كلمة الشهر
الأب
Welcome to another special edition of our Arabic Word of the Month blog series! Last month we honored mothers with a special Mother’s Day edition of our word of the month by taking a look at the Arabic word for mother, الأم (al-umm), and examining the significance of the mother to the Arab culture. For this month we are doing a special Father’s Day word of the month by looking at the Arabic word for father and honoring the father and his role in Arab culture.
The Arabic word for father is الأب, which is transliterated as ‘al-ab’. The Classical Arabic equivalent to ‘my father’ is ‘abi’ (ابي). Another simpler way to say it is to say ‘baba’, which is equivalent to saying ‘papa’ in English.
Like mothers, fathers play a significant role in Arab culture. While mothers have the responsibility of caring for the home and raising the children to possess correct morals and values, the father is tasked with providing for the entire family. It is the father’s responsibility to make sure the family is able to survive, as he is the money-earner for the house. Fathers do share some responsibilities with mothers, too; like the mother, the father is to put the needs of his children before his own to make sure they are happy and able to live a prosperous life.
Together, parents form a crucial element of Arab culture, as it is one’s upbringing that determines the values and morals they possess. Arabs pride themselves in the values and beliefs of honor and respect they possess and share, so it is extremely important that the parents are able to effectively instill those same values in their children.
Happy Father’s Day!
Eid al’ab sa’eid!
For more Arabic words celebrating Arab culture and the Arabic language, visit our blog.