Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| أَخْبَار | ʔaḵbār | plural |
| أَنْبَاء | ʔanbāʔ | plural |
The term أَخْبَار is the most common and general way to refer to news in Arabic. If you want to talk about a specific news bulletin or a news broadcast, you can use the phrase نشرة أخبار. To describe the quality of the news, you can say أَخْبَار جَيِّدَة for 'good news' or أَخْبَار سَيِّئَة for 'bad news'. In informal settings, you might also hear the phrase أخبار حلوة to mean 'good news'.
Which one should you use?
While أَخْبَار is the most common way to say 'news' in everyday conversation, أَنْبَاء is a more formal or literary term. أَنْبَاء is often used in official reports or during news broadcasts to mean 'news' or 'tidings'.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both أَخْبَار and أَنْبَاء are plural forms. If you are referring to a single piece of news or a single report, use the singular form خَبَر.
How do you pronounce it?
ʔaḵbār
Did you know?
- In many Arabic dialects, the word أخبار is used as a greeting. Asking شو الأخبار؟ is less about the global news and more like asking 'What is the news with you' or 'What is up'.
- In Arabic grammar, أَخْبَار is a 'broken plural'. Instead of adding a suffix, the internal vowel structure of the singular خَبَر is broken and reshaped to create the plural.
- In Arabic, the word خَبَر can also mean a 'predicate' in a sentence, which is the part of a sentence that provides information about the subject.
Examples in context
- هناك أخبار جديدة عن الأزمة السياسية.There is new news about the political crisis.
- لقد سمعت أخبارًا جيدة من والدتي.I heard good news from my mother.
- أتابع نشرة الأخبار كل يوم عند الساعة الثامنة مساءً.I watch the news bulletin every day at 8 pm.
- عندي لك أخبار حلوة، فزت في المسابقة!I have good news for you, you won the competition!
- عندك مستجدات عن الحفلة؟Do you have any news about the party?
- هل قرأت تقارير الصحف اليوم؟Have you read the newspaper reports today?
- هَلْ سَمِعْتَ أَخْبَارَ اليَوْمِ؟hal sami‘ta akhbāra al-yawm?Did you hear today's news?
- أَنَا أُشَاهِدُ أَخْبَارَ العَالَمِ.ana ushāhidu akhbāra al-‘ālam.I am watching the world news.
- هَذِهِ أَخْبَارٌ جَيِّدَةٌ جِدًّا!hādhihi akhbārun jayyidatun jiddan!This is very good news!
Example conversation
Ziad and Maryam are sitting in a cafe.
- زياد Ziadمَرْيَمُ، هَلْ لَدَيْكِ أَخْبَارٌ جَدِيدَةٌ؟Maryam, hal ladayki akhbārun jadīdah?Maryam, do you have any new news?
- مريم Maryamلَا، لَمْ أَسْمَعْ شَيْئًا.lā, lam asma‘ shay’an.No, I haven't heard anything.
- زياد Ziadسَأُحَاوِلُ مَعْرِفَةَ أَخْبَارِ المَدِينَةِ.sa-uḥāwilu ma‘rifata akhbāri al-madīnah.I will try to find out the city news.
- مريم Maryamهَذَا رَائِعٌ يَا زِيَادُ.hādhā rā’i‘ yā Ziyād.That is great, Ziad.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “news” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
