صَلْصَة
ṣalṣafeminine
In Arabic, the word for sauce is صَلْصَة (ṣalṣa). Wiktionary also lists مَرَق (maraq) and مَرَقَة (maraqa).
Meaning: liquid condiment (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| صَلْصَة | ṣalṣa | feminine |
| مَرَق | maraq | masculine |
| مَرَقَة | maraqa | feminine |
The term is used to describe a liquid condiment. You can use it in compound phrases to specify different types of sauces, such as صَلْصَة طَمَاطِم for tomato sauce or صلصة الطحينة for tahini sauce.
Which one should you use?
While صَلْصَة refers to a thick condiment or sauce, مَرَق refers specifically to a thin broth or gravy.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Levantine Arabic, دبس is used to refer to a thick, sweet sauce. In Egyptian Arabic, شطة commonly refers to spicy sauce or condiments.
How does it change in a sentence?
مَرَقَة is the feminine form of مَرَق and is frequently used to refer to a sauce or a liquid base in cooking.
How do you pronounce it?
ṣalṣa
Did you know?
- The root of مَرَق relates to the idea of 'filtering' or 'passing through', reflecting how a broth is strained from meat and vegetables.
- In some contexts, صَلْصَة is used for modern, processed condiments, whereas traditional liquids used in cooking often rely on words like مَرَق.
- In many Arabic dialects, the word دبس describes a thick, sweet sauce like pomegranate molasses, which functions more like a syrup than a savory condiment.
Examples in context
- هل لديك أي صلصة طماطم؟Do you have any tomato sauce?
- أنا أحب الصلصة الحارة!I love spicy sauce!
- أُرِيدُ صَلْصَة الطَّمَاطِم.urīdu ṣalṣat aṭ-ṭamāṭim.I want tomato sauce.
Example conversation
Ahmed and Maryam are having dinner at home.
- أحمد Ahmedأَيْنَ صَلْصَةُ المَكَرُونَةِ؟ayna ṣalṣat al-makarūna?Where is the pasta sauce?
- مريم Maryamهِيَ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ يَا أَحْمَدُ.hiya 'alā aṭ-ṭāwila yā aḥmad.It is on the table, Ahmed.
- أحمد Ahmedهَلْ هَذِهِ الصَّلْصَةُ لَذِيذَةٌ؟hal hādhihi aṣ-ṣalṣatu ladhīdha?Is this sauce delicious?
- مريم Maryamنَعَمْ، هِيَ مُمْتَازَةٌ جِدًّا.na'am, hiya mumtāza jiddan.Yes, it is very excellent.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sauce” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
