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What does “ريش” (reesh) mean in Arabic?

In Levantine Arabic, ريش (reesh) means feathers — the collective covering on a bird’s body. The singular is ريشة (reesha), one feather. What makes the word worth knowing is its double life: in classical Arabic, ريشة was the quill dipped in ink, the writing tool. The feather on a chicken and the pen on a desk share the same root, because for centuries they were the same object.

In the clip, the first farm-animal riddle uses جسمه مغطى بالريش — “his body is covered with feathers” — as the key clue for a chicken. The clue comes twice, reinforcing the word at A1 pace. Beyond birds, ريشة survives in Modern Standard Arabic as “paintbrush” or “calligraphy pen,” which explains why art supply shops across the Arab world still list ريشة on their labels. One small word, two very different tools.