Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| حديقة | ḥadīʔe | /ħa.diː.qa/ | South Levantine Arabic |
| بُسْتَان | bustān | ||
| حَدِيقَة | ḥadīqa | feminine | |
| جَنَّة | janna | feminine | |
| جنينة | ginēna | /d͡ʒu.naj.na/ | Egyptian Arabic, feminine |
| بَخْشَة | baḵša | Hijazi Arabic, archaic, masculine |
حديقة is the most widely used word for a garden, from a flower garden at home to a public park. It is understood in every Arabic speaking country.
Which one should you use?
حَدِيقَة is the general word and can mean a decorative flower garden. بُسْتَان (bustān) usually means an orchard, a garden for fruit trees. جَنَّة (janna) literally means paradise and is used in religious or poetic language for a lush, heavenly garden.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic the common everyday word is جنينة (ginēna). In South Levantine Arabic حديقة is pronounced ḥadīʔe. In colloquial speech حوش is used for a courtyard or backyard that has been turned into a green space.
How does it change in a sentence?
حديقة is a feminine noun. Its plural is حدائق, gardens. With the article it becomes الْحَدِيقَةِ, the garden.
How do you pronounce it?
The IPA is /ħa.diː.qa/, three syllables with a long ee in the middle. It starts with a breathy h from deep in the throat. In South Levantine Arabic it sounds like ḥadīʔe.
Did you know?
- While جَنَّة ('janna') means 'garden' or 'paradise', its root also means 'to hide' or 'to conceal', referring to how dense foliage hides the ground.
- The word حَدِيقَة comes from a root meaning 'to surround' or 'to enclose'. This reflects the ancient practice of walling off gardens to protect precious water and plants from the desert.
- In Egyptian Arabic, the word جنينة is a diminutive form of جَنَّة. It literally translates to 'a little paradise', making a simple backyard sound much more poetic than it appears in English.
Examples in context
- كان لكل بيت حديقة.Every house had a garden.حديقة here is a garden that every house had.Tatoeba #407054 by saeb, translation #37543 by CK
- يا لها من حديقة جميلة.What a beautiful garden!حديقة follows what a beautiful, used as an exclamation.Tatoeba #398439 by saeb, translation #36003 by CK
- فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ يُوجَدُ الْكَثِيرُ مِنَ الْزُّهُورِ وَالْنَّبَاتَاتِ الْجَمِيلَةِ.In the garden, there are many beautiful flowers and plants.الْحَدِيقَةِ is the garden with the article, written with full vowel marks.
- لدي بستان صغير في حديقتيI have a small orchard in my garden
- أزهار الليمون تزين البستانThe lemon blossoms adorn the orchard
- المكان كان يشبه جنة على الأرضThe place resembled a garden on earth
- لنقضي وقتًا ممتعًا في الحوشLet's spend some quality time in the garden
- أحب قضاء الوقت في الحديقةI love spending time in the garden
- لديها حديقة جميلة مليئة بالزهورShe has a beautiful flower garden
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yousef and Nour are standing in front of a house.
- يوسف Youssefفي حديقة كبيرة قدام البيت.fi hadiqa kabira addam al-beit.There is a large garden in front of the house.
- نور Nourالحديقة شكلها بجنن!al-hadiqa shaklha bijannin!The garden looks amazing!
- يوسف Youssefبدنا نزرع ورد بالحديقة.bidna nizra' ward bil-hadiqa.We want to plant roses in the garden.
- نور Nourفكرة حلوة يا يوسف.fikra hilwa ya Yousef.That is a sweet idea, Yousef.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “garden” translations and entries حديقة, جنينة, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries جنينة, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
