How to say "place" in Arabic
False friendMeaningplace
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مَكَان
makānמכאן
مكان
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מקום
makomمَاكُوم
How the two words are related
False friend
Sounds like a Hebrew word but means something else — handle with care.
Arabic root
ك-و-نNot a cognate — but makān sounds uncannily like Hebrew מכאן 'from here'. Don't mix them up: makān is the place itself (from kāna, 'to be'), מכאן is motion away from it. The real relative of Hebrew מקום is Arabic maqām 'place, site' — both 'place of standing', from ק-ו-ם ↔ q-w-m.
Related Hebrew word:מכאןmikanمِكَان
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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
بْلَاصَة
blāṣaבלאצהDarija's 'place' (a spot, a seat) is a blāṣa, from Spanish plaza.
In a phrase
مَكَان جَمِيل
makān jamīlמכאן ג'מילa beautiful place