The 19 Most Common Curse Words and Expressions in Arabic World

Do you want to speak Arabic fluently?

If you do, let us congratulate you on that excellent decision.

Arabic is a very colorful and lively language.

No wonder its poems and novels are famous all across the world

But, nice things aside, if you want to speak Arabic so that even native speakers can’t tell if you are a foreigner or not, you also have to know some of the common curse words in Arabic.

Even though we can’t say that swear words are pleasant and words you want to use every day, but as they’re a part of any language, you should know them, too.

Interestingly, people are usually eager to learn curse words, and they memorize them easily.

So, today we will show you some common curse words in Arabic.

Make sure you don’t offend anyone though.

Let’s get started. 

Why Should You Learn Curse Words in Arabic

As you know, language is a form of communication between human beings. Therefore, language consists of nice, pleasant, but also bad words and phrases. 

People learn foreign languages to be able to talk to others, both formally and informally.

It’s not like we are going to use formal speech every day and with everyone.

Swearing words are part of an informal part of the language.

Don’t take this the wrong way. You won’t be using curse words in Arabic every day, but let’s be honest and say that you will use them occasionally.

So, no matter if you are learning Spanish, German, or Russian, it is useful to know their curse words

As much as swearing is entertaining for some people, others find it inappropriate. That’s why you should consider these curse words as an opportunity to go further with your Arabic language lessons. 

If you still haven’t started learning Arabic, but you want to, you should begin with Arabic tutors who are native speakers. They are more than willing to take you into the magnificent world of Arabians.

Now that you understand the significance of swearing words let’s dive in.

The 19 Most Common Arabic Swear Words (And How to Use Them)

Abu Reiha ( ابو ريحه )

This phrase means ‘the father of stinky smells.’ 

Arabians love perfumes and smell nice, so telling someone that he smells terrible is an insult.

Allah Yakhthek ( الله ياخذك)

This phrase can be translated as ‘May God take your soul.’ It’s not so offensive, is it? It seems polite, even.

Polite and peaceful, yes, but only if someone dies.

In other cases, when you tell this to a living person, you are being sarcastic and hope that they will die.

Al’ama  العمى

Literally translated to English, it means ‘blindness.’ 

However, this term is equivalent to the English swear word ‘damn’ and used in similar situations like the English one.

Ayreh Feek ( عيرة فيك)

This is an English synonym for ‘f*ck you’ or ‘screw you.’ It means ‘my pe*is in you.’ It is often used among friends when they start a fight.

Chelb ( شيلب)

This word means ‘dog.’ At first sight, you wouldn’t say that is some kind of swear word. But, in Arabic, calling someone a dog is offensive and even can get into a fight.

El’an Abook ( إيلان كتاب )

This one is quite an insult. It means ‘may your father be cursed.’ 

You can see on your own that it can be pretty offensive. Fathers are the central figure in traditional families, so by insulting the father, you’ve actually offended not only him but the whole family, as well.

So, be careful when using this swearing word.

Ibn al Kalb ( ابن كلب)

In English, it means ‘the son of a dog.’ Suppose you already understand how offensive the word ‘chelb’ can be. Now, imagine telling someone ‘ibn al kalb.’ You’ve offended not only that person but their whole family, too.

Hemar ( الحمار )

The word ‘hemar’ means ‘donkey.’ But not always. It can also mean ‘ass.’ telling someone they are a ‘hemar’ means you think that person is very stupid.

Kess Ikhtak ( كيس اختك)

In the Arabian world, females are highly respected. Telling someone something bad about their sister, mother, wife, etc., is a big insult.

This phrase means ‘f*ck your sister,’ but literally, it means ‘your sister’s vag*na.’

If you want to offend someone by saying this cuss word, you’ll for sure start a fight.

Kess Ommak (كس أمك. )

Telling someone this swearing phrase means that you want to offend them very much. It means ‘your mom’s vag*na,’ so by telling this, not only that you offend the person but their mother, too.

Parents are a central part of a person’s life in the Arabian world, so offending them is worse than offending only the person you wanted to insult in the first place.

Kol Khara ( كل خرة)

Literally translated, it means ‘eat sh*t.’ However, it is used in the meaning ‘shut up.’ It is often used when you want to tell someone that they’re annoying or they should stop nagging.

Telling someone ‘kol khara’ actually means that you want to see their mouth full of sh*t.

Tah-Hathek ( طه حاثك)

Arabians living in Iraq often use this curse phrase. The term in English means ‘may all your luck be taken away.’ Just like the phrase ‘Allah yakhthk’ is used sarcastically, you can use this one funnily and ironically, when you don’t want to argue anymore, but you want to offend the speaker in some way.

Telhas Teeze

When you don’t care about the speaker’s opinion, you simply tell them to ‘telhas teeze.’ The English equivalent is ‘kiss my a*s,’ so its usage is the same in both languages.

Unlike in English, in Arabic, it isn’t used every day because it sounds a bit more vulgar than in English.

Tozz Feek ( طز فيك)

Compared to other swear words, this one is pretty strong and not often used as the other ones. Literally, it means ‘screw you.’

Ya Sharmouta ( يا شارموطة)

Translated, this cuss word means ‘you bi*ch!’ Literally, the word ‘sharmouta’ is translated as ‘slut’ or ‘whore.’ Therefore, it is used to insult girls and women.

So, the same way you would use it in English, you can use it in Arabic too.

Ya Ibn el Sharmouta ( يا ابن الشرموطة)

This phrase means ‘son of a bit*h.’ 

So, yes, it can be offensive, sometimes even more than in English because when you tell someone in English, you often don’t want to offend them a lot, just to annoy him. On the other hand, in Arabian, telling someone ‘son of a bit*h’ is usually considered that you want to insult them and their mother very much.

Ya Gazma ( يا جازما)

Even though this curse phrase is mostly used in Egyptian Arabic, other Arabian dialects understand and use it.

‘Ya gazma’ means ‘the bottom of the shoe.’ It’s incredibly impolite and degrading for Arabians telling someone that they’re the bottom of a dirty shoe.

So, naturally, you can hear it often during street fights.

Ya Khara ( يا خارا)

This term can be translated as ‘piece of sh*t.’ Besides being offensive and degrading,  it is one of the funniest Arabic phrases. Therefore, you can hear it often during some funny conversations. It isn’t meant to be very offensive so your conversation partner won’t be really mad at you.

Yixrib Beitak ( خرب بيتك. )

It is one of the Egyptian Arabic curse words. This term is translated as ‘May God destroy your house.’ Even though it doesn’t seem like an insulting curse word at first, you should reread it slowly and take a few seconds to think about it. If you want to offend someone even more, then you can add the ‘wa-beit illi xallafuuk,’ which means ‘and the house of those who gave birth to you.’

Final Thoughts 

Those were some of the most common curse words in Arabic you should learn. 

But, pay attention when you use them.

You have to know a person well to tell them some of these phrases.

In case you want to practice with someone, you always have to emphasize that you don’t genuinely mean all the words you say.

Arabic is considered one of the hardest languages to learn for most speakers. Or at least is what people say. 

If you’ve already decided to learn Arabic, ignore what others tell you.

Perhaps you will learn it in no time. You can try some of these ways of learning a language that polyglots use. 

You can book a lesson with Arabic tutors right away and start learning this language that people say is impossible to learn. Prove them wrong!

We’ve got your back!

If you find this post amusing, look at the swear words in German and juicy cursing words in Spanish.