How to say "air conditioner, AC" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningair conditioner, AC
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مُكَيِّف
mukayyifמכיף
مكيف
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מזגן
mazganمَازْگَان
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
ك-ي-فThe unit that keeps you comfortable shares its root with Israeli slang כיף 'fun, chill' — Hebrew borrowed كيف wholesale from Arabic, where kēf ranges from 'mood' to 'good vibes'. Mukayyif is literally 'the thing that puts you in the mood' — it conditions the air and sets the vibe at once.
Related Hebrew word:כיףkefكِيف
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
تَكْيِيف
takyīfתכייףA different shape: Cairo says takyīf for the AC.
In a phrase
شَغَّلَ الْمُكَيِّف
shaghghala al-mukayyifשע'ל אל-מכיףHe turned on the AC.
Plural
مُكَيِّفَات
mukayyifātמכיפאתsound feminine plural -āt