How to say "what? (colloquial Arabic) → what?! (Israeli slang)" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningwhat? (colloquial Arabic) → what?! (Israeli slang)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
شُو
shūשו
شو
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
שו
shuشُو
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
A worn-down contraction of أَيّ شَيْء, 'which thing' — the everyday Levantine word for 'what'. Israeli slang uses שו as a punchy stand-in for מה, often for mock-Arabic effect: שו העניינים?
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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
إِيه
ēhאיהA different word: Cairo's 'what?' is ēh.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
شْنُو
shnuשנוA different word: Darija asks shnu (or āsh) for 'what?'.
In a phrase
شُو هَاد؟
shū hādשו האדwhat's this?
More in Arabic You Already Speak
- I mean, that is to say (Arabic) → like, I mean (Israeli slang filler)yaʿnīيَعْنِيיעני
- for nothing, without payment (colloquial Arabic) → for free (Israeli slang)balāshبَلَاشבלאש
- oh, peace! (Arabic exclamation of admiration) → wow! (Israeli slang)yā salāmيَا سَلَامיא סלאם
- young people, guys (Arabic) → the youngsters (Israeli slang)shabābشَبَابשבאב
- guy, fellow (Levantine Arabic) → dude, man (Israeli slang address)zalamaزَلَمَةזלמה
- tip, gratuity (Arabic, ultimately Persian) → tip, small bribe (Israeli Hebrew)baqshīshبَقْشِيشבקשיש