How to say "president" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningpresident
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
رَئِيس
raʾīsראיס
رئيس
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
נשיא
nasiنَاسِي
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ر-أ-سHebrew root
ר-א-שraʾīs is 'the head one', from raʾs — Hebrew ראש, letter for letter. Israeli slang even borrowed it back: a ראיס is a big boss.
Related Hebrew word:ראשroshرُوش
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
رَيِّس
rayyisריסStreet rayyis is any boss or skipper, not just a head of state.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
رَيِّس
rayyisריסir-raʾīs is the head of state; ya rayyis! hails any boss, foreman or captain.
In a phrase
رَئِيس الدَّوْلَة
raʾīs ad-dawlaראיס א-דולהthe president of the state
Plural
رُؤَسَاء
ruʾasāʾראסאאBroken plural CuCaCāʾ — like وزير→وزراء.