- Father – ab
Mother – oom
Children – awlad, iyaal
Son – walad (plural. awlad)
Daughter – bint (pl. banaat/banayat)
Brother – akh
Daughter – ukht
Paternal uncle – 3am (3 represents the guttural sound of the letter ayn)
Paternal aunt – 3amma
Maternal uncle – khaal
Maternal aunt – khaala/khaalu
Husband – zawj/rai-ali
Wife- zawja/hurma
The word iyaal is used locally for children (as in offspring) but if a man says iyaali, it could include his wife or might even be just his wife. In conservative cultures, men often don’t refer to their wives to people outside the family and so if he says ‘I went on a trip with iyaali’ it may mean he went with his children, his children and his wife or just his wife.
- How many children do you have? – Kam awlad 3andak (3andich for female)?
I have one daughter – 3andi bint wahda
I have one son – 3andi walad wahid
I have five children – 3andi khams awlad - Two daughters – bintayn
Three/four/five daughters – thalath/3arba/khams banaat
Two sons – waladayn
Three/four/five sons – thalath/3arba/khams awlad