِدَار
aṣ-ṣūra ʿalā l-jidārא-צורה עלא אל-ג'דארThe picture is on the wall.
Plural
جُدْرَان
judrānג'דראןbroken plural CuCCān — like بَلَد→بُلْدَان