How do you say "my son" in Arabic?

بُنَيَّ (bunayya) — a diminutive of اِبْن (ibn, "son") plus the possessive suffix "my", used as a warm, affectionate way to address one's son. (A plain, non-affectionate "my son" is اِبْنِي, ibnī.)

What root does بُنَيَّ come from?

It is built on the root ا ب ن, the same root behind اِبْنٌ ("son") and اِبْنَةٌ ("daughter").

بُنَيَّ my son in Arabic

بُنَيَّ is how you say “my son” in Arabic.

Root ا ب ن ʾ-b-n. noun (diminutive of اِبْن "son", with attached 1st-person possessive suffix). bunayya.

Arabic

English

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Meaning of my son in Arabic

my dear son an affectionate vocative used when addressing one's son; softer and warmer than plain اِبْنِي ("my son")
little son literal sense of the diminutive pattern of اِبْن before the possessive suffix is added

Example sentence

وَكُنْتُ أَقُولُ لَهُ يَا بُنَيَّ،

And I would say to him, "My son,"

بُنَيَّ my son

This is the small-and-affectionate (diminutive) form of 'son' with a first-person 'my' folded into its ending, so one word means 'my dear little son'. The diminutive here is not about size but tenderness, a softened, intimate way to address the child. Standing after the call-particle, it is the person being directly addressed.

From Mothers and the Companions

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How it is used

بُنَيَّ is not a separate root-word but اِبْن ("son") reshaped as a diminutive and fitted with the 1st-person possessive suffix; the effect in speech is tender and affectionate rather than merely diminishing in size — it is how a father addresses a son with warmth.

Words from the same root

اِبْنٌ son (the base word بُنَيَّ is diminutivized from)
اِبْنَةٌ daughter
أُبْنَةٌ a knot or fault (in wood, speech, etc.); also rancour or malice
مَأْبُونٌ one made an object of imputation or suspicion (of evil)
مُؤَبِّنٌ one who eulogizes and recounts the good deeds of the dead
إِبَّانٌ the time or season proper to a thing
آبِنُوسٌ ebony (an arabicized loanword)

Common questions

How do you say "my son" in Arabic?: بُنَيَّ (bunayya) — a diminutive of اِبْن (ibn, "son") plus the possessive suffix "my", used as a warm, affectionate way to address one's son. (A plain, non-affectionate "my son" is اِبْنِي, ibnī.)
What root does بُنَيَّ come from?: It is built on the root ا ب ن, the same root behind اِبْنٌ ("son") and اِبْنَةٌ ("daughter").

Related words

Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).