How to say "five (Arabic) → the hand-shaped amulet (Israeli usage)" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningfive (Arabic) → the hand-shaped amulet (Israeli usage)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
خَمْسَة
khamsaח'מסה
خمسة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
חמסה
khamsaخَامْسَا
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
خ-م-سHebrew root
ח-מ-שThe amulet is simply 'five', for its five fingers — and khamsa is the exact cognate of Hebrew חמש. So חמסה is a word Hebrew borrowed back from its own family, complete with the superstitious triple חמסה חמסה חמסה.
Related Hebrew word:חמשkhameshخَامِش
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
خمْسَة
khemsaח'מסהDarija says khemsa; the hand amulet itself is a khmīsa.
In a phrase
خَمْسَة ضِدّ الْعَيْن
khamsa ḍidd al-ʿaynח'מסה צ'ד אל-עיןa hamsa against the evil eye
More words from this root
More in Arabic You Already Speak
- failure (Arabic) → screw-up, botch (Israeli slang)fashalفَشَلפשלה
- broke, penniless (colloquial Arabic and Israeli slang)ṭafrānطَفْرَانתפרן
- bad luck, ill omen (Arabic) → rotten luck, a jinx (Israeli slang)naḥsنَحْسנאחס
- market stall, spread-out display (Arabic → Israeli Hebrew: shuk stall)basṭaبَسْطَةבסטה
- original, genuine (Arabic) → authentic, the real deal (Israeli slang)aṣlīأَصْلِيאסלי
- one (Arabic wāḥid) → 'one heck of a...' (Israeli slang intensifier)wāḥidوَاحِدוואחד
All Arabic You Already Speak words Explore all root families