سَبَانِخ
sabāniḵmasculine
Spinach in Arabic is سَبَانِخ (sabāniḵ). Wiktionary also lists إِسْفَانَاخ (ʔisfānāḵ).
Meaning: a particular edible plant, Spinacia oleracea (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| سَبَانِخ | sabāniḵ | masculine |
| إِسْفَانَاخ | ʔisfānāḵ | masculine |
The word refers to the edible plant Spinacia oleracea.
Which one should you use?
سَبَانِخ (sabāniḵ) is the most common way to say spinach in both Modern Standard Arabic and most Arabic dialects. إِسْفَانَاخ (ʔisfānāḵ) is an alternative term for the same plant.
Is it said differently in some regions?
إِسْفَانَاخ is used in some Arabic-speaking regions.
How does it change in a sentence?
سَبَانِخ is a collective noun and is treated as a masculine singular noun.
How do you pronounce it?
sabāniḵ
Did you know?
- The Arabic word سَبَانِخ is the ancestor of the English word 'spinach', having entered English via the Old French 'espinache'.
- In many Arab countries, spinach is not just a side dish but is used to make a hearty stew called سَبَانِخ, often cooked with meat, coriander and garlic.
- The transition from إِسْفَانَاخ to سَبَانِخ in common speech is an example of 'apheresis', where a vowel sound at the beginning of a word is dropped over time.
Examples in context
- أريد أن أشتري سبانخ من فضلكI would like to buy spinach, please.
- أُرِيدُ شراءَ سَبَانِخ طَازِجَة.urīdu shirā'a sabānikh ṭāzijah.I want to buy fresh spinach.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “spinach” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
