# Clothes



## Jana337

What’s the difference

*بين  ملابس,  بدلة  و  فستان؟*



   (How do you say „what’s the diference“?)



   My guess:

*الفستان  ملابس  للمرأة.

البدلة  ملابس  للرجل.
* 
       I have also seen *بذلة* instead of *بدلة*

* شكرا  جزيلا**

ينة*


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## Whodunit

Jana337 said:
			
		

> What’s the difference
> 
> *بين  ملابس,  بدلة  و  فستان؟*



Here's my answer:

*ملبس *  [malbas], pl. *ملابس *  [malaabis] = suit/clothing
*بدلة *  [badla], pl. *بدلات *  [badlaat] _or_ *بدل *  [bidal] = suit, _also_ uniform [+ *رسمية*]
*فستان *  [fustaan], pl. *فساتين *  [fasaatiin] = dress (for women)

I hope I could help you, if not please wait for Elroy or Ayed.


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## ayed

> Originally posted by Whodunt :
> Here's my answer:
> 
> ملبس [malbas], pl. ملابس [malaabis] = suit/clothing=clothes
> بدلة [badla], pl. بدلات [badlaat] or بدل [bidal] = suit, also uniform [+ رسمية]
> فستان [fustaan], pl. فساتين [fasaatiin] = dress (for women)


 
-------------------------------------------------------------

ما الفرق بين ملابس وبدلات؟
ما هو الفرق بين ملابس وبدلات؟

You have to make a reciprocal relation among things so that you could remember them instantly.See the"lam" in red
For example :

بدلة >>>رجل 
فستان <<<امرأة


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## elroy

Jana337 said:
			
		

> What’s the difference
> 
> *بين ملابس, بدلة و فستان؟*
> 
> 
> 
> (How do you say „what’s the diference“?)
> 
> 
> 
> My guess:
> 
> *الفستان ملابس للمرأة.*
> 
> *البدلة ملابس للرجل.*
> 
> I have also seen *بذلة* instead of *بدلة*
> 
> *شكرا جزيلا*
> 
> *ينة*


 
What's the difference = ما الفرق

Who explained the semantic differences correctly. The words mean "clothing," "suit," and "dress," respectively (in German, "Kleidung," "Anzug," and "Kleid.") However, I have never seen بدل as the plural form of بدلة.

As for your sentences, they are incorrect because ملابس is plural. Your sentences, as written, translate to "A dress is clothes for a woman" and "A suit is clothes for a man," respectively. I assume you're trying to say "piece of clothing," or something similar. You could say something like this:

*.الفسطان ( هو ) قطعة ملابس للنساء* = A dress is a piece of clothing for women. 
*.البدلة ( هي ) قطعة ملابس للرجال* = A suit is a piece of clothing for men.
_(The plural sounds better in these examples.)_ 

One more thing: فسطان is not the best word to use in formal Arabic. The better option would be ثوب (which, by the way, could also mean "robe.")

Finally, بذلة is incorrect. But why did your ة's stop connecting toward the end?


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## Soos

not to be picky but i think maa *howa* el fareq? is more correct.


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## suma

Funny, I've only heard   بذلة  , but you all seem unanimous that it's  *بدلة* , o well.


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## Josh_

I believe بذلة is the technically correct spelling, but it is so commonly pronounced بدلة (much more than بذلة) that even if at one time it was wrong, it no longer is.  

In the Egyptian dialect I have heard both بدل and بدلات as plurals.


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## Faylasoof

I too assumed that بذلة was the correct spelling - used so in MSA, as here. Interesting to see that بدلة is used more! Influence of some dialect(s) I guess.


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## Soos

Badlah (not bathlah) is how you say it in Lebanese, I know that much.


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## Mahaodeh

Josh_ said:


> I believe بذلة is the technically correct spelling, but it is so commonly pronounced بدلة (much more than بذلة) that even if at one time it was wrong, it no longer is.


 
I don't think so, I think it's originally بدلة from the root ب د ل because you change into it. If it was بذلة then some dialects will continue to use it with a proper THaal. I believe the idea that it's a THaal is a common mistake because in some dialects they change the Thaal to daal so they just assumed it's the case here. Probably similar to using نفذ أو استنفذ to mean نفد أو استنفد, a common mistake/error.


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## zj73

In modern Arabic you use ملابس for clothes, but in Classical Arabic you use لِباس, never ملابس.


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## Hemza

zj73 said:


> In modern Arabic you use ملابس for clothes, but in Classical Arabic you use لِباس, never ملابس.


I was about to say that no one here mentioned لباس which is very frequent in my dialect by the way, much more than ملبس.


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## Ali Smith

While it is true that مَلابِس is never used in classical Arabic (at least not in the sense of "clothes"), the following words _are _used:

ثَوْب
ثِياب
لِباس

All of them mean "clothes".


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## Mahaodeh

zj73 said:


> In modern Arabic you use ملابس for clothes, but in Classical Arabic you use لِباس, never ملابس.


لباس is also used in MSA. However, many people tend to avoid it because in many dialects it means pants (in American English underpants, I think) not clothes.


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## zj73

So what did ملابس mean in Classical Arabic?


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## Mahaodeh

ملابس is the plural of مَلْبَس. In Classical Arabic meant clothes also. I remember a Hadith in which it says: “… وَمَطْعَمُهُ حَرَامٌ، وَمَشْرَبُهُ حَرَامٌ، *وَمَلْبَسُهُ* حَرَامٌ …” here it means “what he wears” to be exact, but according to both لسان العرب والقاموس المحيط there are four words from the same root that mean clothes: اللِبْس واللِباس واللُبوس والمَلْبَس.


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## Ali Smith

elroy said:


> One more thing: فسطان is not the best word to use in formal Arabic. The better option would be ثوب (which, by the way, could also mean "robe.")


I believe Classical Arabic, too, ثَوْب was the best option (or, rather, the most common option) for "clothes". Observe:

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنِى أَبِى حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ هَمَّامٍ قَالَ نَزَلَ بِعَائِشَةَ ضَيْفٌ فَأَمَرَتْ لَهُ بِمِلْحَفَةٍ لَهَا صَفْرَاءَ فَنَامَ فِيهَا فَاحْتَلَمَ فَاسْتَحْيَا أَنْ يُرْسِلَ بِهَا وَفِيهَا أَثَرُ الاِحْتِلاَمِ قَالَ فَغَمَسَهَا فِى الْمَاءِ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَ بِهَا فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ لِمَ أَفْسَدَ عَلَيْنَا ثَوْبَنَا إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَكْفِيهِ أَنْ يَفْرُكَهُ بِأَصَابِعِهِ لَرُبَّمَا فَرَكْتُهُ مِنْ ثَوْبِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِأَصَابِعِى

(Source: Musnad Ahmad)


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## Hemza

Mahaodeh said:


> لباس is also used in MSA. However, many people tend to avoid it because in many dialects it means pants (in American English underpants, I think) not clothes.


Really?! Because in Morocco it merely means outfit .


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## zj73

Ali Smith said:


> I believe Classical Arabic, too, ثَوْب was the best option (or, rather, the most common option) for "clothes". Observe:
> 
> حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنِى أَبِى حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ هَمَّامٍ قَالَ نَزَلَ بِعَائِشَةَ ضَيْفٌ فَأَمَرَتْ لَهُ بِمِلْحَفَةٍ لَهَا صَفْرَاءَ فَنَامَ فِيهَا فَاحْتَلَمَ فَاسْتَحْيَا أَنْ يُرْسِلَ بِهَا وَفِيهَا أَثَرُ الاِحْتِلاَمِ قَالَ فَغَمَسَهَا فِى الْمَاءِ ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَ بِهَا فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ لِمَ أَفْسَدَ عَلَيْنَا ثَوْبَنَا إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَكْفِيهِ أَنْ يَفْرُكَهُ بِأَصَابِعِهِ لَرُبَّمَا فَرَكْتُهُ مِنْ ثَوْبِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِأَصَابِعِى
> 
> (Source: Musnad Ahmad)


I think thawb means "cloth" and its plural thiyaab means "clothes". Here's my proof  يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ


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## bearded

ayed said:


> ما الفرق


Would it be wrong if I used اختلاف instead of فرق? Is there a difference in meaning?


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## Mahaodeh

Up to my knowledge, in Classical Arabic الثياب meant the outer layer of clothing that people see while اللباس referred to the inner layer that touches the skin.


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## Mahaodeh

bearded said:


> Would it be wrong if I used اختلاف instead of فرق? Is there a difference in meaning?


It depends on context, sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t. In this context I would go ما الفرق.


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