خليجي

Qatari Arabic

Afro-Asiatic (Semitic)

FamilyAfro-Asiatic (Semitic) Speakers~36M (Gulf Arabic) ScriptArabic script (Naskh) CountriesQatar Official inNot official (Modern Standard Arabic is official in constituent countries)

Gulf Arabic (Khaleeji) is a continuum of Peninsular Arabic dialects spoken from southern Iraq and Kuwait along the western Gulf coast through eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and northern Oman. It includes sedentary and Bedouin-derived varieties and significant local differences, so Qatari, Kuwaiti, Bahraini, Emirati, and Omani speech are not interchangeable versions of one fixed standard. Widespread but variable features include historical /q/ pronounced [ɡ], affrication of /k/ in particular phonological and social settings, and distinct sets of pronouns and verbal endings. Maritime trade and migration have contributed vocabulary from Persian, South Asian languages, Swahili, and, more recently, English. Gulf Arabic is used mainly in everyday speech and popular media; Modern Standard Arabic serves formal writing and official functions, while informal dialect writing uses Arabic script without a single standardized spelling.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Qatari Arabic

Water

مي

meː

Fire

نار

naːr

Sun

شمس

ʃɑms

Moon

قمر

ɡɑmɑr

Star

نجمة

nɪjma

Night

ليل

leːl

Rain

مطر

mɪtˤar

Snow

ثلج

θaldʒ

Wind

ريح

riːħ

Earth

تراب

tʰraːb

Stone

حجر

ˈħadʒar

Sea

بحر

ˈbaħar

Mother

أم

ʔumm

Father

أب

ʔɑb

Daughter

بنت

bint

I

أنا

aːna

You

إنت

inta

We

إحنا

ˈiħna

Name

اسم

isim

Head

راس

raːs

Eye

عين

ʕeːn

Ear

أذن

əðun

Nose

خشم

xaʃim

Mouth

حلج

ħaldʒ

Tooth

سن

sinː

Tongue

لسان

lsaːn

Hand

يد

jɑd

Foot

ريل

riːl

Heart

قلب

ɡɑlb

Bone

عظمة

ˈʕaðˤma

Blood

دم

dam

Poop

كاكا

kaːka

Love

حب

ħubb

Tree

شيرة

ʃjara

Dog

چلب

tʃalb

Cat

قطو

ɡatˤu

Fish

سمچة

ˈsimtʃa

Bird

طير

tˤeːr

Egg

بيضة

ˈbeːðˤa

Bear

دب

dubb

Horse

حصان

ħsˤaːn

House

بيت

beːt

Milk

حليب

ħaliːb

Honey

عسل

ʕasal

Salt

ملح

milħ

Wine

نبيذ

nabiːð

Rice

عيش

ʕeːʃ

Chocolate

ككاو

kaˈkːaːw

Iron

حديد

ħadiːd

Wheel

عجلة

ʕadʒala

Silk

حرير

ħariːr

Book

كتاب

kitaːb

Eat

أكل

ʔɑkɑl

Drink

شرب

ʃɑrɑb

Sleep

نام

naːm

One

واحد

waːħid

Two

اثنين

θneːn

Three

ثلاثة

θalaːθa

Four

أربعة

ˈʔarbaʕa

Five

خمسة

xamsa

Hundred

مية

ˈmijja

Hello

السلام عليكم

assalaːm ʕaleːkum

Thank you

شكراً

ʃukran

Good

زين

zeːn

New

جديد

dʒidiːd

Red

أحمر

ˈʔaħmar

White

أبيض

ʔabjaðˤ

Black

أسود

ˈʔaswad

Green

أخضر

ˈʔaxðˤar

Blue

أزرق

ˈʔazraɡ

Cuckoo

وَقْوَاق

waqˈwaːq

Woof

هَوْ هَوْ

haw haw

Computer

كمبيوتر

kambjuːtar

Sushi

سوشي

suːʃi

Tea

چاي

tʃaːj

Coffee

قهوة

ˈɡahwa

Sugar

سكر

ˈsukkar

Orange

برتقال

burtaˈɡaːl

Ninety-nine

تسعة وتسعين

tisʕa w tisʕiːn

Dopamine

دوبامين

duːbaːˈmiːn

At sign

آت

ʔaːt

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Afro-Asiatic (Semitic)

Meaning Qatari ArabicBahrani ArabicGulf ArabicNajdi ArabicIraqi ArabicHijazi ArabicYemeni Arabic
Water مي /meː/ مي /miː/ ماي /maːj/ مويه /ˈmoːjah/ ماي /maːj/ موية /ˈmoːja/ ماء /mɑːʔ/
Fire نار /naːr/ نار /nɑːr/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːr/
Sun شمس /ʃɑms/ شمس /ʃæms/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃamis/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃɑms/
Moon قمر /ɡɑmɑr/ قمر /ɡɑmɑr/ قمر /ɡamaɾ/ قمر /ɡamaɾ/ قمر /ɡamaɾ/ قمر /ɡamaɾ/ قمر /ɡɑmɑr/
Star نجمة /nɪjma/ نجمة /nɪdʒma/ نجمة /ˈnadʒma/ نجمة /ˈnadʒma/ نجمة /ˈnɪdʒma/ نجمة /nadʒma/ نجمة /ˈnadʒma/
Night ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /lajl/
Rain مطر /mɪtˤar/ مطر /mətˤar/ مطر /matˤar/ مطر /matˤar/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤar/ مطر /mɑtˤɑr/
Snow ثلج /θaldʒ/ ثلج /θalʒ/ ثلج /θaldʒ/ ثلج /θaldʒ/ ثلج /θaldʒ/ ثلج /taldʒ/ ثلج /θaldʒ/
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