Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| رقص | raʔaṣ | /ra.qa.sˤa/ /raq.qa.sˤa/ |
Egyptian Arabic |
| رَقَصَ | raqaṣa | ||
| شطح | šṭaḥ | Moroccan Arabic | |
| زفن | zfan | /za.fa.na/ | Moroccan Arabic, dated |
The term refers to the act of moving rhythmically to music. It can be used as a verb to describe the action or as a noun to describe the movements themselves, such as رَقْص or شطيح.
Which one should you use?
The verb forms vary significantly by dialect and tense. For example, رَقَصَ is the past tense, while شطح is a dialectal verb used specifically in Moroccan Arabic. The term زفن is a dated Moroccan-Arabic way to express the action.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, the form رقص is used. In Moroccan Arabic, you will hear the verb شطح and the dated term زفن. In Levantine Arabic, the term رِقْص is commonly used to refer to dance.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb رَقَصَ is the third-person singular masculine past tense form (he danced), while the present tense form is يَرْقُصُ (he dances/he is dancing).
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation for رقص is raʔaṣ. It has three syllables.
When do people say it?
You can use the phrase هل تحب الرَقْص؟ to ask someone, "Do you like to dance?"
Did you know?
- The term رقص is used in a specialized sense in Sufism to describe 'Sama', a spiritual dance or whirling intended to bring the practitioner closer to God.
- Traditional Arabic dance is often categorized by the region of the dancer, such as the 'Khaleeji' style from the Gulf or the 'Dabke' from the Levant, which is a communal line dance.
- The Arabic word رقص is a distant relative of the Ugaritic word mrqd, a language spoken in the Levant thousands of years ago.
Examples in context
- كان سامي مدرّس رقص.Sami was a dance teacher.This sentence uses رقص to describe a dance teacher.Tatoeba #7038497 by OsoHombre, translation #7035021 by OsoHombre
- سنذهب إلى حفلة رقص غداً.We are going to a dance tomorrow.This sentence uses رقص to refer to an upcoming dance event.Tatoeba #507680 by saeb, translation #323121 by CC
- رقصتي المفضلة هي التانجو.My favorite dance is the tango.This sentence uses رقص to identify a favorite type of dance.Tatoeba #458361 by saeb, translation #456419 by lukaszpp
- تستمتع الجماهير بعروض الرَقْص الكلاسيكي.The audience enjoys classical dance performances.
- نُريد أن نَرْقُص في حفلة الزفاف.We want to dance at the wedding party.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dance” translations and entries رقص, زفن, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries رقص, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
