How to say "cashier, money-changer" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningcashier, money-changer
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ṣarrāfצראף
صراف
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
kupaiكُوپَاي
How the two words are related
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ص-ر-فHebrew root
צ-ר-ףHedge: ص-ر-ف 'to spend, exchange money, turn away' regularly matches Hebrew צ-ר-ף (ص↔צ, ر↔ר, ف↔פ are all the regular pairings) — the root behind צורף 'goldsmith, refiner'. Some comparative dictionaries connect the senses as one root split between 'refining metal' and 'circulating money' — coins, after all, start at the smith's fire.
Related Hebrew word:צורףtsorefتْسُورِف
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
A supermarket cashier is usually just kāshīr, a direct English loan; ṣarrāf is more for a bank teller or money-changer.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
Cairo: kāshēr.
In a phrase
The cashier is at the bank.
Plural
sound masculine plural -ūn