قُطَيْط
quṭayṭmasculine
The English word 'kitten' can be translated into Arabic as قُطَيْط (quṭayṭ). If unsure, use قُطَيْط. Wiktionary also lists قُطَيْطَة (quṭayṭa) and هُرَيْر (hurayr).
Meaning: a young cat (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| قُطَيْط | quṭayṭ | masculine |
| قُطَيْطَة | quṭayṭa | feminine |
| هُرَيْر | hurayr | masculine |
| هُرَيْرَة | hurayra | feminine |
All these terms refer to a young cat. While قُطَيْط and هُرَيْر are both diminutive forms, they carry different nuances and historical weights.
What does it mean word for word?
The word قُطَيْط is a diminutive form of the word for cat, which is used to emphasize the smallness of the animal, literally meaning 'little cat'.
Which one should you use?
قُطَيْط is a diminutive form used to emphasize how small the cat is, whereas هُرَيْر is a more classical diminutive form.
How do you pronounce it?
quṭayṭ
When do people say it?
The name هُرَيْرَة (Hurayra), which means 'little kitten', is a famous historical name in Islamic culture, notably used by a companion of the Prophet Muhammad.
Did you know?
- The companion Abu Hurayrah, whose name means 'father of the kitten', earned this nickname because he used to carry a kitten in his sleeve.
- In Arabic, the way you say 'kitten' changes based on whether the animal is male or female, such as قُطَيْط for a male and قُطَيْطَة for a female.
- Arabic uses a specific grammatical pattern called 'tasghir' to create words like قُطَيْط, which automatically changes the meaning to something smaller or more endearing.
Example sentences for Arabic are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Nour and Ziad are looking at a pet store window.
- نور Nourانظر يا زياد، هذا قُطَيْط لطيف!Unzur ya Ziyad, hadha qutayt latif!Look Ziad, this is a cute kitten!
- زياد Ziadنعم، إنه صغير جداً يا نور.Na'am, innahu saghir jiddan ya Nour.Yes, it is very small, Nour.
- نور Nourهل يمكننا أخذه إلى المنزل؟Hal yumkinuna akhdhuhu ila al-manzil?Can we take it home?
- زياد Ziadيجب أن نسأل والدينا أولاً.Yajibu an nas'al walidayna awwalan.We must ask our parents first.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “kitten” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
