KalamHow to Say Cat in Arabic
Cat in Arabic is قطة (qiṭṭa) in Modern Standard Arabic, or قط (qiṭṭ) for a male cat. Each dialect has its own everyday word: Egyptians say قطة ('uṭṭa), Levantines say بسة (bisse), Gulf Arabs say قطو (gaṭṭū), Moroccans say مش (mushsh), and Tunisians and Algerians say قطوس (qaṭṭūs).
Literally: “cat (female, or cats in general)”
Cat across the Arab world
Arabic changes from country to country. Here's what you'll actually hear.
qiṭṭ is a male cat; plural قطط (quṭaṭ). هرة (hirra) is a classical synonym.
Same spelling as MSA, but the ق becomes a glottal stop. Male: 'uṭṭ; plural 'uṭaṭ.
LevantineبسةbisseSyria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. Male: بس (biss). You'll also hear قطة ('uṭṭa).
GulfقطوgaṭṭūKuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE. Iraqis say بزونة (bazzūna).
Darijaمش / قطوسmushsh / qaṭṭūsmushsh (fem. mushsha) in Moroccan Darija; qaṭṭūs in Tunisia and Algeria.
Other ways to say cat
How to say it right
The sounds English speakers find tricky, and how to get them right.
Practise with feedbackThe ṭ in qiṭṭa is an emphatic t: press the tongue flat against the roof of the mouth so the sound is heavier. It also darkens the vowels around it.
The ṭṭ is doubled, so hold it for a beat: qiṭ-ṭa, not "qita." The same goes for the s in Levantine bis-se.
In Egyptian, the q drops to a glottal stop, the catch in "uh-oh": 'uṭ-ṭa.
Gulf gaṭṭū ends in a long ū: gaṭ-ṬUU.
Example sentences
I have a cat named Lulu.
EgyptianThe cat is asleep on the couch.
LevantineThe cat is hungry.
GulfThe cat loves fish.
DarijaThe cat is drinking milk.
Standard (MSA)Using it like a local
Cats are everywhere in Arab cities. Street cats lounge outside bakeries in Cairo, nap on car hoods in Beirut and wander through old medinas in Morocco, and many people leave out food and water for them. Cats are welcome in many mosques too.
Cats hold a warm place in Islamic tradition. One of the best-known companions of the Prophet is remembered as Abu Hurayra, "father of the little cat," because of a kitten he cared for. A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari tells of a woman punished for locking up a cat without food or water, and another hadith describes cats as clean animals that live among people.
The Levantine bisse is thought to come from the "bss bss" sound people use to call a cat. It's one of the clearest examples of how the same animal can have completely different names from one Arab country to the next.
What is the Arabic word for cat?
The standard Arabic word is قطة (qiṭṭa), or قط (qiṭṭ) for a male. In daily speech it varies: 'uṭṭa in Egypt, bisse in the Levant, gaṭṭū in the Gulf, bazzūna in Iraq, mushsh in Morocco and qaṭṭūs in Tunisia and Algeria.
What does Abu Hurayra mean?
أبو هريرة (Abū Hurayra) means "father of the little cat." Hurayra is the diminutive of هرة (hirra), a classical word for cat. The companion of the Prophet received the nickname because he was known for caring for a kitten.
How do you say kitten in Arabic?
In MSA a kitten is قطيطة (quṭayṭa), but most people just say "a small cat": قطة صغيرة (qiṭṭa ṣaghīra). Levantines use the cute diminutive بسيسة (bsayse).
Is qitta masculine or feminine?
قطة (qiṭṭa) is feminine and is often used for cats in general. The masculine form is قط (qiṭṭ). The same pattern exists in dialect: 'uṭṭ and 'uṭṭa in Egypt, biss and bisse in the Levant.
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