Palestinian Arabic

Afro-Asiatic (Semitic)

FamilyAfro-Asiatic (Semitic) Speakers~4–5M (Palestinian territories + diaspora) ScriptArabic CountriesPalestine Official inNot official; recognized minority language in Palestinian territories; co-official status in some local governance contexts

Palestinian Arabic (العربية الفلسطينية; language tag ar-PS) comprises South Levantine Arabic varieties spoken in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Israel, and Palestinian diaspora. It varies: urban, rural, Bedouin, and Druze traditions differ across Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Gaza, and other localities. One marker is the reflex of historical qāf, commonly /ʔ/ in urban speech, /k/ in many rural varieties, /g/ in many Bedouin varieties, and /q/ in some communities; mobility and accommodation also reshape these patterns. Its grammar shares Levantine features such as a b-marked indicative imperfect, while vocabulary and pronunciation differ locally and contact with Hebrew, English, and other languages contributes loans. Arabic is the official language under the Palestinian Basic Law; Modern Standard Arabic dominates formal writing and education, while Palestinian Arabic is the ordinary spoken language and is also written informally in Arabic script or social-media spellings.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Palestinian Arabic

Water

ميّ

majj

Fire

نار

naːr

Sun

شمس

ʃams

Moon

قمر

ʔamar

Star

نجمة

niʒme

Night

ليل

leːl

Rain

مطر

matˤar

Snow

تلج

talʒ

Wind

ريح

riːħ

Earth

تراب

traːb

Stone

حجر

ˈħaʒar

Mountain

جبل

ˈʒabal

Sea

بحر

ˈbaħar

Mother

إمّ

ʔemm

Father

أب

ʔab

Daughter

بنت

bint

I

أنا

ʔana

You

إنت

ʔinta

We

إحنا

ˈʔiħna

Name

اسم

ʔism

Person

شخص

ʃaxsˤ

Head

راس

raːs

Eye

عين

ʕeːn

Ear

دان

daːn

Nose

مناخير

manaˈxiːr

Mouth

تم

timː

Tooth

سن

sinː

Tongue

لسان

lsaːn

Hand

إيد

ʔiːd

Foot

إجر

ʔiʒr

Heart

قلب

ʔalb

Bone

عضمة

ˈʕadˤme

Blood

دم

damː

Poop

كاكا

kaːka

Love

حب

ħobb

Tree

شجرة

ʃaʒara

Dog

كلب

kalb

Cat

بسّة

bissa

Fish

سمكة

ˈsamake

Bird

عصفور

ʕasˤfuːr

Butterfly

فراشة

faˈraːʃe

Egg

بيضة

ˈbeːdˤa

Bear

دب

dubb

Horse

حصان

ħsˤaːn

House

بيت

beːt

Milk

حليب

ħaliːb

Honey

عسل

ʕasal

Salt

ملح

milħ

Wine

نبيد

nbiːd

Rice

رز

ruzz

Chocolate

شوكولاتة

ʃukuˈlaːta

Iron

حديد

ħadiːd

Wheel

عجلة

ʕadʒala

Silk

حرير

ħaˈriːr

Book

كتاب

ktaːb

Eat

ياكل

jaːkol

Drink

يشرب

jiʃrab

Sleep

نام

naːm

One

واحد

waːħad

Two

تنين

tneːn

Three

تلاتة

tlaːte

Four

أربعة

ˈʔarbaʕa

Five

خمسة

ˈxamse

Hundred

مية

ˈmijje

Hello

مرحبا

marħaba

Thank you

شكراً

ʃukran

Good

منيح

mniːħ

New

جديد

ʒdiːd

Red

أحمر

ˈʔaħmar

White

أبيض

ʔabjadˤ

Black

أسود

ˈʔaswad

Green

أخضر

ˈʔaxdˤar

Blue

أزرق

ˈʔazraʔ

Cuckoo

وَقْوَاق

waqˈwaːq

Woof

هَوْ هَوْ

haw haw

Computer

كمبيوتر

kambjuːtar

Wi-Fi

واي فاي

waːjfaːj

Sushi

سوشي

suːʃi

Tea

شاي

ʃaːj

Coffee

قهوة

ˈʔahwe

Sugar

سكر

ˈsukkar

Orange

برتقان

burtuˈʔaːn

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 Palestinian ArabicJordanian ArabicLebanese ArabicSyrian ArabicLevantine ArabicEgyptian ArabicHijazi Arabic
Water ميّ /majj/ ماي /maːj/ ميّ /majj/ ميّ /majj/ ميّ /majj/ ميّه /majːa/ موية /ˈmoːja/
Fire نار /naːr/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːr/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/
Sun شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/
Moon قمر /ʔamar/ قمر /ɡamar/ قمر /ʔamaɾ/ قمر /ʔamar/ قمر /ʔamaɾ/ قمر /ʔamaɾ/ قمر /ɡamaɾ/
Star نجمة /niʒme/ نجمة /naʒme/ نجمة /ˈneʒme/ نجمة /ˈnəʒme/ نجمة /ˈneʒme/ نجمة /ˈneɡma/ نجمة /nadʒma/
Night ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/
Rain مطر /matˤar/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤar/
Snow تلج /talʒ/ تلج /talʒ/ تلج /talʒ/ تلج /talʒ/ تلج /talʒ/ تلج /talɡ/ ثلج /taldʒ/
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