تَاكْسِي
tāksīmasculine
The English word taxi is تَاكْسِي (tāksī) in Arabic. Wiktionary also lists سَيَّارَةُ أُجْرَة (sayyāratu ʔujra).
Meaning: vehicle available for public hire (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| تَاكْسِي | tāksī | masculine |
| سَيَّارَةُ أُجْرَة | sayyāratu ʔujra | feminine |
Both forms refer to a vehicle available for public hire. One is a direct loanword from English, while the other is a native Arabic phrase.
What does it mean word for word?
The formal phrase سَيَّارَةُ أُجْرَة literally means 'car of hire' or 'rent car'.
Which one should you use?
The loanword تَاكْسِي is widely used and understood in everyday spoken Arabic, whereas سَيَّارَةُ أُجْرَة is the formal term.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In most Arab Gulf countries, the informal term تكسي is used to mean taxi.
How does it change in a sentence?
The formal term سَيَّارَةُ أُجْرَة is a feminine noun phrase, but the loanword تَاكْسِي is treated as a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
tāksī
Did you know?
- While تَاكْسِي is a loanword, the word سَيَّارَة in the formal term comes from the root س ي ر, which relates to movement and traveling by foot or vehicle.
- If you use the formal term سَيَّارَةُ أُجْرَة when shouting for a ride in a busy street in Cairo or Beirut, locals might find it strangely formal, as if you were reading from a textbook.
- The formal term سَيَّارَةُ أُجْرَة is rarely spoken in a casual conversation and is primarily found in legal documents, news reports and official signs.
Examples in context
- هل يمكنك أن توفر لي سيارة أجرة من فضلك؟Can you arrange a taxi for me, please?
- هَلْ هُنَاكَ تَاكْسِي قَرِيبٌ؟hal hunāka tāksī qarīb?Is there a taxi nearby?
- أَنَا أَنْتَظِرُ تَاكْسِي أَمَامَ الْفُنْدُقِ.ana antadhiru tāksī amāma al-funduq.I am waiting for a taxi in front of the hotel.
- هَذَا تَاكْسِي مُتَّسِخٌ جِدًّا.hādhā tāksī muttasikh jiddan.This taxi is very dirty.
Example conversation
Ahmed and Sarah are standing on a street corner in the city.
- أحمد Ahmedيَا سَارَةُ، هَلْ نَجِدُ تَاكْسِي هُنَا؟yā Sāra, hal najidu tāksī hunā?Sarah, can we find a taxi here?
- سارة Saraلَا أَرَى أَيَّ تَاكْسِي فِي الشَّارِعِ.lā arā ayya tāksī fī ash-shāri'.I don't see any taxi in the street.
- أحمد Ahmedسَأُحَاوِلُ طَلَبَ تَاكْسِي عَنْ طَرِيقِ الْهَاتِفِ.sa-uhāwil talaba tāksī 'an tarīqi al-hātif.I will try to order a taxi by phone.
- سارة Saraهَذِهِ فِكْرَةٌ جَيِّدَةٌ يَا أَحْمَدُ.hādhihi fikra jayyida yā Ahmad.That is a good idea, Ahmed.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “taxi” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
