# Arabic translation help? (TV show screencap) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arabic-translation-help-tv-show-screencap/473166 "2008-11-17T19:51:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arabic-translation-help-tv-show-screencap/473166/1 "2008-11-17T19:51:26Z")
Help, au secours, aiuto, hilfe, etc. I was watching the most recent episode of _Supernatural_, and in it one of the main characters was carrying a magical demon-killing knife–with script on the side that looks a whole lot like Arabic writing (I could very definitely be wrong). Can anybody figure out what it says? [Here](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/tigereye001/knife.gif)’s a screencap, and [here](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/tigereye001/knife2.gif)’s another one with better resolution/sharpening. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arabic-translation-help-tv-show-screencap/473166/2 "2008-11-17T20:03:26Z")
I don’t read Arabic, but for what it’s worth that doesn’t look like Arabic to me. It’s really hard to make out, but some of the characters look like Japanese kana. But only three or four, and I can’t make out the rest at all. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arabic-translation-help-tv-show-screencap/473166/3 "2008-11-17T20:08:12Z")
It’s not Arabic. It kinda looks like gobbleydook that might be intended to look like Arabic, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t. FTR, I don’t speak Arabic, but I’m currently studying Persian, which is also written in the Arabic alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![keithmassey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@keithmassey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keithmassey)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arabic-translation-help-tv-show-screencap/473166/4 "2008-11-21T22:53:12Z")
I’m an Arabist and I concur with Kyla.