حامض
ḥāmiḍ/ħaː.midˤ/
The Arabic word for sour is حامض (ḥāmiḍ).
The word حامض is used to describe both the literal acidic or tangy taste of food and to describe things that are chemically acidic.
Meaning: having an acidic, sharp or tangy taste (adj)
Which one should you use?
The noun form of this adjective is حموضة (ḥumūḍa), which means acidity.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective حامض takes the feminine form حامضة when it is used to describe a feminine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced as ḥāmiḍ. It has two syllables.
Did you know?
- In some regional slang, calling a joke or a comment حامض can mean it was 'dry' or failed to land because it was unoriginal or uninspired.
- The root of حامض is shared with the Hebrew word for 'vinegar', meaning these ancient languages used the same concept for 'sour' and 'acidic' thousands of years ago.
- In many Arabic dialects, if you call a person حامض, you are not talking about their taste, but rather implying they are 'sour' in temperament or perhaps 'stale' and unpleasant to be around.
Examples in context
- هذه التفاحة طعمها حامض.This apple tastes sour.This sentence shows how to use حامض to describe the taste of an apple.Tatoeba #376228 by saeb, translation #60352 by CK
- الليمون حامض.Lemons are sour.This sentence uses حامض to describe lemons.Tatoeba #443004 by saeb, translation #435751 by CK
- كسرت قطعة صغيرة من جبنة الشيدر و غمستها في كريمة حامضة.I broke a small piece of cheddar cheese and dipped it in sour cream.This sentence uses حامض to describe sour cream.Tatoeba #4103666 by fadi, translation #2771405 by mervert1
- هذا الليمون حامض جداًThis lemon is very sour.
Example conversation
Maryam and Omar are tasting a new sauce.
- مريم Maryamهل جربت هذا الصوص يا عمر؟Hal jarrabta hadha al-sous ya Omar?Did you try this sauce, Omar?
- عمر Omarنعم، طعمه حامض جداً.Na'am, ta'muhu hamid jiddan.Yes, it tastes very sour.
- مريم Maryamأنا أحب الطعم الحامض.Ana uhibbu al-ta'm al-hamid.I love the sour taste.
- عمر Omarلكنه قوي زيادة عن اللزوم.Lakin-nahu qawi ziyada 'an al-luzoom.But it is too strong.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry حامض, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries حامض, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
