Family words in Arabic, from umm to khala

The main family words in Arabic are umm (mother), ab (father), akh (brother), ukht (sister), ibn (son) and ibna or bint (daughter). Family itself is ʿāʾila, or usra for a household. To say "my", add -ī: ummī is my mother, akhī is my brother.

Two kinds of uncles and aunts

English has one word for uncle. Arabic has two. Your father's brother is your ʿamm and his sister is your ʿamma. Your mother's brother is your khāl and her sister is your khāla. Cousins are named the same way: ibnu l-ʿamm is the son of your father's brother, and bintu l-khāla is the daughter of your mother's sister.

What you will hear at home

In everyday speech, children call their parents māmā and bābā in most Arab countries, and in the Gulf and Iraq also yumma and yuba. Grandparents are often jiddo and teta in the Levant and Egypt. The standard words above are understood everywhere and are the ones used in the Quran.

Abu, Umm, Ibn and Bint in names

Family words live inside Arabic names. Ibn or bin means "son of", as in Umar ibn al-Khattab. Bint means "daughter of", as in Fatimah bint Muhammad. Abū means "father of" and Umm "mother of", as in Abu Bakr and Umm Salamah. Read more in what bin, ibn, abu and al mean.

Brother and sister in faith

Muslims call each other akhī (my brother) and ukhtī (my sister), and speak of the ikhwa, the brothers. The Quran says:

Brothers in faithIn the Quran

إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌۭ فَأَصْلِحُوا۟ بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

Innamal mu'minoona ikhwatun fa aslihoo baina akhawaykum wattaqul laaha la'allakum tuhamoon

The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers. And fear Allah that you may receive mercy.

Quran 49:10, translation by Sahih International

The Quran also names the family in detail when it lists the homes a person may eat in: fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, both kinds of uncles and aunts (24:61). Islam gives each of them rights. See the rights of parents and the dua for family.