Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| أب | ʔabb | /ʔab/ | North Levantine Arabic, masculine |
| أَب | ʔab | masculine | |
| وَالِد | wālid | masculine | |
| بَابَا | bābā | childish, familiar, masculine | |
| أَبو | abu | Gulf Arabic, masculine | |
| بابا | bāba | /baː.baː/ | Hijazi Arabic, masculine |
| بي | Lebanon | North Levantine Arabic, masculine | |
| أبو | ʔabu | South Levantine Arabic, masculine |
The primary way to refer to a male parent is أب. Additionally, the related term اَلْآب can be used as a name for God, the father of Creation.
Which one should you use?
أب is the general, common term for a father. In contrast, وَالِد is a formal term often used to specify a biological father or as the word for 'parent'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
أب is a common formal way to say father. وَالِد is also formal and translates to 'parent'. For informal or affectionate address, such as 'daddy' or 'papa', use بَابَا.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Gulf Arabic, أبو is used. In Hijazi Arabic, بابا is used. In North Levantine Arabic, you may see the form أب or بي. In South Levantine Arabic, the form أبو is used.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'my father', you add the possessive suffix 'ـي' (-ī) to the word أب, resulting in أبي.
How do you pronounce it?
ʔabb
Did you know?
- While وَالِد specifically means biological father, it comes from the root meaning 'to give birth'. This creates a linguistic irony where the male term is derived from the act of birthing.
- In many Arabic cultures, a man is often called أبو followed by the name of his eldest son, such as أبو أحمد for the 'father of Ahmed'. This serves as a respectful nickname known as a kunya.
- The term أب can be used metaphorically in Arabic to describe a founder or a pioneer of a specific field of study or movement.
Examples in context
- من هو أب سامي؟Who is Sami's father?This sentence is useful for asking about a specific person's father.Tatoeba #6325872 by OsoHombre, translation #6324409 by OsoHombre
- أبي ينسى كل شيء.My father forgets everything.This sentence is useful for making a statement about one's own father.Tatoeba #1595371 by Amastan, translation #1734746 by futurulus
- زيري هو أب ريمة.Ziri is Rima's father.This sentence is useful for identifying a relationship between two people.Tatoeba #11666147 by dididodo, translation #10223507 by Amastan
- كيف حال والِدِك؟How is your father doing?
- والِدِي بخير، شكراً.My father is well, thank you.
- هَل رَأَيْتَ بَابَا الْيَوْم؟Have you seen your father today?
- 152 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ahmed and Nour are talking about their families.
- أحمد Ahmedوين أبك اليوم يا نور؟Wayn abik el-yom ya Nour?Where is your father today, Nour?
- نور Nourأبي في الشغل حالياً.Abi fi ash-shughul hali-yan.My father is at work right now.
- أحمد Ahmedأنا وأبي رح نروح ع السوق.Ana wa abi rah nrouh a as-souq.My father and I are going to the market.
- نور Nourسلملي على أبك كتير.Sallimli ala abik ktir.Give my regards to your father.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “father” translations and entries أب, بابا, أبو, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
