Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| أبيض | abyaḍ | /ʔab.jadˤ/ | Egyptian Arabic, masculine |
| أَبْيَض | ʔabyaḍ | masculine | |
| بَيْضَاء | bayḍāʔ | feminine | |
| بيضا | bēḍa | Egyptian Arabic, feminine | |
| بيض | bīḍ | /bajdˤ/ | Egyptian Arabic, plural |
This term refers to the color white. It can also be used to describe things that are bright and colourless, or to refer to people of Caucasian descent.
Which one should you use?
In Standard Arabic, the masculine form is أَبْيَض and the feminine form is بَيْضَاء. In Egyptian Arabic, the feminine form بيضا is commonly used instead of the standard version and the plural form بيض is also used.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, the feminine form بيضا is used instead of the standard بَيْضَاء and the plural form بيض is also common.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree with the gender of the noun it describes. Use the masculine form أَبْيَض for masculine nouns and the feminine form بَيْضَاء for feminine nouns. In Egyptian Arabic, the feminine form is بيضا and the plural form is بيض.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is abyaḍ. The word has 2 syllables and the IPA is /ʔab.jadˤ/.
Did you know?
- In some dialects, calling someone بيض in a slang context can be used sarcastically to mean their jokes are 'dry' or 'unfunny'.
- The plural form بيض (biḍ) is also the standard Arabic word for 'eggs'.
- The Arabic word أبيض is used in the common idiom قلبه أبيض, which literally means 'his heart is white'. This describes someone who is pure-hearted, forgiving and holds no grudges.
Examples in context
- لم يكن يعرف أي مسلم أبيض.He didn't know any white guys who were Muslim.This sentence uses the masculine form أبيض to describe people.Tatoeba #12410692 by dididodo, translation #8269012 by Amastan
- واحدة حمراء والأخرى بيضاء.One is red and the other is white.This sentence uses the feminine form بيضا to describe an object.Tatoeba #9074085 by alkhaldy, translation #27206 by CK
- لماذا يرتدون دائما أقمصة بيضاء؟Why do they always wear white shirts?This sentence uses the feminine form بيضا to describe shirts.Tatoeba #11984282 by dididodo, translation #7445393 by Amastan
- قَمِيص أَبْيَضWhite shirt
- ثَلْج أَبْيَضWhite snow
- وَرَق أَبْيَضWhite paper
- جِدَار أَبْيَضWhite wall
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ziad and Nour are looking at a new shirt in a shop.
- زياد Ziadالقميص ده لونه أبيض؟el qamis da lonu abyad?Is this shirt white?
- نور Nourلأ، ده لونه سكري.la', da lonu sokkari.No, it's off-white.
- زياد Ziadكنت عايز واحد أبيض.kont 'ayez wahed abyad.I wanted a white one.
- نور Nourموجود في القسم التاني.mawgood fel qism el tani.It is available in the other section.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “white” translations and entries أبيض, بيض, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
