How to say "school" in Arabic
CognateMeaningschool
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
madrasaמדרסה
مدرسة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
beit seferبِيت سِفِر
How the two words are related
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
د-ر-سHebrew root
ד-ר-שArabic d-r-s 'study' matches Hebrew ד-ר-ש 'expound' — a regular س↔ש shift, like سلام/שלום. A madrasa is built exactly like Hebrew מדרשה: the place-of-study noun.
Related Hebrew word:מדרשהmidrashaمِدْرَاشَا
Learn it
In a phrase
the school is nearby
Plural
broken plural maCāCiC — the standard plural for ma- place nouns
The root family
د-ر-سד-ר-ש· studying
Traditionally compared with Hebrew ד-ר-ש "seek out, expound": the ש↔س match is regular, and madrasa lines up beautifully with מדרשה. Some linguists note that Arabic darasa originally meant "to efface, to thresh" and suspect the study sense grew under Aramaic influence — from the world of the בית מדרש itself. One warning: darasa sounds like Hebrew דרס, but he studied the book, he didn't run it over.
- دَرَسَ darasahe studiedדָּרַשׁhe sought, expounded
- دَرْس darslessonדְּרָשָׁהsermon, homily
- مَدْرَسَة madrasaschoolמִדְרָשָׁהseminary, academy
- مُدَرِّس mudarristeacher, instructor
- دِرَاسَة dirāsastudy, studiesמִדְרָשׁmidrash — study as exposition