Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| خَرُوف | ḵarūf | masculine | |
| ضَأْن | ḍaʔn | collective | |
| غَنَم | ḡanam | collective | |
| شاء | šāʔ | /ʃaːʔ/ | collective |
| حَمَل | ḥamal | masculine | |
| خاروف | ḵārūf | Hijazi Arabic, masculine | |
| غنمة | ḡanama | Hijazi Arabic, feminine, singulative | |
| غنم | ḡanam | Hijazi Arabic, collective, masculine | |
| خروفة | ḵrūfa | Moroccan Arabic, feminine | |
| نعجة | naʕja | /naʕ.d͡ʒa/ | Moroccan Arabic, feminine |
In Arabic, the word you choose depends on whether you want to talk about one specific sheep, a young lamb or a whole flock. Collective nouns are used to describe the species or a group of animals, similar to how the English word 'sheep' can refer to both the animal and the flock.
Which one should you use?
The masculine singular form خَرُوف refers to a single sheep, whereas the collective forms like غَنَم, ضَأْن and شاء are used to refer to a group of sheep or the species in general. To specify a young sheep, use the term حَمَل.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, the term خَرُّوف is used. In the Hijazi dialect of Saudi Arabia, you will hear the form خاروف with a long 'a' sound. In Moroccan Arabic, the feminine forms خروفة or نعجة are used to refer to a sheep.
How does it change in a sentence?
غَنَم is a collective noun used to refer to a flock or the species as a whole. In many dialects, you can create a singulative form (meaning 'one sheep') by adding a feminine ending to a collective noun, such as turning غَنَم into غنمة. حَمَل is a singular noun specifically denoting a lamb.
How do you pronounce it?
ḵarūf
Did you know?
- The word حَمَل meaning 'lamb' is also the Arabic word for 'carrying' or 'bearing' a load. This creates a linguistic link between the animal and the act of carrying.
- The Arabic word for sheep, شاء, shares a linguistic ancestor with the Hebrew word for sheep, שֶׂה, suggesting a very ancient connection between the two languages.
- The word حَمَل is used in the Quran and classical poetry to symbolize innocence and sacrifice. It carries a heavy spiritual weight beyond its simple meaning as 'young sheep'.
Examples in context
- لدى زيري غنم.Ziri has sheep.This sentence shows how to express possession of a flock using غنم.Tatoeba #11614223 by dididodo, translation #10532734 by Amastan
- اشترى زيري غنما.Ziri got sheep.This sentence demonstrates the use of غنم in the context of a purchase.Tatoeba #11614222 by dididodo, translation #10532733 by Amastan
- هذا خَرُوفٌ كَبِيرٌ.hadha kharufun kabir.This is a big sheep.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sheep” translations and entries شاء, غنم, نعجة, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries شاء, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
