ولد زنا (Walad zina)
What does ولد زنا (Walad zina) mean? ولد زنا (Walad zina) is a Arabic severe that translates to “bastard (child of adultery)” in English.
Literal Translation
child of adultery / fornication
Meaning & Usage
"bastard (child of adultery)"
A child born from zina — the Islamic term for illegal sexual intercourse (both adultery and fornication). More theologically precise than 'ibn haram,' this insult names the exact crime: your parents committed zina, a sin punishable by stoning or lashing under strict sharia. You are the living evidence of a capital crime.
Examples in the Wild
Extremely serious accusation — rarely used casually. Carries potential legal implications in sharia-law contexts.
When to Use It
Context
- Expressing strong frustration or emphasis
- Only among very close friends who share this register
- Direct confrontation (use with caution)
Avoid
- Professional or formal settings
- Around elders or authority figures
- Public spaces — will cause genuine offense
- Around religious or conservative communities
- Mixed company or unfamiliar social groups
- Job interviews, meetings, or customer-facing situations
Cultural Context
Zina is one of the hudud crimes in Islamic law — crimes with fixed, divinely mandated punishments. Calling someone 'walad zina' therefore isn't just a social insult but an implicit legal accusation against their parents. In Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and other countries where zina laws are enforced, this accusation can have real legal consequences. Under Islamic law, the accuser must produce four witnesses to zina or face punishment themselves for false accusation (qadhf) — but on the street, no one thinks about legal technicalities when hurling insults.
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.