How to say "wife" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningwife
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
زَوْجَة
zawjaזוג'ה
زوجة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
אישה, רעיה
isha, ra'ayaإِيشَا، رَاءَايَا
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
The feminine of zawj — the Greek loan zeugos ('pair') that also gave Hebrew זוג. Your wife is literally your half of the pair.
Related Hebrew word:זוגzugزُوگ
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Levantine · Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
مَرَة
maraמרהIn speech: martī = my wife, mart Ahmad = Ahmad's wife.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
مِرَات
mirātמראתCairo: mirāti — 'my wife', mirāt aḥmad — 'Ahmad's wife'; on its own the polite word is zōga.
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
مْرَا
mraמראDarija: mra; mrāti — 'my wife'.
In a phrase
زَوْجَتِي مُعَلِّمَة
zawjatī muʿallimaזוג'תי מעלמהMy wife is a teacher.