Standard Lemma guide

hijab

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /hɪˈd͡ʒɑːb/
  • /hɪˈd͡ʒæb/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑːb

1

noun

Meaning 1

A traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women, covering the hair and neck.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The practice, among Muslim women, of covering the body after the age of puberty in front of non-related (non-family) adult males.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: Islam, lifestyle, religion

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the custom in some Islamic societies of women dressing modestly outside the home

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • she observes the hijab and does not wear tight clothing

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: custom, usage, usance

4

noun

Meaning 4

a headscarf worn by Muslim women; conceals the hair and neck and usually has a face veil that covers the face

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: headscarf

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic حِجَاب (ḥijāb, “veil”).

Across languages

Translations

88 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: اِحْتِجَاب (iḥtijāb) — practice of wearing a headscarf
  • Finnish: hijabin pitäminen — practice of wearing a headscarf
  • Hausa: hijabi — practice of wearing a headscarf
  • Polish: hidżab — practice of wearing a headscarf
  • Spanish: hiyab — practice of wearing a headscarf
  • Afrikaans: hidjab — headscarf
  • Albanian: hijab — headscarf
  • Albanian: plah — headscarf
  • Albanian: hixhab — headscarf
  • Albanian: shami — headscarf
  • Arabic: حِجَاب (ḥijāb) — headscarf
  • Arabic: خِمَار (ḵimār) — headscarf
  • Armenian: հիջաբ (hiǰab) — headscarf
  • Azerbaijani: hicab — headscarf
  • Belarusian: хіджа́б (xidžáb) — headscarf
  • Bengali: হিজাব (hijab) — headscarf
  • Bulgarian: хиджа́б (hidžáb) — headscarf
  • Burmese: ဟေဂျားဘ် (hegyabh:) — headscarf
  • Catalan: hijab — headscarf
  • Chechen: хьижаб (ḥrižab) — headscarf
  • Chinese Mandarin: 頭巾 /头巾 (tóujīn) — headscarf
  • Chinese Mandarin: 希賈布 /希贾布 (xījiǎbù) — headscarf
  • Czech: hidžáb — headscarf
  • Danish: hijab — headscarf
  • Dutch: hidjab — headscarf
  • Esperanto: hiĝabo — headscarf
  • Estonian: hidžaab — headscarf
  • Finnish: hijab — headscarf
  • French: hidjab — headscarf
  • Georgian: ჰიჯაბი (hiǯabi) — headscarf
  • German: Kopftuch — headscarf
  • German: Hidschab — headscarf
  • German: Hijab — headscarf
  • Greek: χιτζάμπ (chitzámp) — headscarf
  • Hausa: hijabi — headscarf
  • Hebrew: חיג׳אב — headscarf
  • Hebrew: חִגָ׳אבּ (khijáb) — headscarf
  • Hindi: हिजाब (hijāb) — headscarf
  • Hungarian: hidzsáb — headscarf
  • Icelandic: hídjab — headscarf
  • Indonesian: hijab — headscarf
  • Japanese: ヒジャーブ (hijābu) — headscarf
  • Kazakh: хижап (xijap) — headscarf
  • Kazakh: хижаб (xijab) — headscarf
  • Korean: 히잡 (hijap) — headscarf
  • Northern Kurdish: hîcab — headscarf
  • Kyrgyz: хиджаб (hidjab) — headscarf
  • Latin: calautica — headscarf
  • Latvian: hidžābs — headscarf
  • Lithuanian: hidžabas — headscarf
  • Macedonian: хиџаб (hidžab) — headscarf
  • Malay: tudung — headscarf
  • Malay: hijab — headscarf
  • Malayalam: ഹിജാബ് (hijābŭ) — headscarf
  • Marathi: हिजाब (hijāb) — headscarf
  • Mongolian: хижаб (xižab) — headscarf
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hijab — headscarf
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hidsjab — headscarf
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hijab — headscarf
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hidsjab — headscarf
  • Pashto: حجاب (hijāb) — headscarf
  • Iranian Persian: حِجاب (hejâb) — headscarf
  • Iranian Persian: روسَری (rusari) — headscarf
  • Iranian Persian: لَچَک (lačak) — headscarf
  • Polish: hidżab — headscarf
  • Portuguese: hijabe — headscarf
  • Portuguese: véu islâmico — headscarf
  • Punjabi: ਹਿਜਾਬ (hijāb) — headscarf
  • Romanian: hijab — headscarf
  • Russian: хиджа́б (xidžáb) — headscarf
  • Serbo-Croatian: хиџаб — headscarf
  • Serbo-Croatian: hidžab — headscarf
  • Slovak: hidžáb — headscarf
  • Slovene: hidžab — headscarf
  • Spanish: hiyab — headscarf
  • Spanish: velo islámico — headscarf
  • Swahili: hijabu — headscarf
  • Swedish: hijab — headscarf
  • Tajik: ҳиҷоб (hijob) — headscarf
  • Tatar: хиҗаб (xicab) — headscarf
  • Thai: ฮิญาบ (hì-yàap) — headscarf
  • Turkish: tesettür — headscarf
  • Turkish: çarşaf — headscarf
  • Turkmen: hijab — headscarf
  • Ukrainian: хіджа́б (xidžáb) — headscarf
  • Urdu: حِجاب (hijāb) — headscarf
  • Uyghur: ھىجاب (hijab) — headscarf
  • Uzbek: hijob — headscarf