Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| خمر | ḵamr | South Levantine Arabic, feminine |
| نَبِيذ | nabīḏ | masculine |
| خَمْر | ḵamr | feminine |
| شَرَاب | šarāb | masculine |
| خمرة | ḵamra | Egyptian Arabic, feminine |
| خَمُر | ḵamur | Hijazi Arabic, masculine |
| نبيد | nbid | South Levantine Arabic, masculine |
Arabic has several ways to refer to wine depending on the context. While نَبِيذ refers specifically to the beverage made from grapes, خَمْر is a more general term that can refer to any intoxicant or alcoholic beverage. Additionally, شَرَاب can mean wine in certain contexts, but it is primarily used to mean any drink or beverage, including non-alcoholic syrups and juices.
Which one should you use?
The term نَبِيذ is the standard term for the specific beverage, whereas خَمْر is a more general term used for intoxicants in general. If you want to specify the color of the wine, you can use خمر أحمر for red wine or خمر أبيض for white wine.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian Arabic, you may hear the feminine form خمرة, while in Hijazi Arabic, the masculine form خَمُر is used. In South Levantine Arabic, you might encounter the masculine نبيد or the feminine خمر.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word خَمْر is often treated as a feminine noun in many contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
ḵamr
Did you know?
- The word خمار meaning 'veil' shares the same linguistic root as خمر, as both serve to cover something.
- While نَبِيذ is used today for grape wine, in pre-Islamic times it actually referred to any beverage made by soaking fruit in water.
- While خمر is the general term, Arabic has dozens of poetic synonyms for wine to describe its different scents and effects.
Examples in context
- أتى زيري و معه خمر.Ziri came with wine.This sentence is useful for showing how to use خمر in a simple context.Tatoeba #12018085 by dididodo, translation #10235563 by Amastan
- هذه الخمر ممتازة!This wine is excellent!
Example conversation
Youssef and Maryam are looking at a menu in a restaurant.
- يوسف Youssefماذا تريدين أن تشربي يا مريم؟madha turidin an tashrabi ya Maryam?What do you want to drink, Maryam?
- مريم Maryamأريد كأساً من خمر أبيض.urid ka'san min khamr abyad.I want a glass of white wine.
- يوسف Youssefاختيار جيد، سأطلب مثلك.ikhtiyar jayyid, sa'atlub mithlik.Good choice, I will order the same.
- مريم Maryamشكراً لك يا يوسف.shukran laka ya Youssef.Thank you, Youssef.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wine” translations and entries خمر, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
