Ghutra, shemagh, keffiyeh, kufiya, hatta — if you trade in traditional headwear you’ll hear all of these, sometimes for the same garment. The names overlap, and usage varies from market to market. Here is a practical guide to the terminology, so that when you place a wholesale order, you and your supplier mean the same thing.
One family of garments, many names
All of these terms describe the traditional square headscarf worn by men, typically folded into a triangle and worn draped over the head. The differences buyers care about in practice are colour, pattern, size, and fabric — not the name itself. The same factory loom may weave pieces that one customer calls a shemagh and another calls a keffiyeh.
Keffiyeh
Keffiyeh (also spelled kufiya) is the most widely recognised term internationally, and usually refers to the patterned woven scarf — the classic black-and-white and red-and-white checks being the most famous examples. But the classics are only the start: keffiyehs are woven in a wide spectrum of colours — greens, blues, greys, browns, golds, and bold multi-colour designs — and coloured patterns are a growing part of what our buyers order.
Ghutra
Ghutra is, for most of our customers, simply the Arabic name for the same garment — what one buyer calls a keffiyeh, another calls a ghutra. Usage varies from market to market, but in our catalogue the two words refer to the same family of woven headscarves, in the full range of patterns and colours. When you see ghutra on our pages, read it as keffiyeh.
Shemagh
Shemagh generally describes the heavier patterned scarf, often in red-and-white, and the term is common in many Gulf markets. In practice, shemagh and keffiyeh overlap heavily — many customers use them interchangeably.
What matters when ordering wholesale
Because the words mean slightly different things to different customers, never order by name alone. Specify: the pattern and colours, the size (standard sizes range roughly from 110×110 cm to 140×140 cm), the fabric and weight, and the edge finish. A photo plus those four details removes all ambiguity. We supply the full range — classic black-and-white, red-and-white, and coloured and multi-colour patterns — in all standard sizes under the Yasmeen brand.
Whatever your market calls it, what matters is the weave. Browse our keffiyeh, ghutra and scarf collection — a small glimpse of a catalogue that runs to hundreds of designs — then message us on WhatsApp with your pattern, size, and quantity, and we’ll confirm exactly what will be produced before anything goes on the loom.