How to say "a third (fraction)" in Arabic
CognateMeaninga third (fraction)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
ثُلْث
thulthת'לת'
ثلث
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
שליש
shlishشْلِيش
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic root
ث-ل-ثHebrew root
ש-ל-שSame root as triangle above (ث-ل-ث / ש-ל-ש, 'three') — a third is just 'the three-th'. Hebrew שליש (shalish) and Arabic thulth line up letter for letter, same fraction pattern as رُبْع/quarter.
Learn it
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
تِلْت
tiltתלתBoth ث sounds become t in Cairo: tilt.
In a phrase
بَعْدَ ثُلْث سَاعَة
baʿda thulth sāʿaבעד ת'לת' סאעהin a third of an hour
Plural
أَثْلَاث
athlāthאת'לאת'broken plural aCCāC
More words from this root
More in Colors, Shapes & Measures
- double, twice as muchḍiʿfضِعْفכפול
- metermitrمِتْرמטר
- kilogramkīlūghrāmكِيلُوغْرَامקילוגרם
- sizeḥajmحَجْمגודל
- measure, measurementqiyāsقِيَاسמדידה
- lengthṭūlطُولאורך
All Colors, Shapes & Measures words Explore all root families