Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| مِثْلِيّ الْجِنْس | miṯliyy al-jins | |
| مِثْلِيّ | miṯliyy | |
| شَاذّ جِنْسِيًّا | šāḏḏ jinsiyyan | |
| لُوطِيّ | lūṭiyy | offensive |
The term refers to someone who is sexually attracted solely or primarily to the same sex. It can be used as an adjective or as a noun to describe a person with this attraction.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase مِثْلِيّ الْجِنْس literally means 'same-sex'.
Which one should you use?
The full phrase مِثْلِيّ الْجِنْس can be shortened to مِثْلِيّ, which is a more concise and neutral way to say 'homosexual'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The word مِثْلِيّ is considered formal and neutral across Arabic-speaking countries. In contrast, شَاذّ جِنْسِيًّا can be used in clinical or descriptive contexts, but it often carries a negative or pejorative connotation of being 'deviant'. The term لُوطِيّ is a highly offensive and derogatory term for a homosexual person.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
miṯliyy al-jins
Did you know?
- While مِثْلِيّ is the standard neutral term, many Arabic speakers use the English word 'Gay' written in Arabic script to avoid the heavy political or religious baggage of native terms.
- Historically, Arabic poetry from the Abbasid era often used gender-neutral or flowery language to describe same-sex love, making the modern, clinical terminology of مِثْلِيّ a relatively recent development.
- The term مِثْلِيّ is derived from the root for 'example' or 'like', reflecting a modern linguistic shift toward neutral terms based on 'similarity' rather than 'deviation'.
Examples in context
- هُوَ رَجُلٌ مِثْلِيّ الْجِنْس.huwa rajulun mithliyy al-jins.He is a homosexual man.
Example conversation
Youssef and Sarah are discussing a character in a book.
- يوسف Youssefهل تعتقدين أن البطل مِثْلِيّ الْجِنْس؟hal ta'taqidina anna al-batal mithliyy al-jins?Do you think the protagonist is homosexual?
- سارة Saraنعم، يبدو ذلك واضحاً من القصة.na'am, yabdu dhalika wadihan min al-qissa.Yes, that seems clear from the story.
- يوسف Youssefهذا يجعل الشخصية أكثر عمقاً.hadha yaj'al al-shakhsiya akthar 'umqan.This makes the character more deep.
- سارة Saraأوافقك الرأي يا يوسف.uwafiquka al-ra'y ya Youssef.I agree with you, Youssef.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “homosexual” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
