ABSTRACT This study investigates how the semantic differences, if any, in the Arabic and Hebrew terms for “tangent line” and “rectangle” affect students’ understanding and application of these concepts, as evidenced by their definitions, identification of examples, and explanations given during performance test tasks. We conduct our research with Arabic and Hebrew-speaking high school students enrolled in mathematics classes in Israel. Our goal is to explore how language influences how students define and recognize concepts and examples of geometric shapes. Specifically, we examine how the specific meaning associated with concept names in Arabic and Hebrew impacts the process of defining and identifying these mathematical concepts examples, including the reasoning students use for examples identification.