الْكْرِيسْمَاس
al-krīsmāsmasculine
Christmas in Arabic can be expressed as الْكْرِيسْمَاس (al-krīsmās), الْمِيلَاد or عِيد الْمِيلَاد.
Meaning: festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 in most places (name)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| الْكْرِيسْمَاس | al-krīsmās | masculine |
| الْمِيلَاد | al-mīlād | masculine |
| عِيد الْمِيلَاد | ʕīd al-mīlād | masculine |
The terms are used to refer to the festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. You can use عِيد مِيلَاد سَعِيد to say 'Merry Christmas'.
What does it mean word for word?
The word الْمِيلَاد literally means 'the birth'.
Which one should you use?
الْكْرِيسْمَاس is a transliteration of the English word 'Christmas'. In contrast, عِيد الْمِيلَاد uses the word 'ʿīd' (meaning feast or festival) to specifically mean 'the Christmas holiday', whereas الْمِيلَاد alone can simply refer to the general concept of 'the birth'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The term الْمِيلَاد is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
al-krīsmās
Did you know?
- Because عِيد مِيلَاد means 'birthday', the phrase عِيد مِيلَاد سَعِيد is used for both 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy Birthday'.
- Depending on the region, people may use الْمِيلَاد to refer to the Gregorian calendar year, making the phrase similar to 'Anno Domini' in Latin.
- The word عِيد used in عِيد الْمِيلَاد is the same word used for almost all major religious celebrations in the Middle East, including Eid al-Fitr.
Example sentences for Arabic are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Omar and Sarah are talking about upcoming holiday plans.
- عمر Omarهل حضرتِ هدايا الْكْرِيسْمَاس يا سارة؟hal ḥaḍartī hadāyā al-krīsmās yā sāra?Did you prepare the Christmas gifts, Sarah?
- سارة Saraنعم، لقد اشتريتها بالأمس.naʿam, laqad ishtaraytuhā bi-l-ams.Yes, I bought them yesterday.
- عمر Omarهذا رائع، أنا لم أشترِ شيئاً بعد.hādhā rāʾiʿ, anā lam ashtari shayʾan baʿd.That's great, I haven't bought anything yet.
- سارة Saraيمكننا الذهاب إلى السوق معاً.yumkinunā al-dhahāb ilā al-sūq maʿan.We can go to the market together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “Christmas” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
