שش

How to say "written, fated (Arabic) → it's written, meant to be (Israeli usage)" in Arabic

Loanword

Meaningwritten, fated (Arabic) → it's written, meant to be (Israeli usage)

Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic

مَكْتُوب

maktūbמכתוב

مكتوب

Hebrew · Modern Hebrew

מכתוב

maktubمَاكْتُوب

How the two words are related

Loanword

Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).

Arabic root

ك-ت-ب

Hebrew root

כ-ת-ב

The exact cognate of Hebrew כתוב, 'written' — same root ك-ت-ب/כ-ת-ב, same passive-participle shape. Fate, in the Arab imagination, is what has already been maktūb, 'written down'; Israeli usage borrowed the fatalistic sense whole, מכתוב, 'it was meant to be.'

Related Hebrew word:כתובkatuvكَاتُوڤ

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In a phrase

هٰذَا مَكْتُوب
hādhā maktūbהאד'א מכתוב

this is fated

The root family

ك-ت-بכ-ת-ב· writing

The Semitic writing root, shared letter for letter: kataba is כתב. Both languages pour it into the same molds but sometimes swap the results — Arabic maktab is the office or desk, while Hebrew מכתב is the letter you would write there. From books (kitāb) to addresses (כתובת), each language wandered its own way from the same act of writing.

  • كَتَبَ katabahe wroteכָּתַבhe wrote
  • كِتَاب kitābbookכְּתָבwriting, script
  • مَكْتَب maktaboffice, deskמִכְתָּבa letter — same shape, swapped meaning!
  • مَكْتَبَة maktabalibrary, bookshopמַכְתֵּבָהwriting desk
  • كَاتِب kātibwriter, clerkכּוֹתֵבone who writes
  • مَكْتُوب maktūbwritten; fated ("it is written")כָּתוּבwritten

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