Tracing the Echoes: Arabic vs Hebrew

Imagine two old friends who drifted apart over the years but still share memories from way back. That is kind of what Arabic and Hebrew are like—two ancient languages with a lot in common. In this article, we are going to dive into the shared roots of Arabic and Hebrew and explore their similarities, differences, and the ways they have influenced each other.

Shared family

Arabic and Hebrew are both part of the Semitic language family—a group of languages that have been around for thousands of years. They started from the same source, what we now call Proto-Semitic, and over time, they branched out into the distinct languages we know today.

As time passed, the Semitic languages spread across the Middle East and beyond, evolving as they mixed with different cultures. Arabic and Hebrew developed their own identities but still share a lot of the same DNA from their ancient roots. This shared history is what makes people often wonder, “are Hebrew and Arabic similar?” or “is Hebrew close to Arabic?”

Linguistic similarities between Arabic and Hebrew

Grammatical structure

One cool thing about Arabic and Hebrew is how they build words. Both languages use a system where words are created from a set of root consonants, which then take on different forms depending on the patterns applied. For example, the Arabic root كَتَبَ (related to writing) has a Hebrew cousin כתב . In both languages, different words can be created using the aforementioned root words to give different meanings related to the act of writing. This, among other similarities, shows how these languages are linked, which often raises the question, “how similar are Arabic and Hebrew?”

Similar words in Arabic and Hebrew

Here’s where things get interesting—Arabic and Hebrew vocabulary include many words that sound similar, especially for pronouns, propositions, numbers, and body parts.

Pronouns

English	Hebrew	MSA	Levantine
I	אני	أَنَا	أنا
You (Male singular)	אתה	أَنْتَ	انت
He	הוא	هُوَ	هوّي
She	היא	هِيَ	هيّي
We	אנחנו	نَحْنُ	نحنا إحنا
You (Male plural)	אתם	أنْتُمْ	إنتو إنتم
You (Female plural)	אתן	أَنْتُنّ	إنتو إنتم
They (Male)	הם	هُمْ	همِّ هني هنن
They (Female)	הן	هُنّ	هني هنن
This (Male)	זה	هَذَا	هادا
What	מה	مَا	شو إيش
Who	מי	مَنْ	مين
When	מתי	مَتَى	ايمتى
Why	למה	لمَ لِمَاذا	ليش
All	כל	كل	كل
All of us	כולנו	كُلُّنَا	كلنا

Prepositions

English	Hebrew	MSA	Levantine
In	ב	ب	ب
On/Upon	על	على	عَ على
From	מ	من	من
To/For	ל	ل	ل

Numbers

English	Hebrew	MSA	Levantine
Four	ארבע	أَرْبَعَة	أربعة
Five	חמש	خَمْسَة	خمسة
Seven	שבע	سَبْعَة	سبعة
Nine	תשע	تِسْعَة	تسعة
Ten	עשר	عَشْرَة	عشرة
Twenty	עשרים	عِشرِينْ	عشرين
One hundred	מאה	مِئَة	ميّة
One thousand	אלף	أَلْفْ	ألف
Two thousand	אלפיים	أَلْفَيْن	ألفين

Body parts

English	Hebrew	MSA	Levantine
Head	ראש	رأس	راس
Eye	עין	عين	عين
Ear	אוזן	أذن	إدن دان
Tooth	שן	سن	سن
Hand	יד	يد	إيد
Nose	אף	أنف	أنف
Finger	אצבע	إصبع	اصبع

Other vocabulary

English	Hebrew	MSA	Levantine
Peace	שָׁלוֹם	سَلَامْ	سلام
King	מלך	مَلِكْ	ملك
Night	לילה	لَيْلْ	ليل
River	נהר	نَهْرْ	نهر
House	בית	بَيْتْ	بيت
Brother	אח	أَخّْ	أخ خي
Sun	שמש	شَمْسْ	شمس
Gold	זהב	ذَهَبْ	دهب
Sky	שמיים	سَمَاءْ	سما
Vineyard	כרם	كَرْمْ	كرم

Phonetic parallels

If you listen closely, you’ll notice some phonetic similarity between Arabic and Hebrew. For example, the ِArabic خ and the Hebrew ח sound similar. Both languages have the letter “Ayin”, which in Arabic is ع and in Hebrew is ע . In ancient Hebrew, this letter had a distinctive gutteral sound, similar to the one in Arabic. When European Zionists brought Hebrew back into daily use during the late 19th century, they had difficulty pronouncing the gutteral sound, and so they converted it into an “a”. Nevertheless, when elderly Israeli Jews from Arab countries speak the language, they sometimes pronounce it the gutteral way, as a result of their Arabic-speaking roots.

Similarities in alphabets

Let’s talk about the Arabic vs Hebrew alphabet. Both Arabic and Hebrew are written from right to left and use a script where the consonants carry most of the weight, with vowels either implied or added as marks that we call diacritics. Diacritics are called تَشْكِيلْ or حَرَكَاتْ in Arabic while in Hebrew they are called ניקוד (note the resemblance to the Arabic word نُقَطْ ). While the scripts look different, they actually have some similar shapes and sounds, thanks to their shared ancestry. For instance, the Arabic letter س and the Hebrew letter שׂ look rather similar, both representing the “s” sound. It’s fun to compare Arabic vs Hebrew writing to see these connections.

The influence between Arabic and Hebrew

Centuries-old influence

Throughout history, Arabic and Hebrew borrowed words from each other, especially in regions where Jews and Arabs lived close together. Many Jewish communities who used to live or are living in Arab lands incorporated Arabic into their daily lives, infusing it with Hebrew elements. During the Middle Ages when Jewish scholars were deeply engaged with Arabic culture, they borrowed Arabic words like تَارِيخْ which means date. Conversely, in ancient times, Jewish liturgical texts and practices influenced Arabic in regions with significant Jewish populations, for example with the words السَبْت (Saturday), جهَنَّمْ (hell), and نَذْرْ (vow).

Modern influence

In modern times, Palestinian Arabic – a subdialect of Levantine Arabic – has influenced contemporary Hebrew, particularly in slang. Here are examples of Arabic influence on contemporary Hebrew:

English	Hebrew	Palestinian Arabic
Literally: I swear by God. In both languages, it’s commonly used as a casual expression similar to “really?” or “seriously?	וואלה	وَالله
Let’s go!	יאללה	يلا
Muscular, tough guy	אבדאי	قبضاي
Perfect!, Awesome!	עלא כיף	على كيفك
Genuine, authentic	אסלי	اصلي
Straight-forward speech	דוגרי	دغري
My friend, dude	חביבי	حبيبي
Local, native	בלדי	بلدي
Knock-on-wood (A term used to repel the Evil Eye)	חמסה	خمسة
Tough guy, hero	ג’דע	جدع
Used to wish someone a quick recovery or well-being	סלאמתו	سلامتك
Literally: “being high” in Arabic. In Hebrew, it means “chilling out”	סטלה	سطل
Literally: “your lord” in Arabic. In Hebrew, it’s used to express frustration, like “come on” or “damn it.”	רבאק	ربك
Literally: “curse your father” in Arabic. In Hebrew, it’s often used in a teasing or affectionate way, similar to how someone might say “you rascal” or “you devil” in English.	ענעל אבוק	إنعل أبوك
“Stoned” or “high”	מסטול	مسطول
Bad luck or jinx	נאחס	نحس
Literally: “sweetest” or “nicest” in Arabic. In Hebrew, it’s used to mean “great,” “cool” or “awesome.”	אחלה	أحلى
Happy, satisfied	מבסוט	مبسوط
Hello, hi (in Hebrew, it’s an informal way to greet someone)	אהלן	أهلاً
Literally: “joy” or “happiness” in Arabic. In Hebrew, it’s a derogatory slang term used to describe a woman who’s perceived as loud, flashy, or “trashy.”	פרחה	فَرْحَة
Nuisance (literally: it hurts the head)	בוג’ראס	بيوجع الراس
Crazy, insane	מג’נון	مجنون
Literally: “scandal” in Arabic. In Hebrew, it’s used to describe an embarrassing situation, blunder, or social faux pas	פאדיחה	فضيحة
Enough, finished	חלאס	خلاص

A lot of profanity in Hebrew slang comes from Arabic as well:

Click here to see the table

English	Hebrew	Palestinian Arabic
Literally: “pimp” in Arabic. In Hebrew, it’s often used to describe someone who is perceived as a thug, a low-class person, or someone with a rough, uncultured attitude. In Arabic, it could also describe a sleazy person.	ערס	عرص
slut, whore	שרמוטה	شرموطة
jerk, asshole (literally: Someone who is fucked)	מניאק	منيك
shit	חרא	خرا
Fuck you (literally: your mother’s pussy)	כוס אמק	كس أمك
Fuck you (literally: your sister’s pussy)	כוס אחתק	كس اختك

Similarly, modern Hebrew has influenced Palestinian Arabic. You can find some examples of those loanwords in the following table:

English	Hebrew	Palestinian Arabic
Yoghurt, sour cream	שמנת	شمينت
Traffic lights	רמזור	رمزون
Air conditioner	מזגן	مزجان
Mobile phone	פלאפון	بليفون
Guard	שומר	شومير
Come	בוא	بو

Linguistic differences: diverging paths

Historical evolution

Arabic and Hebrew both stem from the ancient Semitic language family, but their paths of evolution diverged significantly.

Arabic began its development around the 4th century CE, evolving from early Semitic roots into various dialects. Classical Arabic, the language of the Quran and early Islamic literature, emerged in the 7th century CE. This form of Arabic spread and influenced the Islamic empire after it was standardized and widely used. Over time, as the Islamic empire expanded, new regional dialects began to form in places where Arabic was never spoken before, leading to the colloquial Arabic spoken today in different parts of the Arab world. Modern Standard Arabic, derived from Classical Arabic, was formalized in the 19th and 20th centuries to serve as a unifying language for education, media, and literature across Arabic-speaking countries.

Hebrew also traces its origins to the ancient Semitic languages, but its evolution took a different path. Biblical Hebrew, the language of the Hebrew Bible, was spoken from around the 10th century BCE to the 4th century CE. After this period, Hebrew gradually fell out of everyday use and was largely confined to religious, literary, and scholarly contexts. By the 6th century CE, it had become a liturgical language, with spoken Jewish communities adopting Yiddish or Ladino. The revival of Hebrew began in the 19th century with the efforts of the Zionist movement, led by figures like Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. This revival transformed Hebrew from a classical language into Modern Hebrew, which was adopted as the official language of Israel in 1948. Modern Hebrew incorporates contemporary vocabulary and grammar while retaining its ancient roots.

In short, Arabic evolved from its Classical form into a range of regional dialects and a standardized modern language, while Hebrew experienced a period of decline and liturgical use before being successfully revived as a modern spoken language.

This divergence led to distinct linguistic identities, making it clear when people ask, “Is Hebrew related to Arabic?” that while they share roots, they have grown apart in many ways.

Dialects and regional variations

Arabic, with its numerous dialects like Levantine, Egyptian, Gulf, and Darija, presents a diverse linguistic landscape. In contrast, modern Hebrew is more standardized, though regional accents and influences are still present. This difference is often highlighted in discussions comparing Arabic vs Hebrew language, which requires discussion of different colloquial Arabic forms.

Borrowed words and external influences

Both Arabic and Hebrew have incorporated words from other languages due to historical and cultural interactions. Arabic has absorbed terms from Persian, Turkish, Italian, French, English, Spanish and other European languages, while Hebrew, especially after its revival, has borrowed from Yiddish, Russian, German, and English. These borrowed words reflect the languages’ adaptive nature and their ability to influence and be influenced.

Conclusion: a tale of two cousins

Arabic and Hebrew, though distinct, have continually shaped each other through centuries of interaction. These languages, rooted in a shared past, have influenced one another in ways that go beyond mere vocabulary. They have left lasting echoes in each other’s sounds, structures, and cultural expressions, reminding us of the deep connections that languages, like the people who speak them, share across time and space. This relationship makes it clear why people often ponder, “Are Arabic and Hebrew similar?”

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