Spanish ↔ Arabic

Spanish speaks Arabic. A little.

Aceite, azúcar, almohada, ojalá: around 4,000 Spanish words came from the Arabic of al-Andalus. Start with them — each one is a door to an Arabic root, a letter, and eight centuries of shared history.

Explore the words Test yourself

words with their story: 262; words with their story
Arabic roots: 139; Arabic roots
letters: 28; letters

الزَّيْت

az-zayt

aceite

How it works

1
Start from Spanish
Every card begins with a Spanish word and leads you to its Arabic source — written, fully vowelled, and spoken aloud.
2
Follow the root
Arabic builds its words on three-consonant roots. Learn one root and you can read a family of words.
3
Honestly
Every etymology carries its degree of certainty. Pretty myths (does ¡olé! come from Allah?) are explained, not repeated.

Start here

See all

aceite

oil, especially olive oil · grasa líquida, sobre todo la de oliva

Certain

الزَّيْتaz-zayt

Food & garden

aduana

customs — the public office that checks goods entering and leaving a country and collects duties on them · oficina pública que controla las mercancías que entran y salen de un país y cobra sus impuestos

Certain

الدِّيوَانad-dīwān

Market & measures

ahorrar

to save (money); to spare (an expense or effort) · guardar dinero; evitar un gasto o un esfuerzo

Certain

حُرّḥurr

Expressions

ajedrez

chess · juego de tablero para dos con dieciséis piezas cada uno

Certain

الشِّطْرَنْجash-shiṭranj