قرد (Qird)
What does قرد (Qird) mean? قرد (Qird) is a Arabic moderate that translates to “monkey / ape / clown” in English.
Literal Translation
monkey / ape
Meaning & Usage
"monkey / ape / clown"
Monkey — calling someone subhuman through primate comparison. In the Quran, God turns Sabbath-breaking Jews into apes and pigs (Surah 2:65, 7:166), giving the monkey insult a specifically Quranic resonance that English 'monkey' lacks. Being called qird in Arabic doesn't just mean you're silly — it potentially invokes divine punishment for disobedience.
Examples in the Wild
بطل حركات يا قرد! (Battil harakaat ya qird! - Stop your antics, you monkey!) — Telling someone to stop goofing off.
When to Use It
Context
- Casual conversations with friends
- Informal settings where profanity is accepted
- Direct confrontation (use with caution)
Avoid
- Professional or formal settings
- Job interviews, meetings, or customer-facing situations
Cultural Context
The Quranic monkey-transformation story has been weaponized in anti-Semitic rhetoric across the Arab world, making 'qird' a particularly loaded insult when directed at Jewish people. In non-sectarian use, it's milder — calling someone qird usually just means they're clowning around, making faces, or acting ridiculous. Kids call each other qird on playgrounds constantly. The severity depends entirely on context: between friends it's teasing, between enemies it's dehumanization. The same word doing very different work.
More in Arabic 🇸🇦
View all →شرموطة (Sharmouta)
“bitch / whore / slut”
A highly offensive term for a woman, implying she is a prostitute or extremely promiscuous.
زبي (Zubbi)
“my dick / fuck off / I don't care”
The Arabic word for penis in its possessive form — 'my dick.' Functions identically to 'dick' in English: anatomical term, exclamation of frustration, and dismissal all in one. 'Zubbi feek' (my dick in you) is the standard Levantine escalation. On its own, 'zubbi!' is what you shout when you stub your toe or your team concedes a goal.
كس أمك (Kus ummak)
“motherfucker / fuck you”
Considered one of the most offensive Arabic swear words. It directly attacks a person's mother, which is the ultimate violation of family honor.
كلب ابن كلب (Kalb ibn kalb)
“son of a bitch squared / absolute scum”
Doubling down on the dog insult — you're not just a dog, your father was also a dog. It's the Arabic technique of compounding insults for emphasis: if kalb is bad and ibn el kalb (already in seed) is worse, kalb ibn kalb is the full lineage attack. Your entire family tree is canine. No human was involved at any point.
منيّك (Mnayyak)
“fucker / dickhead / asshole”
From the root 'n-y-k' (to fuck), 'mnayyak' is the active participle — 'one who fucks' — but used as a general-purpose insult meaning 'asshole' or 'fucker.' Despite its sexual etymology, it's used so broadly in Levantine Arabic that it's become almost a generic intensifier. 'El mnayyak dah' (this fucker) can refer to a broken pipe, a bad boss, or a traffic jam.
تلحس طيزي (Telhas teeze)
“kiss my ass”
A vulgar phrase of strong dismissal and disrespect.
عرص (Ars)
“pimp / scumbag / bastard”
An insult implying a man is a pimp, or worse, someone who pimps out his own female relatives (a cuckold with no honor).
ابن المتناكة (Ibn el metnaaka)
“son of a whore / motherfucker”
Your mother has been fucked — not by your father through marriage, but indiscriminately. 'Metnaaka' is the feminine passive participle of 'naak' (to fuck), so it literally means 'a woman who has been fucked.' The insult says your mother's defining characteristic is having been sexually used.