How to say "man" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningman
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
rajulרג'ל
رجل
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
geverگِڤِر
How the two words are related
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ر-ج-لHebrew root
ר-ג-לRajul is spelled with the root r-j-l, which as rijl means 'foot' — and rijl is the exact cognate of Hebrew regel (רגל). Whether the 'man' word really grew out of the foot is an old lexicographers' tale rather than settled etymology, but as a memory hook it works: the man is the one who goes on foot.
Related Hebrew word:רגלregelرِگِل
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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
The everyday Palestinian word for a man/guy; rajul sounds bookish.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
Cairo's man is rāgil (pl. riggāla), with the hard g.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
Darija's man is rājel (pl. rjāl) — also 'husband'.
In a phrase
He is a tall man.
Plural
broken plural CiCāC — like رجل→رجال.