How to say "fox" in Arabic

Cognate

Meaningfox

Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic

ثَعْلَب

thaʿlabת'עלב

ثعلب

Hebrew · Modern Hebrew

שועל

shu'alشُوءَال

How the two words are related

Cognate

Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.

Arabic root

ث-ع-ل-ب

Hebrew root

ש-ע-ל

Thaʿlab and shu'al share the Proto-Semitic fox word, with ث ↔ ש as in thalāth/shalosh; Arabic kept a final b that Hebrew let go.

How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.

Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

تَعْلَب

taʿlabתעלב

ث becomes t in Levantine: taʿlab.

Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta

تَعْلَب

taʿlabתעלב

ث becomes t: taʿlab.

Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes

تَعْلب

taʿlebתעלב

ث becomes t: taʿleb.

ثَعْلَب مَاكِر

thaʿlab mākirת'עלב מאכר

a sly fox