حِمَار وَحْشِيّ
ḥimār waḥšiyymasculine
The English word zebra is translated into Arabic as حِمَار وَحْشِيّ (ḥimār waḥšiyy). Wiktionary also lists حِمَار وَحْشِيّ مُخَطَّط (ḥimār waḥšiyy muḵaṭṭaṭ) and حِمَار الزَّرَد (ḥimār az-zarad).
Meaning: African animal (noun)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| حِمَار وَحْشِيّ | ḥimār waḥšiyy | masculine |
| حِمَار وَحْشِيّ مُخَطَّط | ḥimār waḥšiyy muḵaṭṭaṭ | masculine |
| حِمَار الزَّرَد | ḥimār az-zarad | masculine |
The phrase refers to the African animal known as the zebra.
What does it mean word for word?
حِمَار وَحْشِيّ literally translates to 'wild donkey'.
Which one should you use?
You may also see حِمَار وَحْشِيّ مُخَطَّط, which adds the descriptor 'striped' to the phrase or حِمَار الزَّرَد.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egypt, the term for zebra is حمار وحشي.
How does it change in a sentence?
All provided forms are masculine.
How do you pronounce it?
ḥimār waḥšiyy
Did you know?
- The variation حِمَار الزَّرَد uses the word الزَّرَد which refers to something patterned or scaled, reminiscent of armor scales.
- In many Arabic dialects, the word حِمَار is used as a common insult to call someone 'stupid' or 'foolish', much like 'donkey' is used in English.
- The term مُخَطَّط used to describe the 'striped' zebra comes from the same root as the word for 'plan' or 'line' in Arabic.
Examples in context
- هَلْ هَذَا حِمَار وَحْشِيّ حَقِيقِيّ؟hal hadhā ḥimār waḥshī ḥaqīqī?Is this a real zebra?
Example conversation
Yousef and Nour are visiting the zoo.
- يوسف Youssefانظري يا نور، هناك حِمَار وَحْشِيّ!Unzhuri ya Nour, hunaka himar wahshiy!Look Nour, there is a zebra!
- نور Nourيا له من حيوان رائع!Ya lahu min hayawan ra'i!What a wonderful animal!
- يوسف Youssefأحب ألوان الحِمَار وَحْشِيّ كثيرًا.Uhibbu alwan al-himar wahshiy kathiran.I love the zebra's colors very much.
- نور Nourأنا أيضًا أحبه يا يوسف.Ana aydan uhibbuhu ya Yousef.I love it too, Yousef.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “zebra” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
