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:
| Arabic | Spanish (English) |
| al-zayt | aceite (oil) |
| al-tūn | atún (tuna) |
| al-sukkar | azúcar (sugar) |
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:
| Arabic | Spanish (English) |
| al-burqūq | albaricoque (apricot) |
| al muẖádda | almohada (pillow) |
| al-qutn | algodón (cotton) |
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:
| Spanish | English |
| Paquistaní | Pakistani |
| Iraní | Iranian |
| Iraquí | Iraqi |
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
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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
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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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