For some, summer is the season of holidaying and relaxation. For others, it’s the most uncomfortable time of the year.
In Arabic, the name of the season is “sayf”. This is not to be confused with “saif”, which in Arabic is pronounced with a soft s and means sword. However, the English translation for summer is regularly spelt both ways.
Sayf is a noun derived from the three Arabic letters sad, yah, fah. There are two plural forms for the word, “aṣyaf” or “suyuf”.
The second season of the year, the sayf comes after spring, before autumn and winter. Across the Arab region, as is the case in much of the northern hemisphere, it's the season when the school year ends and most people take a holiday.
There are a number of idioms in Arabic that use the word sayf. For example, “sayfun dafiun”, a warm summer, or “sayfun muthlimun”, or dark summer, and references the ambience of the season more than the weather.
The three Arabic letters that make up the root of the word sayf, can also mean “to be clear”. This is demonstrated in other words derived from the three letters, describing different facets of that same meaning.
Some examples include “safa”, meaning pure, righteousness and sincerity. “Sifwa” means a sincere friend; “ṣafw” means clarity; “asfa” means a thing or person of a purer or higher degree; “masfah” means any form of refinery.
While no official connection is made, the word sayf and words denoting clarity and purity, may be connected to the idea that summer is the brightest and clearest of the four seasons.
There are a number of films and songs that have the word sayf – or saif, though meaning summer not sword – in their title or use the season's associations with holidays as a core theme.
One is the critically acclaimed film El Banat Waal Saif (The Girls and the Summer), starring celebrated Egyptian singer and actor Abdel Halim Hafez and actress Soad Hosny.
The film, directed by Salah Abouseif and released in 1960, follows the character Samiha, played by Hosny, who along with her friends explores all that summer life has to offer.
From life on the beach, hanging out in cafes, dance parties and romance, Samiha is having the summer of her life until her haughty upper-class family finds out what she has been up to.
One of Lebanese singer Fairouz’s most popular songs is titled Habbaitak Be El Saif (I Loved You in Summer) released in 1970 from her album Shahrazad.
The sad song is a first-person narration of a young girl waiting for her lover during the long season of summer and then in winter, only for him never to return, leaving her alone in the rain.
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Hob is the Arabic word for love, but can be used in many contexts -
The Arabic word helu translates, in English, to sweet -
Nashef is the Arabic word for dry, but has many connotations, depending on the context in which you use it -
The Arabic word hurriyeh translates to freedom in English -
The Arabic word tayeb can mean delicious or good, depending on the context -
The Arabic word mustaqbal is best expressed as future in English -
Waqaa, the Arabic word for fall, can signify a loss of power, stature, health or grace -
Hudood means borders in English -
The Arabic word rooh translates to spirit or soul in English -
The Arabic word ain means eye in English -
Waraq, the Arabic word of the week means paper in English -
Bahr, the Arabic for sea, has a poetic lilt -
Kareem means generous in English -
Bab means door in English -
Eid means holiday or festival -
Najm means star for the night sky and cosmos, but also has plenty of other meanings, including ambition or fame -
Alwan, the Arabic word for colours, has many shades of meaning -
Akel can refer to home-cooked meals, embezzlement, fire and rust -
Jamal is the Arabic word for beauty, be it literal or figurative -
Herfe translates to profession or craft -
Tabiaa translates to nature and can frame landscapes and portraits -
Sehha is the Arabic word for health -
Ijaza is Arabic for holiday and shines in summer but is not stress-free -
Aamal is the Arabic word for work -
Al dahr translates to time -
Qalb is a word for heart, with poetic roots -
Lugha in Arabic translates to language in English -
Insaan means human being -
Na'eeman is an idiomatic expression used when someone has had a shower or bath, a haircut or had their beard trimmed -
The Arabic word for life touches on eternity, death and accomplishment -
Qamar is the Arabic for moon -
The Arabic word for strength or power is quwwa -
Burj is Arabic for tower -
The Arabic word for sun is shams -
Sabr in English can translate to patience -
Hayba is the Arabic word for prestige -
The Arabic term al shay'e translates as 'the thing' in English -
The Arabic word for road is tareeq -
The Arabic word for read has mystical and scholarly connotations -
Istikan is the Arabic word for a type of tea cup -
The Arabic word hanan means affection in English -
The Arabic word atlal means ruins in English -
Kura is the Arabic word for ball, in all its forms -
Janaah in Arabic means wing in English -
The Arabic word sana translates to year in English -
Qasida is the Arabic for poem, not poetry -
Ameer, the Arabic word for prince, which influenced another English title -
Nakhla translates to palm tree in English -
Al samt is the Arabic for silence -
Kalimaat translates to words in English -
Markaz is Arabic for centre -
Beshara is the Arabic word for good news -
Bayt is the Arabic for house or home -
Fann is the Arabic word for art, and can be either a verb or an adjective -
Isim, which means name, is made up of three letters, alif, seen and meem -
Dunya is the Arabic word for world -
Nazaafah translates to cleanliness in English -
Many traditions revolve around drinking coffee, including weddings, funerals and business meetings -
Fajr is the Arabic word for dawn -
Maghrib is the Arabic word for sunset -
The Arabic language is filled with idioms, quotes and colloquial quips involving the mirror -
Raei is the Arabic word for opinion -
Wa'ed is a multifaceted word for 'promise', as well as a female name -
Qussa is the Arabic word for story -
Sadaaka is the Arabic word for friendship -
Akhbaar is the Arabic word for news -
Rasem is made up of the three Arabic letters Rah, Seen and Meem. While it can simply mean a drawing or a sketch it’s also a malleable word whose definition can change depending on context and dialect – particularly between colloquial and classical Arabic. -
As well as finishing a task, khatem denotes a deeper sense of finality -
Commonly translated to blessed, mubarak is used as a popular greeting on auspicious days -
The Arabic word for lighthouse is also a term that has become closely associated with Islam -
Siyaam, the Arabic word for fasting is also connected to silence -
Tawbah, the Arabic word for repentance, is also connected to Ramadan -
Safar, the Arabic Word for travel can also refer to sunny days, a brighter-blazing fire or exile. The National
