What is the worst swear word in Arabic?

كس أمك (Levantine kis immak, Egyptian kos ommak), literally "your mother's cunt". It pairs an obscene word with an attack on the mother, which is what makes it unforgivable. شرموطة (sharmūṭa) and عرص (ʿarṣ) come close. All three are dialect, not Modern Standard Arabic, and all three realistically end in a fight.

Are Arabic curse words the same in every Arabic country?

Partly. Insults built on ordinary MSA nouns — كلب, حمار, خنزير, حقير, قحبة — are understood from Morocco to Iraq. The vulgar layer is dialectal: هبيل and زفت are Levantine and nobody in Cairo says them, Egyptians say زبر zubr where Lebanese say زب zibb, and كس أمك is kis immak in Beirut, kos ommak in Cairo. Every card here is labelled MSA, Levantine or Egyptian.

Why do Arabic insults mention someone's father or mother?

Honour is collective, so the fastest way to hurt someone is to hit the family. That is why يلعن أبوك (damn your father) and ابن الكلب (son of a dog) land much harder than an insult aimed at the person alone — and why curses that invoke God, like الله يلعنك, feel heavier than English "damn you".

Is calling someone كلب (dog) really offensive?

Yes, far more than in English. Dogs are associated with impurity and servility, so كلب denies the person dignity rather than just calling them unpleasant. It belongs to a serious argument, not to the affectionate English "you dog". خنزير (pig) is stronger still, because pork is forbidden in Islam.

Arabic Swear Words: 25 Curse Words, Insults & Vulgar Slang

🇸🇦 Arabic · 25 cards · B2 · by Nour Haddad

These are the words you hear in Beirut traffic, in Egyptian films and in football arguments — not the ones textbooks print. The deck is ordered by strength: it opens with majnūn and ghabī, which friends throw at each other, and ends with the phrase that genuinely starts fights.

Two warnings. Vulgar Arabic is almost never Modern Standard, so every card tells you whether the word is MSA, Levantine or Egyptian, and gives the dialect pronunciation where it differs. And strength does not translate: kalb (dog) is far heavier than English "dog", while yikhrib baytak sounds violent and is usually affectionate. Learn these to understand people, not to use them.

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How to use this deck

Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.

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All 25 cards

#	Arabic	Pronunciation	English	Example
1	مجنون MSA and all dialects. Very mild, often affectionate between friends. Feminine: مجنونة majnūna.	majnūn	crazy, insane, nuts	هل أنت مجنون؟ هذا خطر جداً! Are you crazy? That's very dangerous!
2	غبي MSA and all dialects. Mild, but a real insult when aimed at a person. Feminine: غبية ghabiyya.	ghabī	stupid, dumb	لا تكن غبياً، هذه خدعة واضحة. Don't be stupid, that's an obvious scam.
3	أحمق MSA, slightly literary. In speech people reach for غبي or the dialect words instead. Feminine: حمقاء ḥamqāʾ.	aḥmaq	fool, moron, idiot	تصرّف كالأحمق ورفض المساعدة. He acted like a fool and refused help.
4	هبيل Levantine (Lebanon/Syria/Palestine), mild. Feminine: هبلة habla. Not used in MSA and not said in Egypt.	habīl	dimwit, halfwit	ما تسمعلو، هيدا هبيل. Don't listen to him, the guy's a dimwit.
5	حمار MSA and every dialect, extremely common. Medium strength — roughly "you idiot". Feminine: حمارة ḥimāra.	ḥimār	donkey, ass (= idiot)	يا حمار، انظر إلى الطريق! You donkey, watch the road!
6	كلب MSA and all dialects. Much heavier than English "dog": it strips a person of dignity. Strong. Feminine: كلبة kalba.	kalb	dog (as an insult)	قال لي: يا كلب! فضربته. He called me a dog, so I hit him.
7	خنزير MSA and all dialects. Strong, and extra offensive to Muslim speakers because pork is forbidden: it implies impurity, not just filth.	khinzīr	pig, swine	غرفتك مقرفة، تعيش مثل الخنزير. Your room is disgusting, you live like a pig.
8	قذر MSA. In speech the everyday equivalent is وسخ (Levantine wisikh, Egyptian wesekh).	qadhir	filthy, dirty (person, language)	كلامك قذر، احترم نفسك. Your language is filthy, show some respect.
9	حقير MSA, also used in dialect. Medium strength; attacks someone's character rather than their body. Feminine: حقيرة ḥaqīra.	ḥaqīr	despicable, lowlife	ما فعلته حقير ولن أنساه. What you did was despicable and I won't forget it.
10	وقح MSA. In speech people say قليل الأدب qalīl al-adab ("ill-mannered"), which stings just as much.	waqiḥ	insolent, shameless, rude	ردّه كان وقحاً أمام أستاذه. His reply to his teacher was insolent.
11	زبالة Ordinary MSA/dialect word for rubbish; medium-strong when aimed at a person.	zubāla	garbage, trash (person)	لا تقترب مني يا زبالة! Don't come near me, you trash!
12	اخرس MSA and all dialects; literally "be mute". Harsh and humiliating — اسكت uskut is the milder "be quiet". Feminine: اخرسي ikhrasī.	ikhras	shut up!	اخرس! لا أريد سماع كلمة أخرى. Shut up! I don't want to hear another word.
13	يخرب بيتك Levantine; literally "may He wreck your house". Sounds violent, is usually mild — often joking or even admiring. To a woman: يخرب بيتك yikhrib baytik.	yikhrib baytak	damn you	يخرب بيتك، خوّفتني! Damn you, you scared me!
14	الله يلعنك Levantine/Egyptian pronunciation; MSA is لعنك الله laʿanaka Allāh. Strong, because it calls God down on the person.	Allāh yilʿanak	God damn you	الله يلعنك، خسّرتني المصاري. God damn you, you lost me the money.
15	يلعن أبوك Levantine and Egyptian. Cursing the family is far worse than cursing the person; very strong, expect a reaction.	yilʿan abūk	damn your father	يلعن أبوك، كسّرت الشباك! Damn your father, you broke the window!
16	زفت Levantine, literally "tar". Mild — a polite stand-in for خرا when family is in the room.	zift	crap, rubbish	هالقهوة زفت، ما فيك تشربها. This coffee is crap, you can't drink it.
17	خرا Vulgar. Levantine and Egyptian pronunciation khara; the MSA form is خراء kharāʾ. Used for the substance and as an exclamation.	khara	shit	خرا! تأخّرنا كتير. Shit! We're very late.
18	طيز Levantine and Egyptian, vulgar but everyday. The polite MSA word is مؤخرة muʾakhkhara.	ṭīz	ass, butt	وقعت على طيزي عالدرج. I fell on my ass on the stairs.
19	زب Vulgar. Pronounced zibb in the Levant; Egyptians usually say زبر zubr. In the example it means "not a damn thing". Never in mixed or polite company.	zubb	dick, cock	ما بيفهم زب بالسياسة. He doesn't understand a damn thing about politics.
20	عرص Levantine and Egyptian, literally "pimp" (you may also hear ʿirṣ in Lebanon). Very vulgar — fighting words, not banter.	ʿarṣ	pimp; scumbag, asshole	هيدا العرص كذب علينا كلنا. That scumbag lied to all of us.
21	ابن الكلب Literally "son of the dog". Understood in MSA and every dialect; strong, because it drags the whole family in. Feminine: بنت الكلب bint al-kalb.	ibn al-kalb	son of a bitch	ابن الكلب سرق محفظتي وهرب. The son of a bitch stole my wallet and ran.
22	ابن حرام MSA and all dialects; literally "son of the forbidden", i.e. born out of wedlock. Strong, though in dialect it can also mean "crafty devil".	ibn ḥarām	bastard; sly bastard	خدعني مرتين، إنه ابن حرام. He tricked me twice, he's a real bastard.
23	قحبة Very vulgar. A classical word alive in almost every dialect, from Morocco to Iraq. Base of the insult ابن القحبة ibn al-qaḥba.	qaḥba	whore	نعتها بالقحبة فبدأت معركة. He called her a whore and a fight broke out.
24	شرموطة Levantine and Egyptian, literally "rag". Among the harshest things you can call a woman; deeply misogynistic. Plural: شراميط sharāmīṭ.	sharmūṭa	slut, whore	سمعته يشتمها ويناديها شرموطة. I heard him insult her and call her a slut.
25	كس أمك The heaviest insult in Levantine (kis immak) and Egyptian (kos ommak) Arabic. Learn it to understand it; saying it will very likely start a fight. To a woman: كس أمك kis immik.	kis immak	fuck you (lit. your mother's cunt)	كس أمك، شو عملت بالسيارة؟ Fuck you, what did you do to the car?

Nour Haddad

Native Arabic · Speaks English, French

Beirut native. My decks use Modern Standard Arabic and say so when a word is really Levantine or Egyptian, because learners deserve to know which one they are memorising.

Published 17 Sept 2026

Questions about this deck

What is the worst swear word in Arabic?: كس أمك (Levantine kis immak, Egyptian kos ommak), literally "your mother's cunt". It pairs an obscene word with an attack on the mother, which is what makes it unforgivable. شرموطة (sharmūṭa) and عرص (ʿarṣ) come close. All three are dialect, not Modern Standard Arabic, and all three realistically end in a fight.
Are Arabic curse words the same in every Arabic country?: Partly. Insults built on ordinary MSA nouns — كلب, حمار, خنزير, حقير, قحبة — are understood from Morocco to Iraq. The vulgar layer is dialectal: هبيل and زفت are Levantine and nobody in Cairo says them, Egyptians say زبر zubr where Lebanese say زب zibb, and كس أمك is kis immak in Beirut, kos ommak in Cairo. Every card here is labelled MSA, Levantine or Egyptian.
Why do Arabic insults mention someone's father or mother?: Honour is collective, so the fastest way to hurt someone is to hit the family. That is why يلعن أبوك (damn your father) and ابن الكلب (son of a dog) land much harder than an insult aimed at the person alone — and why curses that invoke God, like الله يلعنك, feel heavier than English "damn you".
Is calling someone كلب (dog) really offensive?: Yes, far more than in English. Dogs are associated with impurity and servility, so كلب denies the person dignity rather than just calling them unpleasant. It belongs to a serious argument, not to the affectionate English "you dog". خنزير (pig) is stronger still, because pork is forbidden in Islam.

Arabic Swear Words: 25 Curse Words, Insults & Vulgar Slang

All 25 cards

Questions about this deck

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