How to say "professor; sir (title)" in Arabic
New wordMeaningprofessor; sir (title)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
أُسْتَاذ
ustādhאסתאד'
أستاذ
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
פרופסור
profesorپْرُوفِسُور
How the two words are related
New word
No Hebrew relative — learn it fresh.
A Persian loanword that entered Arabic centuries ago and spread across the Islamic world as a title of respect for teachers and scholars — no Semitic root, and no Hebrew relative. Modern Hebrew borrowed its own word for 'professor' straight from Latin/English instead.
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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
أُسْتَاز
ustāzאסתאזذ becomes z in Cairo: ustāz.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
أُسْتَاد
ustādאסתאדذ becomes d in Darija: ustād.
In a phrase
أُسْتَاذ الْجَامِعَة
ustādh al-jāmiʿaאסתאד' אל-ג'אמעהthe university professor
Feminine
أُسْتَاذَة
ustādhaאסתאד'ה