قطن
quṭn/qutˤn/
Cotton in Arabic is قطن (quṭn), the word for the plant fiber and the fabric made from it.
قطن is used for cotton as a material, in clothing labels, shops and everyday talk about fabric. With the article it is القطن, the most common way to speak about cotton in general.
Meaning: fabric (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective made of cotton is قطني (quṭnī), which changes to قطنية with a feminine noun such as a towel. To say made of cotton, use من followed by the noun with the article, as in مِنَ ٱلْقُطْنِ.
How do you pronounce it?
The IPA is /qutˤn/, one syllable. It starts with a deep q sound made at the back of the throat, and the t is heavy, said with the tongue pulled back.
Did you know?
- While قطن (quṭn) means 'cotton' today, it likely evolved from an ancient term for 'flax'. This change happened as the primary textile used in the region shifted over centuries.
Examples in context
- هذه منشفة قطنية.This is a cotton towel.قطنية is the feminine adjective cotton, describing the towel.Tatoeba #11665392 by dididodo, translation #8549728 by Amastan
- سمعتُ أن متجر حلوى قطن قد فتح للتو. لنذهب، يا أصحاب.I heard a cotton candy shop has just opened. Let's go, dudes.قطن appears in the phrase for cotton candy.Tatoeba #608317 by Samer, translation #5992 by Zifre
- هٰذَا ٱلْقَمِيصُ مَصْنُوعٌ مِنَ ٱلْقُطْنِ.This shirt is made of cotton.مِنَ ٱلْقُطْنِ means made of cotton, written with full vowel marks.
Example conversation
Yousef and Nour are shopping for clothes.
- يوسف Youssefهل هذا القميص مصنوع من قطن؟Hal hadha al-qamis masnu' min qutn?Is this shirt made of cotton?
- نور Nourنعم، إنه قطن طبيعي مئة بالمئة.Na'am, innahu qutn tabi'i mi'a bil-mi'a.Yes, it is one hundred percent natural cotton.
- يوسف Youssefأنا أفضل القطن في الصيف.Ana u faddil al-qutn fi as-sayf.I prefer cotton in the summer.
- نور Nourمعك حق يا يوسف، إنه مريح جداً.Ma'aka haqq ya Yousef, innahu murih jiddan.You are right, Yousef, it is very comfortable.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry قطن, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries قطن, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
