How to say "price, rate" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningprice, rate
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
siʿrסער
سعر
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
mekhirمِخِير
How the two words are related
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
س-ع-رHebrew root
ש-ע-רRoot ש-ע-ר, letter for letter. Hebrew שער mostly means 'gate' — but its financial sense, שער-חליפין 'exchange rate', שער-ריבית 'interest rate', is the exact cognate of Arabic siʿr, 'price'. The link runs through the ancient marketplace: goods were priced at the city gate (2 Kings 7:1 sets grain prices בְּשַׁעַר שֹׁמְרוֹן, 'in the gate of Samaria').
Related Hebrew word:שערsha'arشَاءَر
Learn it
On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
Darija's price is t-taman — MSA thaman, with ث as t.
In a phrase
The price went up.
Plural
Broken plural aCCāC — like علم→أعلام.