How to say "key" in Arabic
CognateMeaningkey
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مِفْتَاح
miftāḥמפתאח
مفتاح
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מפתח
mafteakhمَافْتِيَاخ
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ف-ت-حHebrew root
פ-ת-חA perfect twin: both languages take the root "open" (فتح / פתח) and add the instrument prefix (Arabic mi-, Hebrew ma-) — miftāḥ and mafteaḥ are the same word, built the same way.
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
سَارُوت
sārūtסארותA different word: sārūt is the Darija key.
In a phrase
أَيْنَ مِفْتَاح الْبَيْت؟
ayna miftāḥ al-bayt?אין מפתאח אל-ביתWhere is the house key?
Plural
مَفَاتِيح
mafātīḥמפאתיחbroken plural maCāCīC — like مِصْبَاح→مَصَابِيح