أستاذ
ʔustāḏ/ʔus.taːð/
The Arabic word for professor is أستاذ (ʔustāḏ).
أستاذ refers to a teacher or faculty member at a college or university, regardless of their formal rank. In many Arabic-speaking contexts, this term is also used more broadly as a respectful title for any teacher or highly skilled person.
Meaning: teacher or faculty member at a college or university, regardless of formal rank (noun)
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In formal settings, أستاذ is used to refer to male professors. The term Al-ustaadh is specifically used when addressing a male professor formally. To address a professor directly, it is standard to use the particle يا before the word, such as يا أستاذ, which functions similarly to saying 'Professor' or 'Sir' in English.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine form is أستاذ. The feminine form for a female professor is أستاذة. If you are referring to multiple professors, the broken plural form is أساتذة.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced as ʔustāḏ. It has two syllables.
When do people say it?
When addressing a female professor formally, you can use the term Al-ustadha or the feminine equivalent Ustadha.
Did you know?
- The word أستاذ is actually a linguistic traveler, having entered the Arabic language from Persian rather than originating from an Arabic root.
- In many Arabic-speaking countries, أستاذ is used as a polite title for any professional man, such as a lawyer or accountant, even if they have never taught a class.
- In certain contexts, the term can even be used somewhat ironically or colloquially to refer to someone who is acting like a 'know-it-all'.
Examples in context
- توم هو أستاذ ماري.Tom is Mary's professor.This sentence shows how to express a relationship between people using أستاذ.Tatoeba #7739639 by MisterBrown, translation #7737827 by CK
- أصبح زيري أستاذا.Ziri became a professor.This sentence demonstrates the use of the word to describe someone's profession.Tatoeba #11644887 by dididodo, translation #10209791 by Amastan
- هو أستاذ في الجامعة.Huwa ustadh fi al-jami'ah.He is a professor at the university.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry أستاذ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries أستاذ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
