صفر
“صفر” (сифр) — zero in Arabic. Numeral, level A1, topic — basic words. The world’s "cipher" and "zero" both grew from this word: the nought is an Arabic invention that gave its name to all the digits. A nil score and a phone number both use sifr. In a live sentence: “الحرارة صفر” — The temperature is zero. Written with the characters ص, ف, ر. One of 308 words in the set “basic words” in the Arabic course.
In short
| Written in Arabic | صفر |
| Read in Latin letters | сифр |
| Translation | zero |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The world’s "cipher" and "zero" both grew from this word: the nought is an Arabic invention that gave its name to all the digits. A nil score and a phone number both use sifr
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- الحرارة صفرаль-хараара сифрThe temperature is zero
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- نعمнаамyesShort and firm. In conversation an Arab often answers not with yes but by repeating the verb: "do you like it?" — "I like it"
- لاляnoThe same word negates the present tense: laa aʿrif — I do not know. The past is negated by ma — two particles for two tenses
- جيدджейидfineThe standard answer in full: ana bikhayr, shukran — I am well, thank you — or a short jayyid. From the root "to be good"
- سيئсаййиʾbadThe doubled y is held long and the word is cut off by a hamza at the end: say-yi-ʾ. The partner of jayyid, and just as common in an answer
- ممتازмумтазexcellentFrom the root "to outdo". A stronger answer to how are you than jayyid: it means it cannot be better
- يمكنюмкинit is possibleAn impersonal "it is possible": it has no subject at all. "Can I pay by card?" is built on exactly this word
- وваandIt is written attached to the next word: wa sticks like a prefix. Khubz wa jibna — bread and cheese
- لكنлякинbutIt opens the second half of the sentence. With a long a on the end — laakinna — it sounds stronger, with a press
- كيلوغرامкилограамkilogramAt the market they say it short — kilo. Half is nisf kilo, and the weigher measures exactly so, with no grams involved
- نصفнисфhalf"Half an hour" is nisf as-saaʿa, and an Arab divides time into halves more readily than quarters. A short word, but the s here is soft, interdental
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “zero” in Arabic?
The world’s "cipher" and "zero" both grew from this word: the nought is an Arabic invention that gave its name to all the digits. A nil score and a phone number both use sifr
- How do you say “and” in Arabic?
It is written attached to the next word: wa sticks like a prefix. Khubz wa jibna — bread and cheese
- How do you say “fine” in Arabic?
The standard answer in full: ana bikhayr, shukran — I am well, thank you — or a short jayyid. From the root "to be good"
- How do you say “half” in Arabic?
"Half an hour" is nisf as-saaʿa, and an Arab divides time into halves more readily than quarters. A short word, but the s here is soft, interdental
- How do you say “it is possible” in Arabic?
An impersonal "it is possible": it has no subject at all. "Can I pay by card?" is built on exactly this word
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “zero” in Arabic?
«صفر», read “сифр”. In a live sentence: “الحرارة صفر” — The temperature is zero. Numeral, level A1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters ص, ف, ر.
How is “صفر” written in Latin letters?
сифр. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The world’s "cipher" and "zero" both grew from this word: the nought is an Arabic invention that gave its name to all the digits. A nil score and a phone number both use sifr. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.