مُصَوِّر
muṣawwirmasculine
The Arabic word for photographer is مُصَوِّر (muṣawwir). If unsure, use مُصَوِّر. Wiktionary also lists مُصَوِّرَة (muṣawwira).
Meaning: one who takes photographs (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| مُصَوِّر | muṣawwir | masculine |
| مُصَوِّرَة | muṣawwira | feminine |
The term refers to one who takes photographs.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is derived from the Arabic root ص–و–ر (ṣ-w-r), which relates to forming, shaping or depicting an image. Thus, مُصَوِّر literally means one who depicts, illustrates or images.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, the colloquial term صورجي is used for a photographer.
How do you pronounce it?
muṣawwir
Did you know?
- In Islamic theology, المصور ('Al-Musawwir') is one of the 99 Names of God, meaning 'The Fashioner' or 'The Shaper'. Because of this, the word for 'photographer' shares a root with a divine attribute.
- The Egyptian colloquial term صورجي ('suragi') uses the suffix جي ('gi'), which was borrowed from Turkish to denote a profession or a trade.
- In some traditional contexts, the act of 'imaging' (تصوير) was historically controversial due to religious prohibitions against creating images of sentient beings.
Examples in context
- أنا مصوِّر محترف.I am a professional photographer.
- هو سينمائي موهوب وماهر في التقاط الصور.He is a talented and skilled cinematographer/photographer.
- هو مُصَوِّر مَشهور.huwa muṣawwir mashhūr.He is a famous photographer.
Example conversation
Nour and Omar are at a wedding looking for the person taking pictures.
- نور Nourأين المُصَوِّر يا عمر؟ayna al-muṣawwir ya 'Umar?Where is the photographer, Omar?
- عمر Omarهو هناك بجانب الطاولة.huwa hunāka bijānibi al-ṭāwila.He is over there by the table.
- نور Nourهل هو مُصَوِّر جَيِّد؟hal huwa muṣawwir jayyid?Is he a good photographer?
- عمر Omarنعم، هو مُصَوِّر مُمتاز.na'am, huwa muṣawwir mumtāz.Yes, he is an excellent photographer.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “photographer” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
