Transport in Arabic
14 words in Arabic on the topic “transport”: حافلة — bus, قطار — train, محطة — station, سيارة أجرة — taxi, موقف — bus stop.
14 words on the topic
- حافلةхаафилаbusLiterally "the carrier woman" — from the verb "to carry". One word for the city bus and the intercity coach alike
- قطارкитаарtrainThe t is emphatic. From the verb "to cut": the train "cuts" its way
- محطةмахаттаstationOne word for the station and the stop: mahattat al-qitaar — the railway station, mahattat al-haafila — the bus stop. The shadda tt is held long
- سيارة أجرةсаййаара уджраtaxiLiterally "a car for hire": ujra is the fare. You hail one by voice, the way people do at stations
- موقفмавкифbus stopYou have met the harness mawqif al-haafila — the bus stop; here the word stands alone. Mawqif is also the position of a car in a parking lot
- راكبраакибpassengerLiterally "the riding one": the one who got into the transport. By ear do not mix it with muraakib — the controller: the vowel is longer and the person is another
- مقعدмакʿадseatFrom the familiar yajlis — to sit: the place where one sits. Maqʿad qurb an-naafida — a window seat — you have already assembled
- مقبضмукаббадhandrailFrom "to hold": what the hand grabs. The door handle is the same word: at home and on the bus one grabs the miqabbad
- مفتشмуфаттишticket inspectorLiterally "the one who examines": the one who looks things over. The luggage at the border is checked by the same muftiish — the trade is one
- أجرةуджраfareYou have already paid sayyaarat ujra — the taxi is literally "a hire car"; ujra is the payment itself. How much is it — kam ujrat ar-rihla?
- مكتظмуктаттpacked (crowded)From takthaaf — a crush: so many people that riding is tight. A kin of the familiar traffic jam, izdihaam muruuriyy — the same squeeze, only standing still
- مكان فارغмакаан фаригfree seat (place)Literally "a place empty": the familiar makaan and faarigh — as in "the battery is empty". Empty — means one may sit
- آلة التذاكرаалля ат-тазаакирticket machineLiterally "the machine of tickets": aalla is any mechanism, from the vacuum cleaner to the lathe. It prints the tickets itself, without a clerk
- تأخيرтаʾхиирdelayYou met taʾkhiir ar-rihla — the flight delay; the bare word is about any delay. Apologize for it: afwan ʿala at-taʾkhiir
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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.
- الحافلة كبيرةаль-хаафила кябираThe bus is big
- القطار سريعаль-китаар сариʿThe train is fast
- المحطة قريبةаль-махатта карибаThe station is close
- سيارة أجرة من فضلكсаййаара уджра мин фадликA taxi, please
- الموقف قريب من هناаль-мавкиф кариб мин хунаThe stop is close from here
- الراكب ينام في الحافلةар-раакиб йанаам фи аль-хаафилаThe passenger sleeps on the bus
What is worth knowing about these words
حافلة (хаафила) — bus. Literally "the carrier woman" — from the verb "to carry". One word for the city bus and the intercity coach alike.
قطار (китаар) — train. The t is emphatic. From the verb "to cut": the train "cuts" its way.
محطة (махатта) — station. One word for the station and the stop: mahattat al-qitaar — the railway station, mahattat al-haafila — the bus stop. The shadda tt is held long.
سيارة أجرة (саййаара уджра) — taxi. Literally "a car for hire": ujra is the fare. You hail one by voice, the way people do at stations.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “bus” in Arabic?
Literally "the carrier woman" — from the verb "to carry". One word for the city bus and the intercity coach alike
- How do you say “passenger” in Arabic?
Literally "the riding one": the one who got into the transport. By ear do not mix it with muraakib — the controller: the vowel is longer and the person is another
- How do you say “packed (crowded)” in Arabic?
From takthaaf — a crush: so many people that riding is tight. A kin of the familiar traffic jam, izdihaam muruuriyy — the same squeeze, only standing still
- How do you say “train” in Arabic?
The t is emphatic. From the verb "to cut": the train "cuts" its way
- How do you say “seat” in Arabic?
From the familiar yajlis — to sit: the place where one sits. Maqʿad qurb an-naafida — a window seat — you have already assembled
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
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 “bus” in Arabic?
«حافلة», read “хаафила”. Literally "the carrier woman" — from the verb "to carry". One word for the city bus and the intercity coach alike. It is one of 14 words in the set “transport” — the rest are in the table above.
How many transport words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 14 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.