How to say "opposite, facing" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningopposite, facing
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
muqābilaמקאבל
مقابل
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
mul, mimul le-مُول، مِيمُول لِ-
How the two words are related
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
ق-ب-لHebrew root
ק-ב-לSame borrowed root ق-ب-ل as قَبْلَ 'before' — Hebrew's own קיבל, 'received', arrived late via Aramaic. But here the resemblance runs deeper than the root: مُقَابِل and Hebrew מַקְבִּיל both prefix a mem to ق-ب-ل/ק-ב-ל to build a word meaning 'facing, corresponding' — different verb stems in each language, but the very same instinct that turns 'facing' into 'parallel'.
Related Hebrew word:מַקְבִּילmakbilمَاكْبِيل
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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
Cairo's in front of, facing is ʾuddām.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
Darija: qeddām.
In a phrase
The park is opposite the house.