ثَمَن
ṯamanmasculine
In Arabic, the word for "price" can be expressed as ثَمَن (ṯaman) or سِعْر.
Meaning: cost required to gain possession of something (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ثَمَن | ṯaman | masculine |
| سِعْر | siʕr | masculine |
Both terms refer to the cost required to gain possession of something. سِعْر is more specific to commercial settings.
Which one should you use?
سِعْر (siʕr) is the preferred term for technical or commercial contexts, such as market prices, exchange rates or the price tag on a product.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of ثَمَن is أَثْمَان (aṯmān). The plural form of سِعْر is أَسْعَار (asʕār). Both forms are masculine.
How do you pronounce it?
ṯaman
Did you know?
- While سِعْر refers to the price of a good, the root س-ع-ر is also related to 'heating' or 'kindling a fire', reflecting how prices can 'heat up' or rise.
- While سِعْر refers to the price itself, the word غَالِي (ghālī), meaning 'expensive', is often used metaphorically to describe someone who is highly esteemed or precious.
- When negotiating a سِعْر (si‘r) in a traditional market, the phrase آخِر كَلَام (ākhir kalām), meaning 'the last word', is used to demand the absolute final price.
Examples in context
- لماذا السعر مبالغ فيه؟Why is the price too high?
- ما هي التكلفة الإجمالية لهذا المشروع؟What is the total cost of this project?
- أريد أن أعرف الثمنI want to know the price.
Example conversation
Ahmed and Noor are shopping at a market.
- أحمد Ahmedيا نور، كم ثَمَن هذه الحقيبة؟Ya Noor, kam thaman hadhihi al-haqiba?Noor, what is the price of this bag?
- نور Nourأظن أن ثَمَنها مئة درهم.Adhunnu anna thamanaha mi'at dirham.I think its price is one hundred dirhams.
- أحمد Ahmedهذا ثَمَن غالٍ جداً!Hadha thaman ghalin jiddan!That is a very expensive price!
- نور Nourلنبحث عن حقيبة أخرى إذاً.Linabhath 'an haqiba ukhra idhan.Let's look for another bag then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “price” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
