How to say "what is your name?" in Arabic

Cognate

Meaningwhat is your name?

Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic

مَا اسْمُكَ؟

mā ismukaמא אסמך

ما اسمك؟

Hebrew · Modern Hebrew

מה שמך?

ma shimkha?مَا شِمْخَا؟

How the two words are related

Cognate

Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.

Arabic root

س-م-و

Ism is Hebrew שם — the same ancient Semitic word for name (Arabic just adds a helping vowel up front). The whole question maps word for word onto מה שמך.

Related Hebrew word:שםshemشِم

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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

شُو اسْمَك؟

shū ismakשו אסמך

shū = what in Levantine; ismik to a woman.

Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta

اِسْمَك إِيه؟

ismak ēhאסמך איה

Egyptian puts the question word last: ismak ēh? (ismik ēh? to a woman).

Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes

شْنُو سْمِيتك؟

shnu smītekשנו סמיתך

Darija: shnu smītek? — smīt- is the Darija word for 'name', shnu is 'what'.

In a phrase

عَفْوًا، مَا اسْمُكَ؟

ʿafwan, mā ismukaעפואן, מא אסמך

excuse me, what is your name?

More words from this root

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