Wondering how to say cute in Arabic? Today you are going to learn how this word sounds in Arabic in several versions: in Modern Standard Arabic, Levantine, Egyptian.
First, we need to look at what the actual meaning of the word cute in English is. According to dictionary.com:
– attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty
– appealing and delightful; charming
– affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious
– mentally keen; clever; shrewd
dictionary.com
Below, you will see what Arabic words can be substituted for the English word cute.
The word cute in Modern Standard Arabic
There are a few words in Arabic that correspond to the word cute:
جَذّاب (jadhdhaab)
attractive, magnetic, suction, suctorial; winning, fetching, engaging; charming, enticing, captivating, gripping
جَذّاب , Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, p.138
ظريف (DHareef)
elegant, graceful, charming, full of esprit, witty; wig, wat, witty fellow
ظريف, of Modern Written Arabic, p. 679
لَطيف (laTeef)
pleasant, agreeable; amiable, friendly, kind, nice; civil, courteous, polite; affable, genial; pretty, charming, lovely, graceful; intellectually refined, full of esprit, brilliant, witty, elegant
لَطيف, Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, p. 18
If you don’t know the Arabic alphabet yet check our post Arabic alphabet – All you need to know to write in Arabic
How to say cute in Levantine Arabic?
To say cute in Arabic you can use several words.
مَهْضوم (mahDoom)
Although the word مهضوم in MSA means digested; digestible in Levantine Arabic is used as cute. The word mahDoom is often used to describe babies (but not only).
حِلو (Hilou)
Used especially considering the attractiveness of a person. The word itself in MSA means sweet, but it is used in Levantine Arabic as beautiful, pretty.
لَطيف (laTeef)
The meaning is the same as in MSA, so you will use it if you want to say about someone that they are nice (speaking more about personality than physical appearance).
لَذيذ (lazeez*)
The meaning of the word in MSA is delicious, tasty but in Levantine Arabic it is used as cute.
*Native speakers often pronounce ذ as ز.
If you are learning Levantine Arabic see also:
- Levantine Arabic: learn new vocabulary with memes
- 35 popular Arabic proverbs in Levantine Arabic
- Arabic series – list of free TV shows to learn Arabic
- Arabic immersion guide- ideas and resources
How to say cute in Egyptian Arabic?
In Egyptian Arabic you can use the word حِلو ,لَطيف, لذيذ same way as in Levantine Arabic. You can also use MSA word ظَريف pronounced zareef (with ز not ظ).
The word cute in Spoken Arabic often used in social media
One very common substitute for the word cute in Arabic, especially on the Internet (but used also in spoken Arabic) is simply the phonetic transcription of the English word cute – [ كْيوت ]. This word is very often used by young people on social media, so it’s good to know about it.
How to say you’re cute
To say you’re cute in Arabic you have to add the pronoun you before any of the words mentioned above. If you want to know more about you in Arabic check out our post How to say you in Arabic.
you: أنتَ (anta for male) or أنتِ (anti for female)
For example: أنتَ ظَريف – anta DHareef – you’re cute (male)
أنتِ لَطيفة – anti laTeefa – you’re cute/nice (female)
Other words in Arabic with similar meaning
Popular words with similar meaning describing people:
- Beautiful جَميل (jameel)
2. Handsome وَسيم (waseem)
3. Intelligent, clever ذَكي (dhaki) (Levantine/Egyptian: شاطِر {shaaTir } )
If you are building your basic Arabic vocabulary check out basic Arabic adjectives, common Arabic verbs, and Arabic prepositions . You can find full list of subjects here: Arabic Vocabulary Lists
Summary
As you can see the word cute has many meanings and we should choose the word that best reflects what we want to convey.
Of course between dialects words are mixed together and often diminutives of other words are used. The above list of words are those most used and most conveying the character of the word cute in English.