40 Spanish Words That Came from Arabic

Did you know that many Spanish words overlap with words in other languages?

Spanish is spoken in the majority of Latin America, some of the Caribbean, parts of the United States and Canada, in Europe, and even in Asia and Africa! Many other languages have influenced Spanish over the centuries, including its pronunciation and vocabulary!

Read this article to learn how the language was affected by the Arabic culture and language—and access a gold mine of Spanish words with Arabic roots! Let’s begin!  

Where Does Spanish Come From?

When the Romans conquered and colonized a huge part of the world centuries ago, they imposed Latin, their language, upon those they conquered. Over time, those languages spoken on Roman conquered territory evolved and mixed with Latin. 

This mix resulted in the creation and use of Vulgar Latin, the common form of Latin spoken in Roman colonies around the world. Later, Vulgar Latin would evolve to what we know today as the Romance languages.

Spanish is a Romance language—alongside French, Italian, Romanian, and Portuguese (among others). These languages share linguistic features and Latin peculiarities that affect sentence structure; verb use; and gendered subjects, objects, and complements. 

Spanish has been influenced by many other languages besides Vulgar Latin, including Italian, French, Euskera, and Catalán, Quechua, Nahuatl, and even English! To learn more, read about Languages and Cultures that Influenced Spanish. 

Arabic Influence on the Spanish Language

Hispania—modern day Spain—was conquered several times, which affected the language because each conqueror wanted to impose their way of communication. These diverse influences made Spanish the rich language we know today. 

In 711 AD, Muslims conquered Spain. Even when the Spanish reconquered their land several years later, the influence of the moros or moors (Musulims in Spain) and their language are prevalent to this day.

A lot of the Arabic words that influence Spanish are part of what’s known today as Andalusian Arabic, the Arabic language spoken in some regions of the Iberic Peninsula (Spain and Portugal nowadays) during the Muslim rule from the 9th to the 17th century. 

Arabic influenced Spanish words are preferred in some places, like southern Spain and those places that were part of Muslim colonies. In contrast, the Castilian dialect is preferred in northern Spain. 

The Arabic influence in Spanish is primarily lexical. Is estimated that around 4,000 Spanish words have some kind of Arabic influence—8% of the Spanish dictionary. Approximately 1,000 of those have Arabic roots, while the other 3,000 are derived words.  

Morphologic Influence

The Arabic alphabet is divided into “solar” and “lunar” letters. When Spanish began to incorporate Arabic words, the article al evolved to -a in Arabic words that began with solar letters. 

For example:

On the other hand, when the Arabic words that began with lunar letters evolved to Spanish words, the article al was incorporated to the word. 

Here are some examples:

Also, the suffix -í was incorporated in some adjectives, specially for demonyms for people that came from Arabic or Muslim countries. Here are some examples:

40 Spanish Words That Came From Arabic

For a better understanding of the words and their history, each word on the list includes the classic Arabic, the Hispanic Arabic, and the English translation.

1. Aceituna

Classic Arabic: zaytūnah
Hispanic Arabic: azzaytúna
English Translation: Olive

2. Ajedrez

Classic Arabic: šiṭranǧ
Hispanic Arabic: aššaṭranǧ o aššiṭranǧ
English Translation: Chess

3. Albahaca 

Classic Arabic: habaqah
Hispanic Arabic: alhabáqa
English Translation:  Basil

4. Alcancía 

Classic Arabic: kanz
Hispanic Arabic: alkanzíyya
English Translation:  Piggy Bank

5. Barrio

Classic Arabic: barrī 
Hispanic Arabic: bárri
English Translation:  Neighborhood

6. Bellota

Classic Arabic: ballūṭa
Hispanic Arabic: ballúta
English Translation:  Acorn

7. Dado

Classic Arabic: a‘dād
Hispanic Arabic: 
English Translation:  Dice

8. Divan

Classic Arabic: dīwān
Hispanic Arabic: –
English Translation:  Divan

9. Elixir

Classic Arabic: al’iksīr
Hispanic Arabic: 
English Translation:  Elixir

10. Escabeche

Classic Arabic: sikbāǧ
Hispanic Arabic: assukkabáǧ
English Translation:  Marinade

11. Gandul

Classic Arabic: ḡundar
Hispanic Arabic: ḡandúr
English Translation:  Slacker

12. Guitarra

Classic Arabic: qīṯārah
Hispanic Arabic: 
English Translation:  Guitar

13. Hachís

Classic Arabic: ḥašīš
Hispanic Arabic: –
English Translation:  Hashish

14. Hazaña

Classic Arabic: hasanah
Hispanic Arabic: hasána
English Translation:  Feat

15. Jirafa

Classic Arabic: zurāfah
Hispanic Arabic: 
English Translation:  Giraffe 

16. Joroba

Classic Arabic: hadabah
Hispanic Arabic: hadúbba
English Translation:  Hump

17. Laúd

Classic Arabic: ūd
Hispanic Arabic: al’úd
English Translation:  Lute

18. Limón

Classic Arabic: laymūn
Hispanic Arabic: la[y]mún
English Translation:  Lemon

19. Mazmorra

Classic Arabic: maṭmūrah
Hispanic Arabic: matmúra
English Translation:  Dungeon

20. Mezquino

Classic Arabic: miskīn
Hispanic Arabic: miskín
English Translation:  Mean

21. Nácar

Classic Arabic: {nqr} ‘
Hispanic Arabic: náqra
English Translation:  Nacre

22. Naranja

Classic Arabic: nāranǧ
Hispanic Arabic: naranǧa
English Translation:  Orange

23. Noria

Classic Arabic: nā‘ūrah
Hispanic Arabic: na’úra
English Translation:  Treadmill

24. Ojalá

Classic Arabic: law šá lláh
Hispanic Arabic: –
English Translation:  I hope/Maybe

25. Quintal

Classic Arabic: qanṭīrā
Hispanic Arabic: qintár
English Translation: Quintal

26. Rabal/Arrabal

Classic Arabic: rabad
Hispanic Arabic: –
English Translation: Suburb

27. Rehén

Classic Arabic: rihān
Hispanic Arabic: rihán
English Translation: Hostage 

28. Rincón

Classic Arabic: rukn
Hispanic Arabic: rukán
English Translation: Corner

29. Sandía

Classic Arabic: sindiyyah
Hispanic Arabic: sándiyya
English Translation: Watermelon

30. Sorbete

Classic Arabic: šarbah
Hispanic Arabic: –
English Translation: Sorbet

31. Tabique

Classic Arabic: tašbīk 
Hispanic Arabic: tašbík 
English Translation: Partition

32. Talco

Classic Arabic: talq
Hispanic Arabic: tálq
English Translation: Powder

33. Tarima

Classic Arabic: ṭārimah
Hispanic Arabic: tárima
English Translation: Pallet

34. Tarea

Classic Arabic: {trh}
Hispanic Arabic: taríha
English Translation: Task

35. Tambor

Classic Arabic: ṭabbūl
Hispanic Arabic: 
English Translation: Drum

36. Toronja

Classic Arabic: turunǧah
Hispanic Arabic: turúnǧa
English Translation: Grapefruit

37. Vizir

Classic Arabic: wazīr
Hispanic Arabic: –
English Translation: Vizier

38. Zaguan

Classic Arabic: usṭuwān[ah]
Hispanic Arabic: istawán
English Translation: Hallway

39. Zanahoria

Classic Arabic: –
Hispanic Arabic: safunnárya
English Translation: Carrot

40. Zaque

Classic Arabic: ziqq
Hispanic Arabic: záqq
English Translation: Wineskin

 (Tadarib Ealaa Lghtk Al’iisbania) تدرب على لغتك الإسبانية

Share Your Words 

Arabic is not the only language that has influenced Spanish through time. Do you know of words in other languages that are now used in Spanish? Or do you know more Arabic words that weren’t covered in this list? Please leave me a comment and start a conversation!

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Carmen Rizzo

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I’m a native Spanish speaker from Guatemala with a B.A. in Psychology. I have a passion for teaching Sunday school in my spare time and for learning and sharing valuable information. I'm a cat lover who gets excited over cartoons, anime, and video games. I dabble in digital illustration and animation. I'm inspired by sharing my culture, traditions, food, and beliefs with others, while learning about theirs in return.

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