How to say "honest, truthful" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaninghonest, truthful
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ṣādiqצאדק
صادق
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
yasharيَاشَار
How the two words are related
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ص-د-قHebrew root
צ-ד-קSame ṣ-d-q root as Hebrew tsedek (צדק), 'justice', and tsadik (צדיק), 'righteous one' — but Arabic steered it toward truth-telling: ṣādiq is truthful, and a ṣadīq is a friend, someone true to you. Both languages kept tsedaka/ṣadaqa for charity.
Related Hebrew word:צדיקtsadikتْسَادِيك
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In a phrase
an honest man
Feminine
The root family
ص-د-قצ-ד-ק· truth, righteousness
One root, two ideals: Hebrew steered it toward justice (צדק, צדיק), Arabic toward truth (ṣidq) — so a ṣadīq is a true friend, not a saint, despite being spelled צדיק. The charity is shared outright: ṣadaqa and צדקה are the same word and the same idea, and many scholars think Arabic absorbed the alms sense from Jewish and Aramaic usage.
- صَدِيق ṣadīqfriend — literally "the true one"צַדִּיקrighteous man — same letters, different hero
- صَدَقَ ṣadaqahe told the truthצָדַקhe was right
- صِدْق ṣidqtruthfulness, sincerityצֶדֶקjustice
- صَدَقَة ṣadaqacharity, almsצְדָקָהcharity — the same word in both
- صَدَّقَ ṣaddaqahe believed (someone)הִצְדִּיקhe justified, vindicated