How to say "king" in Arabic
CognateMeaningking
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مَلِك
malikמלך
ملك
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מלך
melekhمِلِخ
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
م-ل-كHebrew root
מ-ל-ךמלך and malik are the same royal root m-l-k, and the kingdom comes along too: ממלכה ↔ mamlaka.
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In a phrase
مَلِك الْأُرْدُنّ
malik al-urdunnמלך אל-ארדןthe King of Jordan
Plural
مُلُوك
mulūkמלוךbroken plural CuCūC — like قَلْب→قُلُوب
The root family
م-ل-كמ-ל-ך· kingship
The royal family, pattern for pattern: מלך/malik, מלכה/malika, ממלכה/mamlaka — three perfect matches in a row. One drift to savor: the Arabic verb malaka means "to own" (what a king does to his land), while Hebrew מלך means "to reign". And מלאך/malāk "angel" is an impostor here — in both languages it comes from a different root, ל-א-ך "to send".
- مَلِك malikkingמֶלֶךְking
- مَلِكَة malikaqueenמַלְכָּהqueen
- مَمْلَكَة mamlakakingdomמַמְלָכָהkingdom
- مَلَكَ malakahe owned, possessedמָלַךְhe reigned — owning vs. ruling
- مِلْك milkproperty, possession