Clothes in Arabic 👗

Written by Amel B.

About this Arabic clothes activity

This activity teaches 14 words for clothes and accessories. In Browse every item is a card with a picture, the Arabic word and the English name, and tapping a card plays the word. In Quiz your child sees a picture and picks the Arabic word from four choices, for 10 questions per round. The pictures are emoji, so they show typical items, and the audio uses your device's Arabic voice, which varies between devices.

The 14 words, grouped

In order: shirt, trousers, dress, shorts. Coat, scarf, gloves, socks. Shoes, sandal. Hat, bag, watch, glasses.

Singular and plural

Three words in the activity are plural: جَوَارِب (socks), قُفَّازَات (gloves) and نَظَّارَات (glasses, a pair). One sock is جَوْرَب and one glove is قُفَّاز. حِذَاء is singular, and its plural is أَحْذِيَة. The word for “clothes” in general is مَلَابِس.

Easy sentences to build

• “This is a …” uses هَذَا for masculine words and هَذِهِ for feminine ones: هَذَا قَمِيص (this is a shirt), هَذِهِ حَقِيبَة (this is a bag). Use هَذِهِ for the plural items too: هَذِهِ جَوَارِب.
• “My …” adds ـي: قَمِيصِي (my shirt), حِذَائِي (my shoes), حَقِيبَتِي (my bag).
• With a colour, the colour comes after the word and matches its gender: قَمِيص أَحْمَر (a red shirt), حَقِيبَة زَرْقَاء (a blue bag).
• “I wear …” starts with أَنَا أَلْبَس (ana albas), followed by the item.

Traditional clothes you may hear about

These are not in the activity, but families often mention them. ثَوْب is a long robe worn by men in the Gulf, and عَبَاءَة is a long cloak. غُتْرَة is a headcloth common in the Gulf, كُوفِيَّة is a checked scarf associated with Palestine and Jordan, and جَلَّابِيَّة is a long robe worn in Egypt and North Africa. Names and styles vary by country, so ask your own family.

A simple learning plan

1. Session 1. Learn one group from the table by tapping each card and saying the word.
2. Session 2. Add a second group and play a quiz round. Have your child say the answer aloud.
3. Session 3. Build sentences: pick two items and say “this is” and “my” for each.

Away from the screen

• Laundry sort. Name each item in Arabic as you fold it.
• Dress for the weather. Ask what to wear on a cold day or a hot day, and have your child answer in Arabic.
• Morning outfit. Your child says what they are wearing today, in Arabic, as they get dressed.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “clothes” in Arabic?

مَلَابِس (malaabis). A single garment is often called قِطْعَة مَلَابِس, or by its own name such as قَمِيص.

How do you say “shirt” and “dress”?

Shirt is قَمِيص (qamis) and dress is فُسْتَان (fustaan).

How do you say “shoes” and “hat”?

Shoes is حِذَاء (hidhaa') and hat is قُبَّعَة (qubba'a).

How do you say “coat” and “scarf”?

Coat is مِعْطَف (mi'taf) and scarf is وِشَاح (wishaah). In everyday speech you may also hear the word “eshaarb” for a scarf.

How do you say “glasses” and “bag”?

Glasses is نَظَّارَات (nazzaarat), which comes from the root for looking, and bag is حَقِيبَة (haqiiba).

Which words in the activity are plural?

Socks, gloves and glasses are plural in the activity, and Arabic uses هَذِهِ (“this is”) with them.

Why do some clothes have more than one Arabic word?

Standard Arabic and everyday dialects sometimes use different words, and many items such as “shorts” are borrowed from other languages. Your family may use a word that is not on this page.

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