KalamHow to Say Moon in Arabic
Moon in Arabic is قمر (qamar). It's the same word in every dialect; only the pronunciation shifts: Egyptians and Levantines say 'amar, and many Gulf speakers say gamar. Arabic also has special words for the crescent, هلال (hilāl), and the full moon, بدر (badr). Telling someone they're قمر means they're beautiful.
Literally: “moon”
Moon across the Arab world
Arabic changes from country to country. Here's what you'll actually hear.
Formal pronunciation with a deep q. Used in the news, poetry and the Quran.
ق becomes a glottal stop. إنتي قمر (inti 'amar), "you're gorgeous," is an everyday compliment.
Levantineقمر'amarSame as Egyptian in the cities. Many Jordanians pronounce it gamar.
Gulfقمرgamarق is pronounced g across most of the Gulf.
Darijaالقمرl-qmarMoroccan Darija keeps the q and drops the first vowel.
Other ways to say moon
How to say it right
The sounds English speakers find tricky, and how to get them right.
Practise with feedbackThe q in qamar is made further back than k, with the back of the tongue against the soft palate. It sounds deeper and more hollow. Don't say "kamar," which sounds like a different word.
In Cairo, Beirut and Damascus the q becomes a glottal stop, the catch in "uh-oh": 'a-mar. This is how you'll hear it in most songs and films.
Both vowels are short, with the stress on the first syllable: QA-mar.
With the article it's al-qamar, and you pronounce the l. ق is a "moon letter," so it doesn't absorb the l the way ash-shams (the sun) does.
Example sentences
You look gorgeous today!
EgyptianLook at the moon, it's so beautiful tonight.
LevantineThe moon is full tonight.
GulfThe crescent moon of Ramadan was sighted this evening.
Standard (MSA)Using it like a local
In Arabic, beauty is compared to the moon, not the sun. Poets describe a beloved's face as a full moon, and in daily life people call babies, brides and friends قمر. It's warm and normal among family and friends, but from a stranger to a woman it reads as flirting, so use it with care.
The Islamic calendar is lunar, so the moon decides when Ramadan starts and when Eid arrives. Each month begins when the new crescent, the hilāl, is sighted, which is why Ramadan dates shift by about 11 days every year. Surah 54 of the Quran is named Al-Qamar and opens: اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ, "The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split" (54:1).
Arabic grammar is named after the moon too. The "moon letters" (الحروف القمرية) are the letters that keep the l of al- clearly pronounced, as in al-qamar, while "sun letters" absorb it, as in ash-shams.
What does qamar mean in Arabic?
قمر (qamar) means "moon." Used about a person, it means they're beautiful. It's also a given name, and you'll see it in titles like Qamar az-Zaman, "moon of the age."
Is Qamar a boy's or a girl's name?
In the Arab world Qamar is usually a girl's name, while بدر (Badr, full moon) and هلال (Hilal, crescent) are boys' names. In South Asia, Qamar is often used for men too.
What does "ya amar" mean?
يا قمر (ya 'amar) means "oh moon" and is a way of saying "gorgeous" or "sweetheart." You'll hear it from parents to children, between friends and in countless love songs, especially in Egypt and the Levant.
What's the difference between qamar, hilal and badr?
قمر (qamar) is the moon in general. هلال (hilāl) is the thin crescent of a new month, the one people watch for before Ramadan and Eid. بدر (badr) is the full moon, mostly used in poetry and as a name.
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