Vocabulary 1

Z
ז
ز
DH	ذ

H
ח
ح
KH	خ

ʻ
ע
ع
GH	غ

P F

S
צ
ص
D	ض
DH	ظ

ש
ש
س
ش
TH	ث

Transcription	IPA	Approximate English Example
Literary	Sephardi / Mizrahi	Approximation in Southern British
Arabic	Hebrew	English
ʼ	ʔ
ŋ		ŋ	ŋ	singer
ʻ	ʕ
ʕ
aa
a	a		a	bat
	ä	ɐ	bud
aa ah (final) a	a:	ɑ:	bar
ai ay	aj	äj	ɑj	bite
a.ai a.ay ai ay	a:j
aw	aw	äw	aw	now
a.aw	a:w
b	b	bet
d	d̻	d	debt
d	d̻ˤ
dh	ð	their
dh z	ðˤ
ĕ		ĕ	ə	about
e	e	e	écouter
ɛ	bet
eh	e:	ɛ:	bear
ei	e̞ɪ	ɛj	bay
f	f	fetch
g (Old Arabic & some modern dialects)	g ɡʲ ɟ	g	get
gh	ɣ ʁ	ɣ
h	h	hit
h ch	ħ
i	i	happy
ee i	i:	bee
j	d͡ʒ	jet
k	k	kept
kh	χ		χ	Bach
x	loch
l	l	let
l	ɫ / lˠ		ɫ / lˠ	bull
m	m	met
n	n	n̪	n	net
o		o
-o- o	o:	o̞:	bore
oi oy	oj	o̞j	boy
o.oi o.oy oi oy	o:j
p	p	pet
q k	q	Qurʼan
r	r	r ɾ	r ɾ ɹ̠	red
s ś	s	set
s	sˤ
sh	ʃ	shed
t	t̻	t	tat
t	t̻ˤ
th	θ	threat
ts tz		t͡s	bets
u	u	ʊ	book
oo u	u:	ʉw	boot
ui uy	uj
oo.i oo.y ui uy	u:j	ʉwi	gooey
v		v β	v	vet
w	w	wet
y	j	yet
z	z	zest

j in IPA sounds like an English y. The diphthongs are pronounced äɪ, o̞ɪ and uɪ in Modern Israeli Hebrew.

The idea that ə is an acceptable approximation of ĕ is controversial. This table records the nearest matching sounds in English purely as a guide to aid learning, without endorsement of using the English sounds instead of the native Hebrew sounds.

The e̞ɪ sound is a feature of Modern Israeli Hebrew rather than traditional liturgical Sephardi Hebrew where e: is used instead. The very similar sounding [ej] sound is used in Ashkenazi Hebrew for the tsere regardless of whether or not there is following Yod.

The d͡ʒ sound is only used for loanwords in Sephardi and Mizrahi Hebrew, although it is native to Yemenite Hebrew.

The χ sound appears in place of the x and ħ sounds in Modern Israeli Hebrew.

Hebrew		Arabic	Both
	ב
גּ	ג	ج
	ד‎
	ת
	ו‎
	ע	ع
	צ	ظ
	ק	ق

	أب
	‎אָב
Aram	‎אַב
Aram	‎אַבָּא

Arabic:	father, ancestor, forefather
Hebrew:	father, ancestor, forefather, progenitor, originator, prototype, 5th month of the Hebrew calendar
Aramaic:	father, ancestor, progenitor, originator, author, teacher, chief, leader

	آيَة
	‎אוֹת
Aram	אָתָא

Arabic:	sign (of God), prodigy, verse (of a holy book)
Hebrew:	sign, omen, signal, cue, letter (of an alphabet)
Aramaic	sign, banner, flag

Arabic:	sister
Hebrew:	sister, kinswoman, companion, sweetheart, nurse

Arabic:	lifeless thing, a cut off thing, frozen thing, stiffened thing, coagulated thing, hardened thing, tranquillized thing, thing remaining stationary, dull, stupid or inert thing, stingy person, one who insists on their rights
Hebrew:	sterile, solitary, lonely

Arabic:	mantis ("Jewish camel")
Hebrew:	mantis ("King Solomon's camel")

Persian:	justice, equity, redress, complaint, lamentation, shout, yell, law (Middle Persian)
	Old Persian: data
Hebrew:	religion
Latin:	that which is given, offered or yielded

Arabic:	temple, altar, framework
Hebrew:	temple, palace, great hall

Arabic:	purification, mandatory almsgiving
Hebrew:	pure, clean, clear
Compare:	sadaqah / tzedakah

Arabic:	remembrance, remembrance of God, recollection, reputation, mention, quote, citation, statement, indication, naming, report, account, narration
Hebrew:	remembrance, remain, remnant

Islam:	Pilgrimage to Mecca during 8–13th Dhu al-Hijjah (Month of Hajj), to overcome (e.g. overcome Satan)
Judaism:	Any of the three Jewish festivals that formerly necessitated pilgrimage to Jerusalem (Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot)

Arabic:	wisdom, knowledge, philosophy, justice, equity, reason, prophecy, scripture
Hebrew:	wisdom

Arabic:	hand of Fatima, five fingers, five (m)
Hebrew:	hand of Miriam / hamsa

	إِلٰه
	‎אֱלֹהַּ
Aram	אֱלָהּ
Heb	אֵל

Arabic:	war, fight, battle, warfare, combat
Hebrew:	cutting tool (sword, knife, axe, etc.), drought

Arabic:	good, charming, pleasant, agreeable, enjoyable (طَيِّب)
	goodness, kind-heartedness, agreeable, fragrance (طِيب)
Hebrew:	goodness, fairness

Arabic:	hand (limb)
Hebrew:	hand (limb), Torah reading pointer, arm, hand (card game), hand foul (soccer), power, strength, authority, handle, shrine

Arabic:	a writing, book, document
Hebrew:	a writing
Compare:	sifr / sefer

Arabic:	no, not, do not, there is not, there is no, neither, nor
	Written as a prefix to the word it negates.
Hebrew:	no, not

Arabic:	anointing, stroking, wiping
Hebrew:	anointing
Aramaic:	anointing, measuring

	مَسِيح
	‎מָשִׁיחַ
Aram	‎מְשִׁיחָא
	Μεσσίας
	‎χριστός

Arabic:	religious book
Hebrew:	book, document, scroll
Compare:	kitab / k'táv

Persian	صِراط
Arabic	صِرٰط صِرَاط
Aram	ܐܸܣܛܪܵܛܵܐ (אִסְטרָטָא)
Portuguese	estrada
Lat	‎stráta
Dutch	‎straat
Eng	‎street

Persian:	road, street
Arabic:	road, path, way
Aramaic:	road, highway, thoroughfare, public way, stratum
Latin:	paved road
	From the verb sternó, to spread out.
Dutch:	street, paving, channel, strait

Transcription Options

Religious Words mostly, Nouns mostly

ʼ-B-W

ʼ-D-M

ʼ-W-Y-T

ʼ-KH

ʼ-KH-R

ʼ-L

ʼ-L-F

ʼ-M-M

ʼ-R-D

ʼ-ש-N

B-Y-T

B-N

B-N-T

B-Q-R

B-R-K

G-L-D

G-M-L

D-N

D-T

H-K-L

W-L-D

DH-H-B

Z-K

DH-K-R

H-B-B

H-G-G

H-Y

H-K-M

KH-M-ש

H-R-B

T-B

T-H-R

Y-D

Y-H-D

Y-M

Y-M-M

K-H-N

K-T-B

L-ʼ

L-B-B

L-Y-L

M-H-R

M-DH-B-H

M-L-K

M-Q-M

M-ש-H

N-B-ʼ

N-F-ש

N-ש

S-F-R

PIE: sterh3

ʻ-B-D

GH-W-L

ʻ-Y-N

ʻ-L-M

ʻ-M-D

ʻ-Q-D

GH-R-B

PIE: per- dheyǵh-

PRDS

P-T-H

S-D-Q

Q-D-ש

Q-R-B

Q-R-B-N

Q-ש

R-B-B

R-H

R-H-M

R-ש

ש-K-N

ש-L-M

ש-M

ש-M-Y

ש-M-ש

ש-N

TH-GH-R

T-R

PIE: sterh₃

PIE: per- d^heyǵ^h-

Gr	στρώνω
Lat	‎sternó
Lat	pró‎sternó
Eng	prostrate
Dutch	strooien
Eng	strew

Greek:	smoothing out (clothes), making the bed, paving, laying (carpet, flooring), covering
Latin:	spreading out, stretching out, calming, stilling, moderating, covering, scattering, strewing, sprinkling, paving, striking down, made to prostrate, knocking down, demolishing, razing, flattening
Dutch:	strew, scatter, sprinkle, made of straw

Arabic:	worship, veneration, obedience, submission, devotion and service to God
Hebrew:	worship, service, work (labour, physics), job, labour

Arabic:	ghoul, desert demon, demon, jinn, goblin, sprite, ogre, cannibal, calamity, disaster
Persian:	imaginary woodland demon said to devour men and animals
English:	ghost, spirit, spirit that feeds on corpses, grave robber or person with an undue interest in death and corpses

Arabic:	propping up, supporting, intending, resolving, purposing, embarking, taking up, baptizing, Christening
Hebrew:	standing

Arabic:	a tying, binding, bonding, contracting, covenanting, connection, cohesion, making of magic knots, decade, decimal number, alloy, seed pod
Hebrew:	a tying, binding or shackling

Arabic:	setting (sun setting, moon setting, etc.), going away, departing, withdrawing, leaving
Hebrew:	evening, day before (compare: Christmas Eve for Christians)

Arabic:	prayer recited at sunset, sunset, West (i.e. where the sun sets), North Africa (The Maghrib, West of Saudi Arabia)
Hebrew:	prayer recited near sunset

Proto-Iranian	pari daijah
Avestan	𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬰𐬀·𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌
	παράδεισος
Lat	paradísus
Fr	paradis
Eng	paradise
pl	فَرَاْدِيس
	فِرْدَوْس
Persian	پَردِیس
	‎פַּרְדֵּס
Aram	‎פַּרְדֵּיסָא
Aram	פַּרְדַּיְסָא

Avestan, Proto-Iranian & PIE:	a walled enclosure: pari ("space with") + daijah ("wall"), from d^heyǵ^h ("shape").
Ancient Persia (generally):	royal garden, cultivated area, hunting park (link 1, link 2).
Greek:	afterlife of the blessed, perfect place or experience, garden, Garden of Eden, garden owned by Persian nobility, park for animals
Latin:	afterlife of the blessed, Garden of Eden, orchard, park
French:	afterlife of the blessed, perfect place or experience, upper circle (also known as "gods", in an auditorium)
English:	afterlife of the blessed, perfect place or experience
Arabic:	afterlife of the blessed, perfect place or experience, garden, Garden of Eden
Persian:	perfect place or experience, garden (the walled connotation has been lost), campus
Hebrew:	fruit garden, orchard, grove
Aramaic:	garden, orchard, park, royal park (פַּרְדַּיְסָא form), and in Syriac only, also a perfect place or experience