Finding What Suits You: Shopping in Arabic for Clothes

Gary Greer

Learning Arabic words & expressions

The following table shows you some vocabulary for clothes and accessories in Arabic:

English	Transliteration	Arabic
Pants in Arabic	binTaal	بنطال
Shirt in Arabic	qamees	قميص
Coat in Arabic	mi’Taf	معطف
Dress in Arabic	fustaan	فستان
Belt in Arabic	Hizaam	حزام
Hat in Arabic	qubba’ah	قبعة
Socks in Arabic	jawaarib	جوارب
Shoes in Arabic	Hithaa’	حذاء
Ring in Arabic	khaatim	خاتم
Watch in Arabic	saa’ah	ساعة

Once you’ve found the clothing item that you are looking for, next you have to make sure it’s the correct (size) / حجم / hajim. Be careful when shopping in Arabic stores for malaabis, as many carry products from China which tend to run smaller than those found in the West. For example, what might be an XL in America may actually be an XXL in an Arab clothing store.

The three standard clothes sizes are:

English	Arabic	Transliteration	Size
small	صغير	Sagheer	American size (Men’s): 34–36 American size (Women’s): 6–8
medium	وسط	waSat	American size (Men’s): 38–40 American size (Women’s): 10–12
large	كبير	kabeer	American size (Men’s): 42–44 American size (Women’s): 14–16

When shopping for clothes, one more important thing to remember is the لون lawn (color). Certainly, الألوان al’awaan (colors) are adjectives that describe nouns. Thus, colors absolutely have to agree with the noun in terms of gender in Arabic.

For example, if you’re describing a feminine noun, you have to use the feminine form of the lawn.

Likewise, when describing masculine nouns, you have to use masculine forms. Now the question that always arises when it comes to gender in Arabic nouns is: How do you know whether a noun is feminine or masculine? Well, almost all, but not exactly all situations, feminine nouns end with a fatHa, or the “ah” sound. Also, for the rest, simply look up the word in the qaamuus (dictionary) or search for using Google on your mobile phone, to determine its gender.

The masculine and feminine forms of some common colors appear in the table below for your reference:

English	Color (M)	Arabic	Color (F)	Arabic
white	‘abyaD	أبيض	baydhaa’	بيضاء
black	‘aswad	أسود	sawdaa’	سوداء
red	‘aHmar	أحمر	Hamraa’	حمراء
green	‘akhDar	أخضر	khaDraa’	خضراء
blue	‘azraq	أزرق	zarqaa’	زرقاء
yellow	‘aSfar	أصفر	Safraa’	صفراء

It is important to remember that, unlike America, it is sometimes very difficult in Arabic countries to get a refund or exchange when you buy something that either doesn’t fit you properly or is not the right color for you, so do yourself a favor. Most stores have a fitting room. Try the clothes on and make sure they fit and are suitable for you before you make a purchase.

Otherwise, like those ugly sweaters Grandma used to get you for Christmas or your birthday, you’re going to be stuck with it for quite a while.

By the way, the next time you buy something from a clothing store, the salesperson may complete the sale with “Mabrook!” (meaning “Congratulations!” when translated from Arabic to English). You can answer with a simple Shukran, or “thank you”.

Remember, kaleela is always the perfect fit for anyone who wants to learn Arabic online. If you have any questions or comments or simply want to learn more Arabic, please feel free to drop us a line in the comments section. We’re happy to suit all of your needs.