The city and its places in Arabic
81 words in Arabic on the topic “the city and its places”: مدينة — city, شارع — street, ميدان — a square (plaza), صيدلية — pharmacy.
81 words on the topic
- مدينةмадинаcityThe same madiina in the name of Arabia’s second holy city. Madaniyy — urban — grows from it
- شارعшаариʿstreetEnds with the ayn — ʿ. In an address the street comes first, the house number after it
- ميدانмайданa square (plaza)The word crossed into many languages through Turkish; a square was the place where people gathered, and the name kept the job
- صيدليةсайдалийяpharmacyThe s here is emphatic — saydaliyya said with a press. The ta marbuta on the end
- مصرفмасрафbankFrom the verb "to exchange (money)": a bank is "the place of exchange". The street exchange desk is called by the same word
- حشدхашдcrowdFrom the verb "to crowd together". The crowd at the market on Saturday is hashd, and in military speech the same word means a detachment
- إشارة المرورишаарат аль-муруурtraffic lightLiterally "the signal of passing": for an Arab the traffic light is not a device but a signal. Red is hamra, green khadra — colours you know
- دراجةдарааджаbicycleLiterally "the thing that rides": the bicycle an Arab names simply "the rider". The full name is daraaja hawaaʾiyya, but in the city the short one is enough
- موقف الحافلةмавкиф аль-хаафилаbus stopLiterally "the standing place of the bus": the stop is where the transport "stands". Mawqif grows from the same verb as "it stopped"
- تذكرة شهريةтазкарат шахрийяmonthly passThe same tadhkara — a ticket — only shahriyya, monthly. The pass an Arab does not invent: it is a ticket for the month, full stop
- خطّхаттroute (line)A line, a stroke and a route: the bus route is khaṭṭ. The number on the bus is the number of the khaṭṭ, and it reads fast
- ممر المشاةмамарр аль-машааcrosswalkLiterally "the passage of the walkers": the pedestrians are "those who go on foot", from the verb mashaa. Look for the zebra by the white stripes — the word will help
- ازدحام مروريиздихаам мурурийtraffic jamLiterally "a road crush": the jam is a "squeeze", not an accident. In the news and on the radio you will hear exactly this word
- موقف السياراتмавкиф ас-саййаараатcar parkThe same mawqif as the bus stop: the car park is "the standing place of the cars". One word serves the whole city transport — the last word of the phrase decides
- محطة الوقودмахаттат аль-вакуудpetrol stationThe familiar mahatta — a station — here the fuel one: waquud is the fuel. For an Arab the station is a "station of fuel", the same logic as the railway station
- حديقة عامةхадиикат ʿаммаparkThe same hadiiqa — a garden — that you know, plus ʿaamma — public. The park for an Arab is "a garden for all", and the benches there are just the same
- مكتبةмактабаlibraryThe library is "the place of books", exactly as the office is "the place of writing". Do not confuse it with maktab: there one works, here one reads
- متحفматхафmuseumFrom the verb "to guard from decay": the museum is where things are kept safe. A short word, and it stands on the town posters more than any other
- مسرحмасрахtheaterFrom the verb "to play on stage": the theater is the "acting" itself. By ear it is one remove from masquerade — and the confusion is half justified
- سينماсийинамаcinemaThe international word in Arabic pronunciation: siinamaa. The posters, the tickets and the queue — all around this one word
- كنيسةканиисаchurchThe word of the Christian community: kaniisa. In the old towns it stands next to the mosque, and by ear it is softer than its building
- ملعبмильʿабstadiumLiterally "the place of play": the same root as in laaʿib — a player. The stadium for an Arab is "a ground for play", and the whole point is in that plainness
- مفترق طرقмафтарик турукan intersectionLiterally "the place where roads part": maftariq is the parting, tuluuk the roads. A road is tariiq — and its plural lives inside this word
- رصيف المشاةрасииф аль-машааthe sidewalkThe platform, ar-rasiif, is in the dictionary, and the sidewalk is its kin: what one walks on. Literally "the platform of the walkers": the same word attached to pedestrians
- جادةджаадаan avenueJaada, "to walk briskly": an avenue is a wide road one moves along briskly. The street, shaariʿ, you had; the avenue differs in width, and you see it from the car
- زقاقзукаакan alleyThe doubled aa stretches, like the alley itself between the walls. In the old town alleys are named for the craft that lived in them — so the map of the medina reads
- كورنيشкорниишthe cornicheThe word came from the French corniche together with the seaside boulevards. An evening walk in the city goes along the kurniish
- جسرджисрa bridgeJisr is both a bridge over a river and a viaduct over a road: Arabic does not split them. Hence jisr in the saying about trust — the bridge built between people
- نفقнафкthe tunnelShort vowels all through: naqf is a short, dense word. On the road sign before a tunnel stands exactly this word, and in Arabic it reads at once
- مصباح الشارعмисбаах аш-шаариʿthe streetlightThe lamp, misbaah, you had; a streetlight is the same lamp attached to the street. One root of light. Without ash-shaariʿ you get a lamp in the room
- مقعد الحديقةмикʿад аль-хадиикаthe park benchThe seat, maqʿad, was in "the seat by the window"; the bench is the same seat assigned to the park. Arabic does not tell a stool from a bench: the place does — al-hadiiqa
- سلة القمامةсаллят аль-камаамаthe trash canThe basket, salla, was in shopping; the trash can is the same basket assigned to garbage. Qamaama, garbage, is familiar too: two known things in one link
- سائق الحافلةсааʿик аль-хаафилаthe bus driverThe bus, haafila, you had; saaʾiq is "the one who drives". The same root drives the postman too — saaʾi — the root is "movement"
- المحطة الأخيرةаль-махатта аль-ахираthe last stopThe station, mahatta, you had; akhiir, "last", too: the last stop is their link. On the bus exactly this is announced: al-mahatta al-akhira — everyone out
- رقم الخطракм аль-хаттthe route numberThe phone number was raqm al-haatif; the route is khatt, "a line". In the city one asks ayyi khatt? — which line — and that is simpler than "route number"
- ساعة الذروةсааʿа аз-заруаrush hourLiterally "the hour of the summit": zarwa is a crest, a peak. One word, saaʿa, covers both the hour and the clock: no counting needed
- جدول مواعيد الحافلاتджадваль мавааʿиид аль-хаафиляатthe bus scheduleJadwal al-mawaaʿiid, "the schedule", you had; now haafilaat, "buses", are added to it. Three words instead of one, and all three are familiar
- يدفع أجرة الحافلةйядфаʿ уджрат аль-хаафилаto pay the fareArabic does not name "the ride" — one pays ujra, "the hire of the trip". Ujra is the same word as in renting a flat: the pay for the road and the pay for the roof are relatives
- يأخذ مقعداйяʾхуз микʿаданto take a seatA seat is not "occupied" but "taken": yaakhudh is the same verb that takes water and time. For taking a place Arabic has no special verb — there is simple taking
- يطلب سيارة أجرةйятлуб саййаарат уджраto hail a taxiA taxi in Arabic is "a hire car": the fare is inside the name. One does not "call" it but "asks for" it — yatlub, the same verb as in ordering food
- ينزل في المحطة التاليةйянзиль фи аль-махатта ат-таалияto get off at the next stopOne does not "exit" transport but "descends": yanzil is the same verb as coming down a mountain. At-taaliya, "next", is feminine — like the station
- الحيаль-хаййthe neighborhoodHayy comes from "life": a neighborhood is where one lives. The doubled y at the end is held longer than a plain y: hear the difference from hayaat, "life" without the article. The plural is ah-yaaʾ
- وسط المدينةвасат аль-мадиинаthe city centerWasat, "the middle", was in "are you in the middle?"; the city center is its link with the city. Arabic does not translate "center": the city has a middle, like an apple
- أطراف المدينةатрааф аль-мадиинаthe outskirtsAtraaf, "edges", plural of taraf, "a side": the outskirts are the city's edges. The word is always plural: the city like a scarf with four corners
- موقع بناءмауки бинааa construction siteMawqiʿ is "a place", binaa "a building": a construction site is the place of building — a tautology that works. A website is the same mawqiʿ: a place in both cases
- إصلاح الطريقисляах ат-тариикroad repairIslaah, "mending", was at the broken phone; the road is mended with the same verb. The detour because of it, tadaawur, is literally "walking around"
- لافتةлаафтаa signFrom laafata, "to glance back": a sign is what the eye returns to. The shop sign is the same laafita — the place tells them apart: above the door or on the road
- حمام عامхаммаам ʿааммa public restroomThe bathroom, hammaam, you had; a public toilet is "a shared bathroom". ʿAamm, "general", also works in "in general": bi-shakl ʿaamm. Two known things — and a clear sign on the street
- نظيفназиифcleanDo not confuse by ear with nahiif, "slim": the difference is one sound at the start. A clean city is madiina naaziifa — and the same word speaks of a clean conscience
- وسخвасихdirtyA short word with no long vowels: waasikh — said and done. Hence wisaakh, the mud on your shoes after rain. Its opposite, "clean", was learned next door
- مزدحمмаздахимcrowdedFrom zahama, "to press together": mazdahim is squeezed by people. The Arabic adverb here is an adjective: makaan mazdahim — a crowded place. The traffic jam shares the word
- قريةкарьяa villageThe q at the start is deep, from the throat: qarya. The town, madiina, you had; a village is the same place with fields around. Hundreds of Arab villages carry the word in their names
- عاصمةʿаасимаthe capitalThe ʿayn opens the word: "ʿaa-si-ma", the throat squeezed from the first syllable
- المواصلات العامةаль-мавасалят аль-ʿаммаpublic transportLiterally "the common connectors": mawaasalaat is "what connects people with places", ʿaamma "common". Arabic coined no word "transport" — there is only what "conveys"
- روضة أطفالравдаат атфаальa kindergartenLiterally "a garden of children": rawda is a garden with a stream, the image of paradise. Arab children are "the flowers of this garden", and the name says so honestly
- ملعب أطفالмальаб атфаальa playgroundLiterally "the play field of children": malʿab is "a place of play" — the same word that names the big stadium. The child version is swings, a sandbox and a wooden carousel
- نافورةнафуураa fountainA borrowed word that took root — like the European one, from the same source. The fountain on the town square is the place of evening walks: children, light, and water that sings
- مقبرةмакбараa cemeteryFrom qabara, "to bury": a cemetery is "the place of burial", a word direct without hedging. Town cemeteries in Arab countries are quiet quarters with domes and stone slabs
- سيارة إطفاءсаййа́рат итфааʾa fire truckLiterally "the truck of extinguishing": itfaaʾ is the same word as in the firefighter of the work lesson. Its siren is a siren too — a borrowed word as well
- محلةмахалляquarter (of a city)The word lives far beyond Arabic: the mahalla quarters of Central Asia keep it. Al-hay — the district — is taken already; this is a quarter inside it
- حديقة صغيرةхадиикат сагиираsmall parkLiterally "a small garden": a patch of green between houses. Hadiiqat ʿaamma — a park — is big; this is a corner
- برجбурджtowerA word of the world: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest tower on the planet. The same word means a sign of the zodiac
- الضاحيةад-даахийаsuburbLiterally "the one that stretches out": the district around a big city. Living there is cheaper, getting there takes longer
- بلدةбалдаtownLiterally "a little city": between the familiar qarya — village — and madiina — city. A settlement with its own school and its own market
- عابر سبيلʿаабир сабиильpasser-byLiterally "one crossing the path": the one walking past. From the verb "to cross" — the same one as in the pedestrian crossing
- المشاةаль-машааpedestrianLiterally "those who walk": a plural-word, like "people". You have met it in maʿbar al-mashaa — the pedestrian crossing
- علامةалямаsign (a shop sign)Literally "a mark": the shop sign is the mark of what is behind the door. The close neighbours are taken — lafita is a pointer, lawha a picture — so they take "mark"
- سلة المهملاتсаллят аль-махмулятlitter binLiterally "the basket of the discarded": salla — a basket — you know, mahmulaat is what got thrown out. The familiar zibaala — trash — lies exactly there
- عمود الإنارةʿамууд аль-инараstreet lamp (post)Literally "the post of lighting": the post itself with the lamp on top. The lamp as a light — misbah ash-shaariʿ — you have met
- مساحة خضراءмисааха хадрааlawnLiterally "a green area": an Arab names the place, not the plant. Grass on its own is another word — ushb
- حوض الزهورхаувз аз-зухуурflowerbedLiterally "the basin of flowers": an Arab flowerbed is a raised container with soil. Hawd is the same word as a basin, a pool
- درجات المدخلдараджаат аль-мадхальentrance stepsThere is no separate word: an Arab says "the steps of the entrance". The entrance hall you know — madkhal al-ʿimaara; the root is the same
- درجةдараджаstepOne step — from the familiar stairs, daraj. With the same word an Arab counts degrees and grades: one step is one move
- رقم البيتракам аль-бейтhouse numberThe of-form with no preposition: "the number of the house". The familiar raqm and bayt press against each other — and the address is ready
- اسم الشارعисм аш-шаариʿstreet nameA name is literally "a name": the familiar ism from ismii — my name is. The street presses on in the of-form
- عمودʿамуудa post (pole)The street post is a post and a column at once. A bicycle gets locked to it the way you are used to
- المدينة القديمةаль-мадина аль-кадиимаold cityBoth words are known: "the city the old one". The adjective follows the thing and takes the article — like in the familiar set phrases
- عمارة سكنيةʿимаара саканийяresidential buildingYou know the entrance hall — madkhal al-ʿimaara; the ʿimaara itself is a multistorey residential block. Sakaniyya grows from the familiar "to live"
- هدوءхудууʾquietA kin of the familiar haadiʾ — calm: bi-huduuʾ min fadlik — quieter, please — from the same root. Here the quiet is a noun
- مبنىмабнаbuildingFrom the verb "to build": a building is what got built. A school, a station, a museum — any non-residential structure; a home is the familiar bayt
- قاعةкааʿаhallYou have met the word inside compounds: qaaʿat al-muhadarat — a lecture hall, qaaʿa riyadiyya — a gym. A bare qaaʿa is a hall as a room for people
Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet
The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
مدينة (мадина) — city. The same madiina in the name of Arabia’s second holy city. Madaniyy — urban — grows from it.
شارع (шаариʿ) — street. Ends with the ayn — ʿ. In an address the street comes first, the house number after it.
ميدان (майдан) — a square (plaza). The word crossed into many languages through Turkish; a square was the place where people gathered, and the name kept the job.
صيدلية (сайдалийя) — pharmacy. The s here is emphatic — saydaliyya said with a press. The ta marbuta on the end.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “city” in Arabic?
The same madiina in the name of Arabia’s second holy city. Madaniyy — urban — grows from it
- How do you say “bicycle” in Arabic?
Literally "the thing that rides": the bicycle an Arab names simply "the rider". The full name is daraaja hawaaʾiyya, but in the city the short one is enough
- How do you say “petrol station” in Arabic?
The familiar mahatta — a station — here the fuel one: waquud is the fuel. For an Arab the station is a "station of fuel", the same logic as the railway station
- How do you say “stadium” in Arabic?
Literally "the place of play": the same root as in laaʿib — a player. The stadium for an Arab is "a ground for play", and the whole point is in that plainness
- How do you say “the tunnel” in Arabic?
Short vowels all through: naqf is a short, dense word. On the road sign before a tunnel stands exactly this word, and in Arabic it reads at once
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Street, square, pharmacy, bank. An address is built out of these, and an address is something you have to both say and understand.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “city” in Arabic?
«مدينة», read “мадина”. The same madiina in the name of Arabia’s second holy city. Madaniyy — urban — grows from it. It is one of 81 words in the set “the city and its places” — the rest are in the table above.
How many street and place words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 81 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.