How to say "picture" in Arabic
Shifted meaningMeaningpicture
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
صُورَة
ṣūraצורה
صورة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
תמונה
tmunaتْمُونَا
How the two words are related
Shifted meaning
Same root as a Hebrew word, but the meaning drifted over the centuries.
Arabic root
ص-و-رHebrew root
צ-ו-רHebrew צורה "shape, form" and Arabic ṣūra share the root "to fashion" — and even transliterate identically. Arabic pushed the word toward "image, picture, photo"; Hebrew kept the abstract form.
Related Hebrew word:צורהtsuraتْسُورَا
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
تَصْوِيرَة
taṣwīraתצוירהDarija says taṣwīra for a picture or photo.
In a phrase
صُورَة جَمِيلَة
ṣūra jamīlaצורה ג'מילהA beautiful picture.
Plural
صُوَر
ṣuwarצורbroken plural CuCaC — like غُرْفَة→غُرَف