Learning Arabic The Magic Way, Arabic Tattoos
Apparently, the “Heart of the Ocean” is a fictional blue diamond used in the film Titanic (though I must confess I have never seen the movie). One of my readers requested a design for this name, so I made one right here:
In plain text: قلب المحيط (qalb al-muHeeT).
Posted in Arabic Calligraphy.
– February 22, 2010
A reader of this blog sent me the following message:
Hi Arabic Genie … noticed your blog & was very impressed .. saw that you translated in arabic for people… not too good with computers so didnt know how to post but noticed an email address ..
There is a saying in arabic “Ya Jabil May Hazak Reeh” not sure exactly how its spelt but i know that is how its pronouced …
Are you able to translate to arabic font ?
It took me a while to figure out the saying from the transliteration provided, because I was confused by the word “May” (thinking that it referred to “water”). I then realized that the “y” forms part of the next word: “ya jabil ma yhazak reeh”. Making some guesses, I finally arrived at this:
يا جبل ما يهزك ريح
(yaa djabal maa yahuzzak reeH)
Literally, this translates as: “oh mountain, wind can’t/won’t shake you”. I hadn’t seen this proverb before, and only a few results come up on Google. Basically, I guess it means that one should be as strong as a mountain in the face of adversity.
Perhaps a native speaker can provide some examples of usage?
Here is an image of the saying:
One thing to note is that the saying is colloquial, not formal Arabic. However, the negation ما (maa) is used in most dialects and understood everywhere.
Posted in Arabic Culture, Translation.
– February 10, 2010
Today I received an e-mail from a reader of this blog who is struggling to decipher a piece of Arabic calligraphy. Here are the picture and the e-mail:
Hi
I’m planning on getting a tattoo. I have found this design but I don’t know what it says. I have even asked my mother who is a native arabic speaker, but because of the calligraphy style its really difficult to read even though you can differentiate the letters. I would really appreciate if you could take a look.
Thanks very much, look forward to hearing from you
Well, I’ll admit that it took me a few minutes myself to figure out what the writing says, not least because I was misled by my knowledge of Persian and suspected that part of the writing read خوب – “good”. However, it then dawned on me that the writing is divided horizontally, with the upper word reading خور (khawr) and the lower دبي (dubay). Below I have coloured the upper word red and the lower word blue:
Hence, the calligraphic writing refers to خور دبي (khawr dubay), or “Dubai Creek” in English – a famous geographical landmark in Dubai.
Posted in Arabic Calligraphy, Arabic Culture, Arabic tattoos.
– February 8, 2010
Here are five calligraphies I made of حياة جديدة (Hayaat djadeeda), or “new life”.
New Life No. 1:
New Life No. 2:
New Life No. 3:
New Life No. 4:
New Life No. 5:
Posted in Arabic Calligraphy.
– February 5, 2010
Here is the name “Rachel” in Arabic. “Rachael” with an “a” is just the same, because the pronunciation is the same.
You might be interested to know that there are four more designs for “Rachel” in my Arabic Tattoos book, as well as designs for around 120 more male and female names.
Posted in Arabic tattoos.
– January 22, 2010
I’ve received a few requests for the Arabic translation of the word “fighter”. As always, there are many possible translations and I just want to give a brief overview of some of them.
The word مقاتل (muqaatil) derives from the root قتل (q-t-l), but does not necessarily imply “fight to kill”. For example, someone taking part in a boxing match might be referred to as المقاتل (al-muqaatil).
The word مجاهد (mudjaahid) has religious connotations, as in “holy warrior” (or someone engaged in “jihad” of any kind).
محارب (muHaarib) implies someone engaged in war.
All three words can be used to translate “fighter”, though.
In the absence of any specifications I would go with المقاتل (al-muqaatil) rather than with any of the other possible translations.
Below is “fighter” in Arabic in picture format, so as to preserve the correct formatting:
The top shows the word “fighter” in a standard script and the bottom shows it in Persian style.
Let me know if you need a tattoo design made using different fonts for this word. There are six designs for this word in my Arabic Tattoos eBook too.
Posted in Arabic tattoos.
– January 10, 2010
Randa asked for the translation of “compassion” in Arabic.
There are quite a number of Arabic words that have the meaning of “compassion”, for example:
الرأفة (ar-ra’fa)
الشفقة (ash-shafaqa)
الحنان (al-Hanaan)
However, the most standard way of translating compassion is probably الرحمة (ar-raHma). Below is this word in three different fonts:
"compassion" in Arabic
As a side note, this word shares the same root as two words in the opening line of the Koran (1st line of al-faatiHa):
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
The word الرَّحْمَـٰن (ar-raHmaan) is usually translated as “the beneficent”, sometimes as “the merciful”. In essence, however, it means “compassionate” too. This form is usually reserved as one of God’s 99 names in Islam.
The word الرَّحِيم (ar-raHeem) also means “compassionate”. Unlike رحمـان (raHmaan), رحيم (raHeem) is in common usage.
Are you looking for more unique Arabic tattoo designs? Then check out my Arabic Tattoos eBook.
Posted in Arabic tattoos, Translation.
– January 4, 2010
Through Tarek Atrissi’s excellent blog I cam accross this piece of Arabic calligraphy here that says “love hate” in Arabic:
Love Hate Calligraphy
The design is written with ornamental decorations. What some might disregard as doodles underneath the writings actually consists of a repetition of exactly the same two words – “love hate”.
I really like this calligraphy and it inspired me to attempt my own design of the “love hate” dichotomy in Arabic. The result is this:
Love-Hate Arabic Calligraphy Design
The word for “hate” – الكراهية – is flipped horizontally to indicate that it’s the flip-side of love – الحب. The two words “cross swords” by crossing letters: the raa’ of الكراهية and the laam of الحب, indicating the intertwined nature of the two emotions.
Posted in Arabic Calligraphy, arabic writing.
– January 3, 2010
Yazmin requested a translation of the English proverb “time heals all wounds” into Arabic. I’m unaware of any proverb that is similar in Arabic, so in this case a more or less direct translation is a viable alternative In fact one of the Arab readers of this blog confirmed that the proverb is used exactly like that in Arabic:
الزمن يداوي كل الجراح
Pronunciation: az-zaman yudaawi kull al-djiraaH
This translates literally as: “the-time cures/treats all the-wounds”.
Even though this is not an Arab proverb itself, the translation will be understood easily by any native speaker.
Here is the proverb “time heals all wounds” in Arabic in picture format:
For more fonts or higher-quality resolution images please contact me here. Or perhaps you might be interested in my Arabic Tattoos eBook?
I hope you find my translation useful!
Posted in Arabic tattoos, Translation.
– January 2, 2010
May I take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very happy and prosperous new year 2010!
سنة سعيدة وكل عام وأنتم بخير
(sana sa3eeda wa kull 3aam wa antum bi-khayr)
Posted in Arabic Culture.
– January 1, 2010
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