Ghurfa

Ghurfa is the transliteration of the Arabic word غرفة, a feminine noun that means a room or chamber. It is a fundamental term used across Arabic-speaking regions to denote an enclosed interior space within a building.

In everyday use, ghurfa appears in a wide range of phrases describing specific rooms. Common examples include غرفة النوم (the bedroom), غرفة الجلوس (the living room), غرفة الطعام (the dining room), and غرفة المكتب (the office). The word is also found in architectural and planning contexts, where it designates any distinct interior compartment within a structure.

In Modern Standard Arabic, the definite form الغرفة means “the room.” The plural form is غرف (ghuruf) in standard usage, with dialectal variations such as غرفات (ghurfat) in some regions. Like many Arabic nouns, ghurfa can combine with adjectives and prepositions to specify size, purpose, or location, for example غرفة واسعة (a spacious room) or في غرفة النوم (in the bedroom).

Beyond its literal meaning, ghurfa is often encountered in cultural and everyday language to describe domestic spaces, hospitality areas, and interior design. While primarily a common noun, occasional proper nouns or place names may adopt the transliteration in different contexts, though these are relatively rare and treated as identifiers rather than a general meaning.

See also: Arabic language, Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic architecture, interior design.