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Did you know that Arabic is written right to left?
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
d | د |
aa | ا |
daa | دا |
(See? Right to left! How cool is that?)
This means that when you pick up a book or magazine written in Arabic, you should start reading from the back cover — which, of course, is the front!
When Arabic is written using English letters, sometimes there’ll be two vowels in a row.
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
daa | دا |
duu | دو |
dii | دي |
This doesn’t mean that there are two vowels in Arabic, but rather that there is one loooong vowel. Yes, Arabic has both short and long vowels! You’ll be learning more about this soon.
When you see a tiny forward slash above a letter, it means this letter has a short ah sound right after it. We’ll talk more about this later.
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
d | د |
da | دَ |
Sometimes و = uu (long vowel) and other times و = w.
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
zuu | زو |
BUT
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
zaw | زَو |
wa | وَ |
Same with the letter ي: sometimes ي = ii (long vowel) and sometimes ي = y.
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
zii | زي |
BUT
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
zay | زَي |
ya | يَ |
The key is other vowels! If there is a vowel right before or right after و or ي, then they become w and y. Otherwise, they’re just the long vowels uu and ii.
In English, letters can change shape, like if they’re uppercase or lowercase. Letters in Arabic, instead, change shape, based on where they are in comparison to other letters because they can connect to neighboring letters. Look at the shapes of ب b:
Position | Arabic letters | English letters |
---|---|---|
Independent | ب | b |
Beginning of word | بَر | bar |
Middle of word | جَبَر | jabar |
End of word | رَجَب | rajab |
Letters can have up to four shapes, though some have fewer than that.
All letters have the independent form and the End of word form (which means connecting to the previous letter).
However, not all letters connect to the following letter → some letters don't have the beginning and middle of the word forms.
Note that the letter combinations you will see in the course to help you learn to read and write in Arabic do not necessarily have a meaning.
The new letter ذ (dhaal) makes the same sound as the letter combination th in the following English words: the, this, brother, bathing. In our transliteration system, ذ will be represented as dh.
Note that this is not the same sound as th in the following set of English words: thick, thunder, broth, bath. This th sound corresponds to a different letter in Arabic that you will learn soon.
In the last skill, you learned to recognize some letters (like ب and ج) by themselves and at the beginning of a word.
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
Bob | بوب |
George | جورج |
Here’s how ب looks in other positions:
Position | English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|---|
Middle | kabar | كَبَر |
End | kab | كَب |
And here’s how ج looks:
Position | English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|---|
Middle | kajad | كَجَد |
End | kaj | كَج |
Exciting!
Arabic has 28 letters and several smaller markings (like short vowels) and you’ll be learning all of them in this course! So you need lots of practice with letters at first.
That’s why you’ll go through several lessons on the alphabet and then you’ll get to one with new vocabulary. But don’t worry, there will be more and more vocab as you progress in the course!
Did you know that vowels in Arabic can be short or long, and that using the wrong one might change the meaning of the word?
Vowel length | Arabic letters | English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
Short | جَمَل | jamal | camel |
Long | جَمال | jamaal | beauty |
At first, it’ll probably be tricky for you to hear the difference between short and long vowels. It’ll come with practice!
Notice that there is no word in Arabic that means a or an.
Word | Meaning |
---|---|
بَيت | house / a house |
جاكيت | jacket / a jacket |
This isn’t the case for the word the, though...We’ll talk about the later.
In English, when you want to describe a noun with an adjective (like “a new jacket” or “a big door”), you put the adjective (new, big) before the noun (jacket, door).
Have you noticed how it’s the opposite in Arabic?
Phrase | Translation |
---|---|
جاكيت جديد | a new jacket (literally: “a jacket new”) |
باب كَبير | a big door (literally: “a door big”) |
In Arabic, if you hold the sound of a consonant extra long, it might change the meaning of a word. We use a symbol called shadda (it looks like a small w) over a consonant to signal that it’s extra long. In English letters, we’ll just write two of the same consonant.
Word | With English letters | Meaning | Word with shadda | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
دَرَس | daras | he studied | دَرَّس | darras | he taught |
حَمام | Hamaam | pigeons | حَمّام | Hammaam | bathroom |
Note the shadda on the Arabic words on the right side, and the double rr and double mm in darras and Hammaam. When a letter has shadda on it, just hold it extra long!
The word دَجاج (dajaaj) is a collective plural, meaning that it is a singular noun that refers to an entire group or category.
In the context of food, it is best translated as “chicken” because English “chicken” also refers to an entire category of meat. However, in the context of a chicken coop, دَجاج is best translated as “chickens” because it refers to the entire group of chickens rather than a single chicken.
Just remember: دَجاج is NOT a single chicken.
As we write Arabic words with English letters, the letter ع has no equivalent. So to make it easier for you, we will use the number 3 that looks just like an inverted ع to remind you when to use it. It is informal, but it helps.
Duo amazing!
That’s what you’re literally saying in Arabic when you want to say “Duo is amazing!”
That is because most of the time, the words am, is and are simply aren’t expressed in Arabic.
Phrase | Translation |
---|---|
جورج سَعيد | George is happy (literally: “George happy”) |
جودي مِن جوبا | Judy is from Juba (literally: “Judy from Juba”) |
This fun, right?
You’re about to be introduced to the letter ل (l in English) and learn its different shapes. One thing to remember is that when ل is followed by ا within the same word, the result is unexpected!
ل + ا = لا
You already know that the letter ا makes a long aaaaah sound. But it can also do other things!
For example, it can “carry” the tiny letter ء . This letter (called “hamza”) is pronounced like the sound you make between “uh” and “oh” when you say, “uh-oh!”
Words that sound like they start with a vowel in Arabic usually start with hamza first, then the vowel.
Notice that ء can appear in different spots, depending on the vowel it’s written with.
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
2a | أَ |
2u | أُ |
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
2i | إِ |
In English, there is no letter that corresponds to ء . Since ء looks like a reversed 2, we write it in English letters using the number 2. Check out these examples from the course:
English letters | Arabic letters |
---|---|
2a | أَ |
2u | أُ |
2i | إِ |
2uu | أو |
2ii | إي |
We owe this innovation to the texting culture. Because the texting technology was originally based on the English alphabet, Arabic speakers got used to texting in Arabic using English letters. Since there’s no good English letter equivalent of ء, they started using 2.
Read these words out loud:
th version one | th version two |
---|---|
three | the |
moth | mother |
tooth | smooth |
Do you notice that the sound of th is different for the words on the left side than it is for the words on the right side?
In Arabic, those two th sounds are actually different letters!
In the word سيث (siith) “Seth”, "th" is like the “th” in “three.” We will use th for the letter ث when transliterating in English letters.
In the word ذَكِيّ (dhakiyy) “smart”, "th" is like the “th” in “the.” We will use dh for the letter ذ when transliterating in English letters.
There is a marking in Arabic that tells you when there is no vowel. It looks like a tiny zero:
كَبُر = kabur كَبْر = kabr
See the small zero there in kabr? It’s telling you this word is pronounced kabr. Here are some other examples:
مَسَك = masak مَسْك = mask
جَبَر = jabar جَبْر = jabr
In English, when you want to talk about things you have or possess, you just say I have a pen. In Arabic, you say this a little differently.
Arabic version | Literal translation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
.عِنْد جودي بَيْت | at Judy a house | Judy has a house. |
.عِنْد عُمَر كَراج | at Omar a garage | Omar has a garage. |
Be aware that "عِنْدَ" is not a verb.
To make the nationality adjectives, it is totally easy. For a singular masculine person, we just add the letter ي to the end of the country's name. So لُبنان = Lebanon becomes لُبناني = Lebanese, and عُمان = Oman becomes عُماني = Omani. We will talk about the forms with other subjects later.
You’ve already learned that when you see أ / إ at the beginning of a word, it’s just pronounced ء. The ا stays silent.
But what about when it’s in the middle or at the end of a word? You might see ء either on the line or on top of other letters. Don’t worry about learning the rules for which happens when — just know that these forms exist and learn how they sound.
You already know that a tiny slash above a letter makes the sound a. But what if you see two tiny slashes at the end of a word? Well, that symbol makes a different sound: an. Usually, -an is written above ا, making it look like this: اً. (The ا is silent!)
Arabic word | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
شُكْراً | shukran | thank you |
صَباحاً | SabaaHan | in the morning |
مَساءً | masaa2an | in the evening |
Some people prefer to write -an first and then to add the silent alif, like this: شُكْرًا (instead of شُكْراً). Either way, the word is pronounced the same way: shukran!
Today, you’ll hear a sound that we don’t have in English: ع !
Pronouncing ع can be a bit tricky at first. Some people compare its sound to the sound you make when you yawn, some say it’s the sound you make when you hurt yourself and it hurts real bad — some even say it sounds like a duck.
You can try this: get close to a mirror, open your mouth wide and fog up the mirror with your breath. You should feel how tight your throat gets when you do this. Now, while doing this, say the vowel a as in cat. That’s about the right sound.
Because this letter, when it’s not connected to another letter, looks like a reversed 3, we’ll write it as a 3 in English letters. For example, we write the word عَرَبِيّ as 3arabiyy.
In Arabic, you use the word يا (yaa) before addressing someone. You can think of it as an attention getter, kind of like “hey!” but not as informal.
أَهْلاً يا عُمَر!
Hello, Omar.
شُكْراً يا كَري!
Thank you, Carrie.
In English, when you’re talking about someone, you have to specify their gender with either “he” or “she.” In Arabic, you also specify gender when talking to someone directly.
Feminine | Masculine |
---|---|
2anti أَنْتِ = you (female) | 2anta أَنْتَ = you (male) |
hiyya هِيَّ = she | huwwa هُوَّ = he |
In Arabic, all nouns and adjectives are either masculine or feminine, even when they don’t refer to people. Feminine nouns and adjectives usually end with the letter ة. This letter sounds like a short a and it can only be found at the end of words.
If an adjective describes a noun, it has to agree with the noun: this means that if the noun is masculine, the adjective is masculine, but if the noun is feminine, then the adjective is feminine.
Masculine | Feminine |
---|---|
مُتَرْجِم ذَكِيّ = a smart translator (male) = mutarjim dhakiyy | مُتَرْجِمة ذَكِيّة = a smart translator (female) = mutarjima dhakiyya |
أُسْتاذ أَمْريكِيّ = an American professor (male) = 2ustaadh 2amriikiyy | أُسْتاذة أَمْريكِيّة = an American professor (female) = 2ustaadha 2amriikiyya |
Have you ever gargled? If so, you probably already know how to make the sound of the letter غ. Put some water in your mouth, throw your head back and gargle away! That’s your Arabic homework.
In English, we’ll write غ as gh.
ا = ى
At the end of a word, ا may appear in a different shape: ى. The two alifs (ا and ى) are not interchangeable, so you’ll need to memorize which is used where.
on, on top of = (3alaa) عَلى
Standard Arabic = (al-3arabiyya l-fuSHaa) اَلْعَرَبِيّة الْفُصْحى
Great Britain = (bariiTaanyaa l-kubraa) بَريطانْيا الْكُبْرى
Have you noticed that questions that start with a question word in English (what, who, why, how, when, etc.) cannot be answered by yes or no, while questions that start with a verb (are you, did we, can she, will they, has he, etc.) require an answer with yes or no?
-Yes ❌
-No ❌
-To prove he wasn’t a chicken! ✅
-Yes ✅
-No ✅
-At 3PM. ❌
-Because she was smart. ❌
-Through telepathic mind control. ❌
Well, in Arabic, yes/no questions begin with the word هَل (hal). هَل doesn’t have a translation in English — it just means, “hey, I’m a yes/no question!” هَل you ready for this?
Arabic has so many cool sounds! Like the ح, for example. This is the sound it makes when you get close to a window, open your mouth wide and fog up the window. Try it at home!
Don’t get this new sound mixed up with the other h (ﻫ / ه), the one that sounds like the first letter in the word ‘house’ in English. See if you can hear the difference between the two in today’s exercises. And don’t get discouraged if it’s tricky at first! You’ll get there!
Remember that when an adjective describes a noun, it has to match the gender of the noun — a masculine adjective with a masculine noun, and a feminine adjective with a feminine noun. This is true for all nouns, even those that don’t refer to people!
Masculine | Feminine |
---|---|
بَلَد عَرَبِيّ = an Arab country | مَدينة عَرَبِيّة = an Arab city |
بَيْت جَديد = a new house | جامِعة جَديدة = a new university |
Another cool, new Arabic sound is خ. To make this sound, you need to gargle with water but without the singing. Try to whisper as you gargle and you should be making the right sound.
We write خ as kh with English letters.
This is not the same as غ (gh), which is the sound you make when you gargle normally, without whispering.
expensive, dear = (ghaalii) غالي
my mother’s brother = (khaalii) خالي
To say the house instead of a house in Arabic, just put the two letters اَلْ (al-) in front of the word بَيْت.
a thing | the thing |
---|---|
بَيْت = a house | اَلْبَيْت = the house |
باب = a door | اَلْباب = the door |
مَلِكة = a queen | اَلْمَلِكة = the queen |
You can do this with any noun in Arabic!
Ready for a cool new sound? Let’s call it Mr. T. This is a bigger, stronger version of regular t. It’s the sound of the letter ط in Arabic and we write it as capital T in English letters.
How does Mr. T sound different from regular t?
t + a = ta, close to standard American English “tap”
T + a = Ta, close to standard American English “taco”
Listen to the vowels — a vowel that comes after Mr. T sounds farther in the back of the mouth, while one that comes after t sounds closer to the front of the mouth. Some words may sound similar, but if one of them contains regular t and the other Mr. T, they are different words!
to repent = (taab) تاب
to be good, pleasant = (Taab) طاب
You’ve seen ة at the end of all feminine nouns so far. However, there are a few nouns that look a little different! These include:
mother = (2umm) أُمّ
sister = (2ukht) أُخْت
daughter / girl = (bint) بِنْت
If you want to say something like This is my house in Arabic, you need to add an extra little ending onto the thing that is mine.
something | my something |
---|---|
house = (bayt) بَيْت | my house = (baytii) بَيْتي |
mother = (2umm) أُمّ | my mother = (2ummii) أُمّي |
You just add ي at the end of the noun. Now it’s yours! Be careful, though — this only works for words that don’t end in ة.
Another distinct Arabic sound is ق. It’s kind of like the sound k in English, except much deeper in the throat. Practice it and you’ll totally get it!
We write ق as q with English letters.
Iraq = (al-3iraaq) اَلْعِراق
Remember how, in order to say my house you just add ي at the end of house? Well, to say your house or your son you add ـَك (-ak) when talking to a man and ـِك (-ik) when talking to a woman.
son = (ibn) اِبْن
your son (to a man) = (ibnak) اِبْنَك
your son (to a woman) = (ibnik) اِبْنِك
You already know the difference between regular t and Mr. T — the vowels around Mr. T sound tougher, more serious and grave than they do around regular t. There are actually three more pairs like ط / ت in Arabic.
Another pair is ذ (dh) and ظ (DH) These two letters are similar, but the vowels around DH are further back in the mouth.
warner, herald = (nadhiir) نَذير
equal = (naDHiir) نَظير
If you want to say that a city is my city or your city, something funky happens. Remember, مَدينة (city) ends in ة. You make that ة into ـَت (-at) (!!), and then you add the “my” or “your” endings you already know.
Word | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
مَدينة | madiina | a city |
مَدينَتي | madiinatii | my city |
مَدينَتَك | madiinatak | your city (to a male) |
مَدينَتِك | madiinatik | your city (to a female) |
This doesn’t apply just to “city” but to all nouns that end in ة.
Word | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
جارة | jaara | a (female) neighbor |
جارَتي | jaaratii | my (female) neighbor |
جارَتَك | jaaratak | your (female) neighbor (to a male) |
جارَتِك | jaaratik | your (female) neighbor (to a female) |
As you know, each Arabic noun is either masculine or feminine, and adjectives have to match that gender.
Masculine noun | Feminine noun |
---|---|
The house is pretty = (al-bayt jamiil) اَلْبَيْت جَميل | The city is pretty = (al-madiina jamiila) اَلْمَدينة جَميلة |
This gender never changes! Since بَيْت is masculine, it remains masculine, even if the person who owns it is a woman. The same is true for feminine nouns.
Person being spoken to | Masculine noun | Feminine noun |
---|---|---|
Male | Your house is pretty (to a male) = (baytak jamiil) بَيْتَك جَميل | Your city is pretty (to a male) = (madiinatak jamiila) مَدينَتَك جَميلة |
Female | Your house is pretty (to a female) = (baytik jamiil) بَيْتِك جَميل | Your city is pretty (to a female) = (madiinatik jamiila) مَدينَتِك جَميلة |
A house will always be جَميل and a city will always be جَميلة, regardless of whose it is!
The new letter ض (Daad) is so important to the Arabic language that Arabs sometimes refer to themselves as أهل الضاد “people of the Daad.” We write it capital D with English letters.
ض is the last of Mr. T’s little brothers. It makes the same sound as د except the vowels around ض are more serious and grave. Here again, it will take practice to distinguish the two, but it’s important that you try!
Arabic version | English version | Meaning |
---|---|---|
دَلّ | dall | to show, guide |
ضَلّ | Dall | to stray |
You’ve now met all of Mr. T’s relatives. Some resources refer to them as “emphatics.” Here they all are with their non-emphatic equivalents.
Mr. T and relatives, Arabic version | Mr. T and relatives, English version | Regular letters, Arabic version | Regular letters, English version |
---|---|---|---|
ط | T | ت | t |
ظ | DH | ذ | dh |
ص | S | س | s |
ض | D | د | d |
Remember the letters in the left columns sound like those in the right columns except further back in the mouth.
You probably remember that in order to say “Judy has” in Arabic, you use the word عِنْد “at/to” followed by “Judy.”
Arabic version | Literal translation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
.عِنْد جودي بَيْت | at Judy a house | Judy has a house. |
What about “I have” and “you have”? Well, you also use عِنْد. Instead of someone’s name, you add a short ending to عِنْد — the same endings as when you say “my house” or “your house.”
Arabic version | Literal translation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
بَيْتي | house-my | my house |
.عِنْدي بَيْت | at-me a house | I have a house. |
-- | -- | -- |
بَيْتَك | house-your | your house (to a man) |
.عِنْدَك بَيْت | at-you (male) a house | You have a house. (to a man) |
-- | -- | -- |
بَيْتِك | house-your | your house (to a woman) |
.عِنْدِك بَيْت | at-you (female) a house | You have a house. (to a woman) |
To say “do not have / does not have” with the word you know for possession (عِنْد), all you need to do is add the word لَيْسَ (laysa) in front of it!
“have / has” sentences | Translation | “do not have / does not have” sentences | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
.عِنْد جودي بَيْت | Judy has a house. | .لَيْسَ عِنْد جودي بَيْت | Judy does not have a house. |
.عِنْدي كَلْب | I have a dog. | .لَيْسَ عِنْدي كَلْب | I do not have a dog. |
.عِنْدِك وِشاح | You have a scarf. (to a woman) | .لَيْسَ عِنْدِك وِشاح | You do not have a scarf. (to a woman) |
So far, every time you’ve seen an adjective describe a feminine noun, this adjective has ended with the letter ة.
مَدينة سورِيّة = a Syrian city اِمْرَأة ذَكِيّة = a smart woman
But some adjectives (especially adjectives that describe color) take a different form in the feminine.
Masculine examples | Translation | Feminine examples | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
بَيْت أَزْرَق | a blue house | مَدينة زَرْقاء | a blue city |
.اَلْبَيْت أَزْرَق | The house is blue. | .اَلْمَدينة زَرْقاء | The city is blue. |
It’s easiest to learn those special feminine adjectives together with the masculine: practice saying “2azraq / zarqaa2” أَزْرَق / زَرْقاء and repeat it until you’re blue in the face!
The new letter ص (written capital S with English letters) is another of Mr. T’s little brothers. It contrasts with س in the same way ط contrasts with ت : mostly with vowel sounds that are further in the back of the mouth.
Sam = (saam) سام
to fast = (Saam) صام
One more alif! While regular alif looks more like a sword, dagger alif is a tiny vertical line that sits above a letter, more like a dagger. It only appears in a few really old words in Arabic and it sounds exactly like ا.
this (masculine) = (haadhaa) هٰذا
but, however = (laakinn) لٰكِنّ
God = (allaah) اَلله
You know اَلْ means “the.” However, you may have noticed it’s used differently in Arabic than “the” is in English. For example, look at these sentences:
This is a house = (haadhaa bayt) هٰذا بَيْت
This is a city = (haadhihi madiina) هٰذِهِ مَدينة
BUT
this house = (haadhaa l-bayt) هٰذا ٱلْبَيْت
this city = (haadhihi l-madiina) هٰذِهِ ٱلْمَدينة
The ONLY difference between “this house” and “This is a house” is اَلْ ! Sneaky, sneaky Al.
The word هُناك (hunaak) means both “there” and “there is/there are.” So how will you know the difference? It’s easy: word order! When هُناك comes first in a sentence, it means “there is/there are.”
هُناك = there is/are | Translation | هُناك = there | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
.هُناك بَيْت | There is a house. | .اَلْبَيْت هُناك | The house is there. |
.هُناك وِشاح أَبْيَض | There is a white scarf. | .اَلْوِشاح هُناك | The scarf is there. |
To say “there is no” or “there are no,” simply add the negator لَيْسَ in front of هُناك.
Sentences with “there is/are” | Translation | Sentences with “there is no” | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
.هُناك بَيْت | There is a house. | .لَيْسَ هُناك بَيْت | There is no house. |
.هُناك وِشاح أَبْيَض | There is a white scarf. | .لَيْسَ هُناك وِشاح أَبْيَض | There is no white scarf. |
In English, if Bob has a house, you call it “Bob’s house.”
Possessor + ’s + what they possess
In Arabic, a very common way to express the same thing is called iDaafa. In iDaafa, the order is reversed.
The thing they possess + possessor
English examples | Equivalent in Arabic | English letters |
---|---|---|
Bob’s house | بَيْت بوب | bayt buub |
Carrie’s door | باب كَري | baab karii |
the girl’s dog | كَلْب اَلْبِنْت | kalb al-bint |
the boy’s scarf | وِشاح اَلْوَلَد | wishaaH al-walad |
If it helps, you can think of it as “the house of Bob” instead of “Bob’s house.”
Notice how in Arabic, the thing that is possessed never ever gets اَلْ even if the meaning in English is “the house” or “the dog.” It’s just the bare word!
The letter ة is a tricky one. First, it only ever shows up at the end of words. Second, you probably remember that it turns into ـَت (-at) before “my,” “your,” etc.
Arabic examples | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
مَدينة | madiina | a city |
مَدينَتي | madiinatii | my city |
-- | -- | -- |
جامِعة | jaami3a | a university |
جامِعَتَك | jaami3atak | your university (to a man) |
Here is something else that makes ة tricky: when the first word of an iDaafa (aka the thing that’s possessed) ends in ة, like in مَدينة بوب “the city of Bob” or “Bob’s city,” the spelling of ة doesn’t change but its pronunciation does. Instead of a, it is pronounced -at.
Arabic examples | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
مَدينة | madiina | a city |
مَدينة بوب | madiinat buub | Bob’s city |
-- | -- | -- |
جامِعة | jaami3a | a university |
جامِعة كَري | jaami3at karii | Carrie’s university |
-- | -- | -- |
قِطّة | qiTTa | a cat |
قِطّة اَلْوَلَد | qiTTat al-walad | the boy’s cat |
As in all iDaafas, the first word can’t have اَلْ “the” on it. It’s just the bare noun.
You already know how to say “my” and “your.” But what about “his” or “her”?
For “his,” just add (-hu) ﻪُ at the end of the word. And for “her,” add (-haa) ها instead. It’s that simple.
a (noun) | Pronunciation | Meaning | his (noun) | Pronunciation | Meaning | her (noun) | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
مِعْطَف | mi3Taf | a coat | مِعْطَفهُ | mi3Tafhu | his coat | مِعْطَفها | mi3Tafhaa | her coat |
بَيْت | bayt | a house | بَيْتهُ | baythu | his house | بَيْتها | baythaa | her house |
Remember that if the noun ends with ة, it turns into ـَت (-at) before “my,” “your,” “his,” “her,” etc.
a (noun) | Pronunciation | Meaning | his (noun) | Pronunciation | Meaning | her (noun) | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
مَدينة | madiina | a city | مَدينَتهُ | madiinathu | his city | مَدينَتها | madiinathaa | her city |
قُبَّعة | qubba3a | a hat | قُبَّعَتهُ | qubba3athu | his hat | قُبَّعَتها | qubba3athaa | her hat |
In English, we say “I write” and “you write” and “he writes” and “she writes.” You always have to include “I” or “we” or “he” or “she.”
In Arabic, words like “I,” “we,” and “you,” are optional before verbs. Fortunately, the Arabic verb alone can usually tell you who’s doing the action, because the verbs have a special form for (almost) each person. For example, the “I” form always starts with أ.
Arabic with English letters | Arabic verb | Meaning |
---|---|---|
2uHibb | أُحِبّ | I like/I love |
2anaam | أَنام | I sleep |
2abtasim | أَبْتَسِم | I smile |
To say “I do not (do something),” just add the short word (laa) لا in front of the verb!
I (do) | Meaning | I (do not) | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
أَطْبُخ | I cook | لا أَطْبُخ | I do not cook |
أُحِبّ | I like | لا أُحِبّ | I do not like |
In English, we say things like:
I like talking. Talking is my favorite.
In Arabic, you can replace “talking” in those examples with the word اَلْكَلام (al-kalaam). اَلْكَلام is a noun (for example, it begins with أَلْ “the” like a noun), but it feels verb-y. So we call it a “verbal noun.”
This isn’t the “talking” like in the sentence “I’m talking.” That gets translated differently.
Arabic version | Literal meaning | English translation |
---|---|---|
أَتَكَلَّم | I talk / I am talking | I talk / I am talking |
-- | -- | -- |
أُحِبّ اَلْكَلام. | I like the talking. | I like talking / I like to talk. |
أُريد اَلْكَلام. | I want the talking. | I want to talk. |
اَلْكَلام جَيِّد. | The talking is good. | Talking is good. |
Notice how the literal translation of اَلْكَلام is “the talking”--this is because verbal nouns are always used with اَلْ “the” (or some other definite marker).
Let’s review اَلْ!
Arabic “a” | Arabic with English letters | Meaning | Arabic “the” | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
بَيْت | bayt | a house | اَلْبَيْت | al-bayt | the house |
مُهَنْدِسة | muhandisa | an engineer | اَلْمُهَنْدِسة | al-muhandisa | the engineer |
قِطّة | qiTTa | a cat | اَلْقِطّة | al-qiTTa | the cat |
كَلْب | kalb | a dog | اَلْكَلْب | al-kalb | the dog |
All these nouns start with letters called “moon letters.” There’s another letter group called “sun letters.”
If a word starts with a sun letter and you add اَلْ “the” to it, two things happen: 1. You don’t pronounce the ل in اَلْ, and 2. The first letter in the word after اَلْ gets held twice as long.
Arabic “a” | Arabic with English letters | Meaning | Arabic “the” | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
زَوْجة | zawja | a wife | اَلْزَّوْجة | az-zawja | the wife |
سَيّارة | sayyaara | a car | اَلْسَّيّارة | as-sayyaara | the car |
دُكْتور | duktuur | a doctor | اَلْدُّكْتور | ad-duktuur | the doctor |
رَجُل | rajul | a man | اَلْرَّجُل | ar-rajul | the man |
In Arabic, it’s written like what you would expect (اَلْزَّوْجة). But with English letters, it’s not al-zawja but rather az-zawja. So instead of saying the l, you pronounce the z extra long.
Here is a list of all sun vs. moon letters:
Moon letters | Sun letters |
---|---|
أ | ت |
ب | ث |
ج | د |
ح | ذ |
خ | ر |
ع | ز |
غ | س |
ف | ش |
ق | ص |
ك | ض |
م | ط |
ﻫ | ظ |
و | ل |
ي | ن |
You already know how to say things like “a pretty house” or “a Syrian girl.”
Arabic version | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
بَيْت جَميل | bayt jamiil | a pretty house |
بِنْت سورِيّة | bint suuriyya | a Syrian girl |
مُتَرْجِم مُمْتاز | mutarjim mumtaaz | an amazing translator |
جامِعة مَشْهورة | jaami3a mashhuura | a famous university |
When a word has اَلْ “the” on it, the adjective that describes it also needs to start with اَلْ.
Arabic version | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
اَلْبَيْت اَلْجَميل | al-bayt al-jamiil | the pretty house |
اَلْبِنْت اَلْسّورِيّة | al-bint as-suuriyya | the Syrian girl |
اَلْمُتَرْجِم اَلْمُمْتاز | al-mutarjim al-mumtaaz | the amazing translator |
اَلْجامِعة اَلْمَشْهورة | al-jaami3a al-mashhuura | the famous university |
If you mean to say “the pretty house” اَلْبَيْت اَلْجَميل (al-bayt al-jamiil) but say اَلْبَيْت جَميل instead, the meaning changes. اَلْبَيْت جَميل = The house is pretty. That’s a full-fledged sentence!
al- al- | With English letters | Meaning | al- ∅- | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
اَلْبَيْت اَلْجَميل | al-bayt al-jamiil | the pretty house | .اَلْبَيْت جَميل | al-bayt jamiil. | The house is pretty. |
اَلْبِنْت اَلْسّورِيّة | al-bint as-suuriyya | the Syrian girl | .اَلْبِنْت سورِيّة | al-bint suuriyya. | The girl is Syrian. |
اَلْمُتَرْجِم اَلْمُمْتاز | al-mutarjim al-mumtaaz | the amazing translator | .اَلْمُتَرْجِم مُمْتاز | al-mutarjim mumtaaz | The translator is amazing. |
اَلْجامِعة اَلْمَشْهورة | al-jaami3a al-mashhuura | the famous university | .اَلْجامِعة مَشْهورة | al-jaami3a mashhuura. | The university is famous. |
When ء is followed by the long aaaaaa vowel (ا), it is spelled آ --this is an alif with a small wave on top of it. We write it 2aa in English letters. آ can appear at the beginning and in the middle of a word.
For example, the word اَلْقُرْآن (al-qur2aan) “the Qur’an / the Koran” contains a hamza followed by ا , and so it is spelled آ.
Some place names in Arabic begin with اَلْ “the,” and some don’t.
Arabic version | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
اَلْسّودان | as-suudaan | Sudan |
اَلْصّين | aS-Siin | China |
اَلْقاهِرة | al-qaahira | Cairo |
اَلْبُنْدُقِيّة | al-bunduqiyya | Venice |
-- | -- | -- |
فِلَسْطين | filasTiin | Palestine |
هولَنْدا | huulandaa | Holland |
بَغْداد | baghdaad | Baghdad |
طوكْيو | Tuukyuu | Tokyo |
You’ve already learned that ء can appear on top of a few different letters. Specifically, it can appear on top of و ,ي and ا.
Letter with ء | Regular letter |
---|---|
ؤ | و |
ئ (Notice: no dots!) | ي |
أ / إ | ا |
At this point, you don't need to know the hamza spelling rules. Just know hamza can show up in different positions.
Examples of words containing ء | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
قارِئ | qaari2 | reader |
غائِب | ghaa2ib | absent |
مَسْؤول | mas2uul | responsible |
يَبْدَأ | yabda2 | he begins |
شَيْء | shay2 | thing |
جاءَت | jaa2at | she came |
You already know that عِنْدي means I have and عِنْدَك/عِنْدِك means you have.
So what about he has or she has? Easy! For he has, just add (-hu) ﻪُ at the end of عِنْد, and for she has, add (-haa) ها instead.
To say he does not have and she does not have, use the word لَيْسَ.
“has” | Meaning | Arabic with English letters | “does not have” | Meaning | Arabic with English letters |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
عِنْدهُ | he has | 3indhu | لَيْسَ عِنْدهُ | he does not have | laysa 3indhu |
عِنْدها | she has | 3indhaa | لَيْسَ عِنْدها | she does not have | laysa 3indhaa |
You know how to make there is / there are sentences using the word هُناك:
Arabic version | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
هُناك مَطَر ثَقيل. | hunaak maTar thaqiil | There is heavy rain. |
هُناك وِشاح في شَنْطَتي. | hunaak wishaaH fii shanTatii | There is a scarf in my bag. |
لَيْسَ هُناك لُغة صَعْبة. | laysa hunaak lugha Sa3ba | There is no difficult language. |
You might also hear another way to say there is / there are in formal Arabic. This way uses reversed word order.
Arabic version | Arabic with English letters | Literal meaning | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
في شَنْطَتي وِشاح. | fii shanTatii wishaaH. | In my bag a scarf. | There is a scarf in my bag. |
أَمامي رَجُل غَريب. | 2amaamii rajul ghariib. | In front of me a weird man. | There is a weird man in front of me. |
في الْخَلْفِيّة بَيْت. | fii l-khalfiyya bayt. | In the background a house. | There is a house in the background. |
You’ve already seen hamza look like أ. This hamza doesn’t change whether it comes right after a consonant or a vowel.
أ NOT preceded by vowel | With English letters | Meaning | أ preceded by vowel | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
مُحَمَّد أُسْتاذي. | muHammad 2ustaadhii | Mohamed is my professor. | شادي أُسْتاذي. | shaadii 2ustaadhii | Shadi is my professor. |
لِز أُمّهُ. | liz 2ummhu | Liz is his mother. | مَها أُمّهُ. | mahaa 2ummhu | Maha is his mother. |
Some words start with ا and a short vowel on it without a hamza (like اِمْرَأة and اَلْ). When these words come right after a vowel, the short vowel on ا is replaced by a new symbol called waSla.
WaSla looks like this: ٱ. It simply means “Hi! The alif under me is silent! Move on to the next letter please!”
اَلْ NOT preceded by vowel | With English letters | Meaning | اَلْ preceded by vowel | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
مُحَمَّد اَلْمُعَلِّم | muHammad al-mu3allim | Mohamed the teacher | شادي ٱلْمُعَلِّم | shaadii l-mu3allim | Shadi the teacher |
لِز اَلْمُتَرْجِمة | liz al-mutarjima | Liz the translator | مَها ٱلْمُتَرْجِمة | mahaa l-mutarjima | Maha the translator |
اَلبَيْت | al-bayt | the house | في ٱلبَيْت | fii l-bayt | in the house |
WaSla basically blends the previous word to the word that starts with ٱ.
Sometimes, اَلْ “the” is preceded by a vowel (so it becomes ٱلْ) and followed by a sun letter.
For example, if you want to say “in the car,” you are putting together three pieces: في (fii) + اَلْ (al) + سَيّارة (sayyaara)
The ي of “in” turns اَلْ (al-) into ٱلْ (l-).
The س of “car” is a sun letter. So the ل in ٱلْ isn’t pronounced, and the س gets held for double the time.
The result is: في + اَلْ + سَيّارة = في ٱلْسَّيّارة = fii s-sayyaara
This is NOT fii al-sayyaara, but fii s-sayyaara. “The” basically dissolves into the mix! No trace of ا and no trace of ل (although اَلْ is still there in writing).
Numbers in Arabic are the only thing you have left to learn in order to be able to read anything written in Arabic!
Arabic numbers look different from English numbers, but both Arabic and English numbers are commonly used in Arabic. For example, at a traditional market, you’re more likely to see Arabic numbers, but in a text message you could see either.
One interesting thing to notice is that the digits within a number in Arabic are actually written left to right! So number 10, which is made up of ١ (1) and then ٠ (0), is spelled ١٠ (and NOT ٠١; that would be 01).
Isn’t Arabic fun?!
You know that the iDaafa structure is commonly used to express possession. Remember, in an iDaafa: 1. The thing that is possessed comes first, followed by the possessor; 2. The thing that is possessed must be a bare noun (aka no اَلْ “the” in Arabic); 3. If the thing that is possessed ends in ة, the ة is pronounced “-at.”
Here are some iDaafas you’re already familiar with.
English examples | Equivalent in Arabic | Arabic with English letters |
---|---|---|
Bob’s house | بَيْت بوب | bayt buub |
Mohamed’s restaurant | مَطْعَم مُحَمَّد | maT3am muHammad |
the engineer’s newspaper | صَحيفة اَلْمُهَنْدِس | SaHiifat al-muhandis |
IDaafa can also be used to express things other than possession, like “the city of Detroit” and “the state of Texas.”
English examples | Equivalent in Arabic | Arabic with English letters |
---|---|---|
the city of Detroit | مَدينة ديتْرويْت | madiinat diitruuyt |
the state of Texas | وِلاية تَكْساس | wilaayat taksaas |
George Washington University | جامِعة جورْج واشِنْطُن | jaami3at juurj waashinTun |
You probably remember that a tiny slash above a letter makes the sound a and two tiny slashes at the end of a word make the sound an.
Arabic word | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
شُكْراً | shukran | thank you |
صَباحاً | SabaaHan | in the morning |
مَساءً | masaa2an | in the evening |
There are also special markings for -in and -un!
Words with -i or -u | With English letters | Words with -in or -un | With English letters |
---|---|---|---|
اَلْبَيْتِ | al-bayti | بَيْتٍ | baytin |
اَلْبَيْتُ | al-baytu | بَيْتٌ | baytun |
Let’s review some present verbs! Remember, the “I” form always starts with أ.
Arabic verbs | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أُحِبّ | 2uHibb | I like / I love |
أَفْتَح | 2aftaH | I open |
أَعْرِف | 2a3rif | I know |
Here are the forms when different people are doing the action:
Arabic verb | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أُحِبّ | 2uHibb | I like/love |
تُحِبّ | tuHibb | you like/love (to a male) |
تُحِبّين | tuHibbiin | you like/love (to a female) |
يُحِبّ | yuHibb | he likes/loves |
تُحِبّ | tuHibb | she likes/loves |
Arabic verb | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أَنام | 2anaam | I sleep |
تَنام | tanaam | you sleep (to a male) |
تَنامين | tanaamiin | you sleep (to a female) |
يَنام | yanaam | he sleeps |
تَنام | tanaam | she sleeps |
Note that, because all Arabic nouns are either masculine or feminine, the “he” and “she” forms can be used to refer to things that aren’t people. For example, “city” is feminine so it takes the “she” verb تَنام (tanaam) in the example below.
This city does not sleep. = (haadhihi l-madiina laa tanaam) هٰذِهِ ٲلْمَدينة لا تَنام.
In English, if someone says, “What’s up?” to you, there are a few specific answers you can give. (“Not much,” “Hey, what’s up,” “How’s it going…”). Arabic has some of these question-and-answer formulas, too!
Speaker 1 says: | Meaning | Speaker 2 responds: | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
صَباح اَلْخَيْر | Good morning (literally “morning of good”) | صَباح اَلْنّور | Good morning (literally “morning of light”) |
مَساء اَلْخَيْر | Good evening (literally “evening of good”) | مَساء اَلْنّور | Good evening (literally “evening of light”) |
اَلْسَّلامُ عَلَيْكُم | Peace be upon you | وَعَلَيْكُمُ ٲلْسَّلام | And upon you be peace |
Knowing these formulas will let you show off your cultural and linguistic know-how.
Note that while the greeting اَلْسَّلامُ عَلَيْكُم (as-salaamu 3alaykum) “peace be upon you” is very common, it is usually associated with Islam. This means, for example, that a Christian will not normally use this greeting with another Christian.
In some contexts, like spelling or clarifying contrast between sounds, knowing the names of the Arabic letters may be useful to you. Below are those names, using our transliteration system.
Note that the Arabic alphabet technically includes all but the last three letters listed in this table.
Arabic letter | Name of the letter (transliterated) |
---|---|
ا | 2alif |
ب | baa2 |
ت | taa2 |
ث | thaa2 |
ج | jiim |
ح | Haa2 |
خ | khaa2 |
د | daal |
ذ | dhaal |
ر | raa2 |
ز | zaay |
س | siin |
ش | shiin |
ص | Saad |
ض | Daad |
ط | Taa2 |
ظ | DHaa2 |
ع | 3ayn |
غ | ghayn |
ف | faa2 |
ق | qaaf |
ك | kaaf |
ل | laam |
م | miim |
ن | nuun |
ه | haa2 |
و | waaw |
ي | yaa2 |
ء | hamza |
ى | 2alif maqSuura |
ة | taa2 marbuuTa |
Arabic has two ways of asking “what?”
Use ما in questions that don’t contain a verb. (Ignore the fact that the English translation has a verb in it — what matters is the Arabic!)
Arabic with English letters | Arabic examples | English translation |
---|---|---|
maa smak? | ما ٱسْمَك؟ | What’s your name? |
maa ra2yik? | ما رَأْيِك؟ | What do you think? (Literally: What’s your opinion?) |
Use ماذا in sentences that contain a verb.
Arabic with English letters | Arabic examples | English translation |
---|---|---|
maadhaa tuHibbiin? | ماذا تُحِبّين؟ | What do you love / What would you like? |
maadhaa 2adrus? | ماذا أَدْرُس؟ | What do I study? |
Beware! In questions like “What book?” where in English you can replace “what” with “which” (= ”Which book?”), Arabic doesn’t use ما nor ماذا. You will learn the word for this type of “what” soon.
In Standard Arabic, in order to say “2 o’clock” you say الساعة الثانية “the second hour,” and in order to say “3 o’clock” you say الساعة الثالثة “the third hour.” This is true for all hours from 2 to 12.
Hours 2-12 in Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Literal meaning | English equivalent |
---|---|---|---|
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْثّانْية | as-saa3a ath-thaanya | the second hour | 2 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْثّالِثة | as-saa3a ath-thaalitha | the third hour | 3 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْرّابِعة | as-saa3a ar-raabi3a | the fourth hour | 4 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْخامِسة | as-saa3a al-khaamisa | the fifth hour | 5 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْسّادِسة | as-saa3a as-saadisa | the sixth hour | 6 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْسّابِعة | as-saa3a as-saabi3a | the seventh hour | 7 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْثّامِنة | as-saa3a ath-thaamina | the eighth hour | 8 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْتّاسِعة | as-saa3a ath-taasi3a | the ninth hour | 9 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْعاشِرة | as-saa3a al-3aashira | the tenth hour | 10 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْحادْية عَشَرة | as-saa3a al-Haadya 3ashara | the eleventh hour | 11 o’clock |
اَلْسّاعة ٱلْثّانْية عَشَرة | as-saa3a ath-thaanya 3ashara | the twelfth hour | 12 o’clock |
For “1 o’clock” though, you’ll just say اَلْسّاعة ٱلْواحِدة “the hour one” and NOT “the first hour.”
And note that you don’t say AM and PM! Instead, you say “in the morning,” “in the afternoon,” “in the evening,” etc. So 2 PM would be اَلْسّاعة ٱلْثّانْية بَعْد اَلْظُّهْر (literally “the second hour after noon”).
You already know that usually, instead of saying something like I am from Lebanon, you say أنا من لبنان (literally “I from Lebanon”). The “am” or “are” or “is” drops out.
How about if you’re not from somewhere, or not a lawyer, or not something else? You simply use the word لَسْتُ [lastu].
I am not from Lebanon = أنا لَسْتُ من لبنان or just لَسْتُ من لبنان
I am not sick = أَنا لَسْتُ مَريضة or just لَسْتُ مَريضة
I am not home = أَنا لَسْتُ في ٱلْبَيْت or just لَسْتُ في ٱلْبَيْت
I am not from here = أَنا لَسْتُ مِن هُنا or just لَسْتُ مِن هُنا
So far, you haven’t seen many plural nouns in Arabic, but this is about to change! Check out these singular-plural pairs you’ll learn in the next few lessons:
Arabic with English letters | Arabic examples | English translation |
---|---|---|
fiilm - 2aflaam | فيلْم - أَفْلام | movie - movies |
dars - duruus | دَرْس - دُروس | lesson - lessons |
risaala - rasaa2il | رِسالة - رَسائِل | letter - letters |
qariib - 2aqaarib | قَريب - أَقارِب | relative - relatives |
Sadiiq - 2aSdiqaa2 | صَديق - أَصْذِقاء | friend - friends |
kitaab - kutub | كِتاب - كُتُب | book - books |
lugha - lughaat | لُغة - لُغات | language - languages |
As you can see, each plural noun above looks a little different! Now when you learn new words, you’ll learn the singular-plural pair together.
Don’t worry, though! Once you know more vocabulary, you’ll be able to start predicting the plural of new nouns with good accuracy.
You know how in English some words that share a root also have a common meaning, like for example the root “home” in words like “homey,” “homeless” and “homebound?” Or the root “myth” in words like “mythical,” “mythological” and “mythology?” Arabic does sort of the same thing!
In English, we usually form new words by taking the base word (the “root”) and sticking something before or after it (like un- or -less or -ical). Arabic, though, takes letters and inserts them before, after and in between the consonants of the root.
So, for example, if “myth” was an actual Arabic root M - Y - TH that had to do with myths, then you could probably find the following words in Arabic: MaaYiTH, MiYaaTHa, muMaaYaTHa, istaMYaTHa, muMtaYiTH, taMYiiTH, taMaaYuTH, yanMaYiTH, and many more. The meaning of all these words would have to do with myths!
Arabic speakers are able to easily understand the root meaning of each word by listening to the consonants, even new words they’ve never heard. That’s because the extra letters are not added randomly but follow specific patterns. You’ll learn more about patterns later.
Now that you get the idea, here are some actual Arabic examples. Look at the singular-plural pairs below.
Arabic with English letters | Arabic examples | English translation |
---|---|---|
DaRS - DuRuuS | دَرْس - دُروس | lesson - lessons |
RiSaaLa - RaSaa2iL | رِسالة - رَسائِل | letter - letters |
QaRiiB - 2aQaaRiB | قَريب - أَقارِب | relative - relatives |
The root of the word دَرْس (DaRS) “lesson” is the sequence د - ر - س D-R-S. The meaning of this root is connected to studying. This same root appears in the same order in the plural دُروس (DuRuuS) “lessons” but also in other words, like the verb يَدْرُس (yaDRuS) “he studies” or the noun مَدْرَسة (maDRaSa) “school” (literally, the place of study).
Try to identify the root of words you already know and see if you can start making connections between words that share the same root!
You already know that to say “She likes writing,” you’d say تُحِبّ اَلْكِتابة tuHibb al-kitaaba. The word اَلْكِتابة means “writing.”
But what if you don’t just like writing, but “writing letters”? Or “reading a book?” In order to say this, use an iDaafa construction with the verbal noun (e.g. اَلْكِتابة، اَلْقِراءة etc.) as the first term. Just as a reminder: iDaafa is the structure that’s commonly used to express possession and it follows the following guidelines:
Here are some examples of verbal nouns first on their own (“writing”) and then in iDaafa construction (“writing letters”).
English sentence | Arabic equivalent | Arabic with English letters | Literal translation of the Arabic |
---|---|---|---|
Writing is fun. | اَلْكِتابة مُمْتِعة. | al-kitaaba mumti3a | The writing is fun. |
Writing letters is fun. | كِتابة اَلْرَّسائِل مُمْتِعة. | kitaabat ar-rasaa2il mumti3a | Writing of the letters is fun. |
-- | -- | -- | -- |
I like reading. | أُحِبّ اَلْقِراءة. | 2uHibb al-qiraa2a | I like the reading. |
I like reading books. | أُحِبّ قِراءة اَلْكُتُب. | 2uHibb qiraa2at al-kutub | I like reading of the books. |
You’ve noticed that the use of اَلْ (al-) in Arabic and “the” in English doesn’t always match up. Here are some examples of how to use اَلْ when discussing food.
When discussing specific food items (i.e. “the chicken from yesterday,” “the coffee you made,” “the salt that’s on the table,” etc.), use اَلْ. This is similar to English.
I like the chicken from yesterday. = أُحِبّ اَلْدَّجاج مِن أَمْس. (2uHibb ad-dajaaj min 2ams)
The trickier part is when you want to discuss categories of food in general (i.e. “chicken,” “bread,” “coffee,” etc.). In this case, the use of اَلْ is mostly determined by the verb you choose.
LIKE
If you like a food in general, use اَلْ.
I like chicken. = أُحِبّ اَلْدَّجاج. (2uHibb ad-dajaaj)
I like coffee. = أُحِبّ اَلْقَهْوة. (2uHibb al-qawha)
WANT
If you want a type of food in general, do not use اَلْ.
I want chicken. = أُريد دَجاجاً (2uriid dajaajan)
I want coffee. = أُريد قَهْوة (2uriid qahwa)
EAT/DRINK
If you are discussing eating or drinking a type of food in general, using اَلْ on food items is optional. If you use it, you’ll sound more formal than if you don’t.
I eat chicken. = آكُل دَجاجاً (2aakul dajaajan) OR آكُل اَلْدَّجاج (2aakul ad-dajaaj)
I drink coffee every morning. = أَشْرَب قَهْوة كُلّ صَباح (2ashrab qahwa kull SabaaH) OR أَشْرَب اَلْقَهْوة كُلّ صَباح (2ashrab al-qahwa kull SabaaH)
Look at this example sentence.
I want chicken. = أُريد دَجاجاً (2uriid dajaajan)
Do you wonder why the word دَجاج “chicken” ends with اً “-an” in this sentence? That’s because “chicken” doesn’t take “the” or “my, your, etc.” AND it is the object of a verb (I want what? I want… chicken!).
اً is used to mark indefinite direct objects. Here are more examples.
I want a friend. = أُريد صَديقاً (2uriid Sadiiqan)
I eat bread. = آكُل خُبْزاً (2aakul khubzan)
I want a new house. = أُريد بَيْتاً جَديداً (2uriid baytan jadiidan)
Note that any adjective that accompanies a noun ending in اً also needs to end in اً (baytan jadiidan “a new house”).
Remember that if a noun ends in ة, ً just sits on the ة directly without an alif seat. In this case, ً -an is typically not written even though technically it’s there.
I want coffee. = أُريد قَهْوة (2uriid qahwa) OR أُريد قَهْوةً (2uriid qahwatan)
Time to review some present verbs! Remember, the “I” form always starts with أ. Below are the forms when different people are doing the action (including, for the first time, some plurals).
Arabic verbs | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أُحِبّ | 2uHibb | I like/love |
تُحِبّ | tuHibb | you like/love (to a male) |
تُحِبّين | tuHibbiin | you like/love (to a female) |
يُحِبّ | yuHibb | he likes/loves |
تُحِبّ | tuHibb | she likes/loves |
نُحِبّ | nuHibb | we like/love |
تُحِبّون | tuHibbuun | you all like/love |
يُحِبّون | yuHibbuun | they like/love |
Arabic verb | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أَنام | 2anaam | I sleep |
تَنام | tanaam | you sleep (to a male) |
تَنامين | tanaamiin | you sleep (to a female) |
يَنام | yanaam | he sleeps |
تَنام | tanaam | she sleeps |
نَنام | nanaam | we sleep |
تَنامون | tanaamuun | you all sleep |
يَنامون | yanaamuun | they sleep |
Today, you’ll learn the Arabic word that corresponds to “which” in questions like “which book are you reading?”
This word comes in two forms: أَيّ is masculine and أَيّة is feminine. To decide which one to use, simply match the gender of the noun that follows it.
Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أَيّ كِتاب؟ | 2ayy kitaab | Which book? |
أَيّ رَجُل؟ | 2ayy rajul | Which man? |
أَيّ بَيْت؟ | 2ayy bayt | Which house? |
-- | -- | -- |
أَيّة وِلاية؟ | 2ayya wilaaya | Which state? |
أَيّة مُشْكِلة؟ | 2ayya mushkila | Which problem? |
أَيّة خالة؟ | 2ayya khaala | Which maternal aunt? |
Colloquial English uses “what” and “which” interchangeably in sentences like “what/which book are you reading?” Don’t let that confuse you! If you can replace “what” with “which” in English, then أَيّ / أَيّة is the word you want in Arabic.
Most words in Arabic are based on a 3-consonant root. When ي (y) or و (w) is the last consonant in the root of a verb, this verb is called weak, which means that it looks a little different when you put endings on it. The new verb يَشْتَري yashtarii “he buys” is based on the weak root ش - ر - ي SH - R - Y. Pay attention to what happens to the final ي in the present tense below.
Arabic verb | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أَشْتَري | a2ashtarii | I buy |
تَشْتَري | tashtarii | you buy (to a male) |
تَشْتَرين | tashtariin | you buy (to a female) |
يَشْتَري | yashtarii | he buys |
تَشْتَري | tashtarii | she buys |
نَشْتَري | nashtarii | we buy |
تَشْتَرون | tashtaruun | you all buy |
يَشْتَرون | yashtaruun | they buy |
See what happens with “you” (to a female), “you all” and “they”? The final ي of the verb gets eaten by the endings ين and ون !
To say “because” in Arabic, use the word لِأَنَّ (li2anna). A couple of things to know about لِأَنَّ:
First, لِأَنَّ must be followed by a complete sentence, such as “because humans are weird,” “because war sucks,” “because cartoons saved my life.”
Second, the word directly following لِأَنَّ must be the subject of the sentence.
Sentence without “because” | Meaning in English | Sentence with “because” | Meaning in English |
---|---|---|---|
اَلْعالَم غَريب. | The world is weird. | لِأَنَّ ٱلْعالَم غَريب. | Because the world is weird. |
أُخْتي تَدْرُس كَثيراً. | My sister studies a lot. | لِأَنَّ أُخْتي تَذْرُس كَثيراً. | Because my sister studies a lot. |
Note that subject pronouns (i.e. I, you, he, she, etc.) combine with لِأَنَّ in the following way: لِأَنَّ + أَنا = لِأَنَّني "because I" لِأَنَّ + أَنْتَ = لِأَنَّك "because you (male)" لِأَنّ + أَنْتِ = لِأَنِّك "because you (female)" لِأَنّ + هُوَّ = لِأَنَّهُ "because he/it" لِأَنّ + هِيَّ = لِأَنَّها "because she/it"
Sentence without “because” | Meaning in English | Sentence with “because” | Meaning in English |
---|---|---|---|
أَنا مِن مِصْر. | I am from Egypt. | لِأَنَّني مِن مِصر. | Because I am from Egypt. |
أَنْتِ أُمّي. | You are my mother. | لِأَنِّك أُمّي. | Because you are my mother. |
هِيَّ مُعَلِّمة مُمْتازة. | She is an amazing teacher. | لِأَنَّها مُعَلِّمة مُمْتازة. | Because she is an amazing teacher. |
هُوَّ سَعيد. | He is happy. | لِأَنَّهُ سَعيد. | Because he is happy. |
The short word لِ li- (to, for) in Arabic can’t stand on its own; instead, it needs to be attached to the following word in writing.
Example in Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
لِأَبي | li-2abii | to/for my father |
لِهٰذِهِ ٱلْأُسْتاذة | li-haadhihi l-2ustaadha | to/for this professor |
لِبَيْروت | li-bayruut | to/for Beirut |
When the word following لِ starts with الْ al- (the), the alif in الْ disappears both in pronunciation and writing, just like this: لِ + الْ = لِل
Example in Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
لِلْبِنْت | li-l-bint | to/for the girl |
لِلْأُسْتاذة | li-l-2ustaadha | to/for the professor |
لِلْقاهِرة | li-l-qaahira | to/for Cairo |
A while back, you learned that the word دَجاج dajaaj is grammatically singular but can have a plural meaning. For instance, if you saw dajaaj at the farm, then you saw chickens rather than a single chicken.
English also has nouns like that. Take “furniture,” for example. You’d say, “Our furniture IS really nice” (as opposed to “are”), even though “furniture” doesn’t refer to one item but rather to a bunch of things (desks, tables, chairs, couch, etc.).
You’re about to learn more of those nouns in Arabic -- carrots جَزَر jazar, tomatoes بَنَدورة banaduura, and squash كوسا kuusaa are all singular in Arabic but they refer to a group of items.
Good news! Expressing the future in Arabic is really easy: just add سَ sa- at the beginning of a present verb. Below is the verb “to drink” in the present and future tense, and you can do this with any verb!
Present verb | Arabic with English letters | Meaning | Future verb | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
أَشْرَب | a2ashrab | I drink | سَأَشْرَب | sa-2ashrab | I will drink |
تَشْرَب | tashrab | you drink (to a male) | سَتَشْرَب | sa-tashrab | you will drink (to a male) |
تَشْرَبين | tashrabiin | you drink (to a female) | سَتَشْرَبين | sa-tashrabiin | you will drink (to a female) |
يَشْرَب | yashrab | he drinks | سَيَشْرَب | sa-yashrab | he will drink |
تَشْرَب | tashrab | she drinks | سَتَشْرَب | sa-tashrab | she will drink |
نَشْرَب | nashrab | we drink | سَنَشْرَب | sa-nashrab | we will drink |
تَشْرَبون | tashrabuun | you all drink | سَتَشْرَبون | sa-tashrabuun | you all will drink |
يَشْرَبون | yashrabuun | they drink | سَيَشْرَبون | sa-yashrabuun | they will drink |
Words like مَعَ (with), في (in, at), مِن (from), عَن (from, off), etc. combine with words like me, you, her, etc. so they become a single word in Arabic. Here is how “with” combines with other words:
Example in Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
مَعي | ma3ii | with me |
مَعَك | ma3ak | with you (to a male) |
مَعِك | ma3ik | with you (to a female) |
مَعَهُ | ma3ahu | with him |
مَعَها | ma3ahaa | with her |
You already know how to say “I love my daughter” and “My cat eats all my food,” but what about “I love her” and “My cat eats it?” Below are some ways to say this!
Example in Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
يُحِبّني | yuHibb-nii | he likes/loves me |
تَعْرِفني | ta3rif-nii | you know me |
-- | -- | -- |
أُحِبَّك | a2uHibb-ak | I like/love you (to a male) |
تَعْرِفَك | ta3rif-ak | she knows you (to a female) |
-- | -- | -- |
يُحِبِّك | yuHibb-ik | he likes/loves you (to a female) |
نَعْرِفِك | na3rif-ik | we know you (to a female) |
-- | -- | -- |
أُحِبّهُ | a2uHibb-hu | I like/love him |
آكُلهُ | a2aakulhu | I eat it |
-- | -- | -- |
يُحِبّها | yuHibb-haa | he likes/loves her |
نَشْرَبْها | nashrab-haa | we drink it |
Notice that these words like “her” and “it” attach to the end of the verb!
The word أَخ a2akh (brother) changes depending on what role it’s playing in the sentence.
Example in Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
.هُوَّ أَخ | huwwa 2akh | He is a brother. |
.هُوَّ أَخو مُحَمَّد | huwwa 2akhuu muHammad | He is Mohamed’s brother. |
.أَخو مُحَمَّد مُمْتِع | a2akhuu muHammad mumti3 | Mohamed’s brother is fun. |
أَخو is only used if the word “brother” is the first word in an iDaafa, i.e. the brother of John, the brother of the teacher, the brother of Maryam, etc. or even your brother, her brother, etc. In every other case, the basic form أَخ is used.
Example in Arabic | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أَخو جون يَعْمَل كَثيراً | a2akhuu juun ya3mal kathiiran | The brother of John/John’s brother works a lot. |
عُمَر أَخو جون | a3umar a2akhuu juun | Omar is the brother of John/John’s brother. |
You already know how to say “my,” “your,” “his” and “her.” Now you will learn the plural forms: “our,” “your (to more than one person)” and “their.” Here are all the forms you know so far, attached to the noun بَيْت bayt (house).
my house, your house, etc. | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
بَيْت | bayt | house |
بَيْتي | bayt-ii | my house |
بَيْتَك | bayt-ak | your house (to a man) |
بَيْتِك | bayt-ik | your house (to a woman) |
بَيْتهُ | bayt-hu | his house |
بَيْتها | bayt-haa | her house |
بَيْتنا | bayt-naa | our house |
بَيْتكم | bayt-kum | your house (to more than one person) |
بَيْتهُم | bayt-hum | their house |
Remember that if the noun ends with ة, it turns into ـَت (-at) before “my,” “your,” “his,” “her,” etc. Below are all the forms you know so far, attached to the noun جامِعة jaami3a (university) which ends in ة.
my university, your university, etc. | Pronunciation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
جامِعة | jaami3a | university |
جامِعَتي | jaami3at-ii | my university |
جامِعَتَك | jaami3at-ak | your university (to a man) |
جامِعَتِك | jaami3at-ik | your university (to a woman) |
جامِعَتهُ | jaami3at-hu | his university |
جامِعَتها | jaami3at-haa | her university |
جامِعَتنا | jaami3at-naa | our university |
جامِعَتكُم | jaami3at-kum | your university (to more than one person) |
جامِعَتهُم | jaami3at-hum | their university |
In very formal Arabic, -kum كُم (your) and -hum هُم (their) are used only for groups of at least three people including at least one man. But in slightly less formal, spoken Arabic, -kum كُم (your) and -hum هُم (their) can be used for any group of two or more people.
The same endings used to say “our,” “your (plural)” and “their” are also used on عِنْد to express “we have,” “y’all have” and “they have.”
To say “we/y’all/they do not have,” just use the word لَيْسَ.
Arabic version | Literal translation | Meaning |
---|---|---|
عِنْدي سَيّارة | at-me a car | I have a car. |
لَيْسَ عِنْدي سَيّارة | not at-me a car | I do not have a car. |
-- | -- | -- |
عِنْدَك سَيّارة | at-you a car | You have a car. (to a man) |
لَيْسَ عِنْدَك سَيّارة | not at-you a car | You do not have a car. (to a man) |
-- | -- | -- |
عِنْدِك سَيّارة | at-you a car | You have a car. (to a woman) |
لَيْسَ عِنْدِك سَيّارة | not at-you a car | You do not have a car. (to a woman) |
-- | -- | -- |
عِنْدهُ سَيّارة | at-him a car | He has a car. |
لَيْسَ عِنْدهُ سَيّارة | not at-him a car | He does not have a car. |
-- | -- | -- |
عِنْدها سَيّارة | at-her a car | She has a car. |
لَيْسَ عِنْدها سَيّارة | not at-her a car | She does not have a car. |
-- | -- | -- |
عِنْدنا سَيّارة | at-us a car | We have a car. |
لَيْسَ عِنْدنا سَيّارة | not at-us a car | We do not have a car. |
-- | -- | -- |
عِنْدكُم سَيّارة | at-you a car | You have a car. (to more than one person) |
لَيْسَ عِنْدكُم سَيّارة | not at-you a car | You do not have a car. (to more than one person) |
-- | -- | -- |
عِنْدهُم سَيّارة | at-them a car | They have a car. |
لَيْسَ عِنْدهُم سَيّارة | not at-them a car | They do not have a car. |
In more formal Arabic, the feminine لَيْسَت is used if the thing you don’t have is feminine, e.g. لَيْسَ عِنْدي بَيْت vs. لَيْسَت عِنْدي سَيّارة. But in slightly less formal, spoken Arabic, لَيْسَ can be used regardless of what is not possessed.
The new word أَنْ is a big deal in Arabic. أَنْ is used much like English “to” in sentences like “we want TO talk,” and like English “that” in sentences like “I hope THAT you sleep in.”
You may remember that Arabic words like اَلْكَلام “talking” and اَلْكِتابة “writing” are called verbal nouns. Well, أَنْ introduces a verb clause in place of a verbal noun. So in order to say “we want to talk,” you can either say نُريد اَلْكَلام nuriid al-kalaam or نُريد أَنْ نَتَكَلَّم nuriid 2an natakallam.
Here are more examples of sentences in two versions: one with the verbal noun and one with أَنْ.
English sentence | Version 1 (verbal noun) | Version 1 with English letters | Version 2 (أَنْ) | Version 2 with English letters |
---|---|---|---|---|
I like to sleep. | أُحِبّ اَلْنَّوْم | 2uHibb an-nawm | أُحِبّ أَنْ أَنام | 2uHibb 2an 2anaam |
You must talk with him. | يَجِب اَلْكَلام مَعَهُ | yajib al-kalaam ma3ahu | يَجِب أَنْ تَتَكَلَّم مَعَهُ | yajib 2an tatakallam ma3ahu |
We can eat now. | مِن اَلْمُمْكِن اَلْأَكْل اَلْآن | min al-mumkin al-2akl al-2aan | مِن اَلْمُمْكِن أَنْ نَأْكُل اَلْآن | min al-mumkin 2an na2kul al-2aan |
As you see from the examples above, what follows أَنْ is a verb in the present. But this is a special present! Pay attention to “sleep” in Arabic in the following examples:
Arabic example | Example with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
يَجِب أَنْ أَنام | yajib 2an 2anaam | I must sleep. |
يَجِب أَنْ تَنام | yajib 2an tanaam | You must sleep. (to a man) / She must sleep. |
يَجِب أَنْ تَنامي | yajib 2an *tanaamii | You must sleep. (to a woman) |
يَجِب أَنْ يَنام | yajib 2an yanaam | He must sleep. |
يَجِب أَنْ نَنام | yajib 2an nanaam | We must sleep. |
يَجِب أَنْ تَناموا | yajib 2an tanaamuu | Y’all must sleep. |
يَجِب أَنْ يَناموا | yajib 2an yanaamuu | They must sleep. |
For I, you (to a man), he, she and we, this new present looks the same as the present you already know. But for you (to a woman), y’all and they, it looks different: the ن at the end of the verb drops out, and a silent alif ا appears instead for y’all and they only.
Present you already know | With English letters | Meaning | New present | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
تَنامين | tanamiin | You sleep. (to a woman) | مِن اَلْمُمْكِن أَنْ تَنامي | min al-mumkin 2an *tanaamii | You can sleep. (to a woman) |
تَنامون | tanamuun | Y’all sleep. | مِن اَلْمُمْكِن أَنْ تَناموا | min al-mumkin 2an *tanaamuu | Y’all can sleep. |
يَنامون | yanamuun | They sleep. | مِن اَلْمُمْكِن أَنْ يَناموا | min al-mumkin 2an *yanaamuu | They can sleep. |
By now, you’ve noticed that singular nouns that end in ة are usually feminine, while those that don’t are usually masculine.
But some feminine nouns don’t end in ة! Some common ones are things that usually come in pairs in the human body, like “eye,” “hand” and “foot.”
a _ | In Arabic | With English letters | a big __ | In Arabic | With English letters |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
an eye | عَيْن | 3ayn | a big eye | عَيْن كَبيرة | 3ayn kabiira |
a hand | يَد | yad | a big hand | يَد كَبيرة | yad kabiira |
a foot | رِجْل | rijl | a big foot | رِجْل كَبيرة | rijl kabiira |
See how “big” is in the feminine in the examples above? That’s because “eye,” “hand” and “foot” are feminine nouns, even though they don’t end in ة!
Over the next few lessons, you’ll start seeing different verbs in the command form, like “open your mouth!” or “give me some carrots!” For now, it’s best if you just learn a few of those verbs one at a time without worrying too much about how they are formed.
One thing you’ll notice right away is that, regardless of the verb, when you’re addressing a woman, the verb ends in ي -ii and when you’re addressing a group of people, the verb ends in وا -uu (the alif is silent, just like it is after أَنْ).
In English | To a man | With English letters | To a woman | With English letters | To a group | With English letters |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open your mouth | اِفْتَح فَمَك | iftaH famak | اِفْتَحي فَمِك | iftaHii famik | اِفْتَحوا فَمكُم | iftaHuu famkum |
Come | تَعالَ | ta3aala | تَعالي | ta3aalii | تَعالوا | ta3aaluu |
The verb تَفَضَّل expresses all these meanings. This arises form an Arabic cultural concept of honoring your guest. It literally means "please do me a favor and come in/take this thing/ pass ahead of me". Isn't it nice?
You know that in order to say “She is an engineer,” you just say هِيَّ مُهَنْدِسة (literally, “she engineer”).
However, when you want to say something that happened in the past like “I was tired” or something that will happen like “I will be there,” you don’t drop the “was” or “will be.” You also use يَكون yakuun, meaning “to be,” after أَنْ.
Arabic example | Example with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
أُريد أَنْ أَكون مُهَنْدِساً / مُهَنْدِسة | 2uriid 2an 2akuun muhandisan / muhandisa | I want to be an engineer. |
تُريد أَنْ تَكون مُهَنْدِساً | turiid 2an takuun muhandisan | You want to be an engineer. (to a man) |
تُريدين أَنْ تَكوني مُهَنْدِسة | turiidiin 2an takuunii muhandisa | You want to be an engineer. (to a woman) |
يُريد أَنْ يَكون مُهَنْدِساً | yuriid 2an yakuun muhandisan | He wants to be an engineer. |
تُريد أَنْ تَكون مُهَنْدِسة | turiid 2an takuun muhandisa | She wants to be an engineer. |
نُريد أَنْ نَكون مُهَنْدِسين | nuriid 2an nakuun muhandisiin | We want to be engineers. |
تُريدون أَنْ تَكونوا مُهَنْدِسين | turiiduun 2an takuunuu muhandisiin | Y’all want to be engineers. |
يُريدون أَنْ يَكونوا مُهَنْدِسين | yuriiduun 2an yakuunuu muhandisiin | They want to be engineers. |
After this new verb “to be,” the thing you want to be ends in اً -an (as long as that thing doesn’t end in ة and doesn’t have “the” or “my, your, his, etc.” on it.)
You may remember that most words in Arabic are based on a 3-consonant root, like د - ر - س D - R - S in يَدْرُس yaDRuS “he studies.” Let’s practice finding the root of the following adjectives.
Adjective in Arabic | Root | Adjective in English |
---|---|---|
صَعْب | ص - ع - ب | difficult |
سَهْل | س - ه - ل | easy |
كَبير | ك - ب - ر | big |
صَغير | ص - غ - ر | small |
قَديم | ق - د - م | old |
جَديد | ج - د - د | new |
غالي | غ - ل - ي | expensive |
رَخيص | ر - خ - ص | cheap |
غَنِيّ | غ - ن - ي | rich |
فَقير | ف - ق - ر | poor |
Now that we have those roots, we can make comparisons, like “more difficult” or “cheaper.” To do that, you just plug the root in the following three blanks: 2a _ _ a _
So if the root is ك - ب - ر K - B - R (like in كَبير), you will end up with: 2a K B a R = أَكْبَر
Let’s try it with all the same adjectives as above!
Comparative with English letters | Comparative in Arabic (2a _ _ a _) | Meaning | Root |
---|---|---|---|
2aS3ab | أَصْعَب | more difficult | ص - ع - ب |
2ashal | أَسْهَل | easier | س - ه - ل |
2akbar | أَكْبَر | bigger | ك - ب - ر |
2aSghar | أَصْغَر | smaller | ص - غ - ر |
2aqdam | أَقْدَم | older | ق - د - م |
2ajadd | أَجَدّ | newer | ج - د - د |
2aghlaa | أَغْلى | more expensive | غ - ل - ي |
2arkhaS | أَرْخَص | cheaper | ر - خ - ص |
2aghnaa | أَغْنى | richer | غ - ن - ي |
2afqar | أَفْقَر | poorer | ف - ق - ر |
Some interesting comparatives above are:
أَجَدّ (and not أَجْدَد) for adjective جَديد -- that’s what happens when the second and third consonants of the root are the same letter (in this case J - D - D)!
أَغْلى “more expensive” (2aghlaa) and أَغْنى “richer” (2aghnaa) where the combination short a + final ii = aa (and NOT ay)
To say “easier than” or “poorer than,” just use the word مِن min.
مَحْمود أَفْقَر مِن سام (maHmoud 2afqar min saam) “Mahmoud is poorer than Sam”
غَسّان أَغْنى مِن عُمَر (ghassaan 2aghnaa min 3umar) “Ghassan is richer than Omar
One nice thing about making comparisons in Arabic is that the comparative stays the same whether you’re talking about a man, a woman or a group of people.
Comparison in Arabic | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
مَحْمود أَكْبَر مِن رانْيا | maHmoud 2akbar min raanyaa | Mahmoud is older than Rania. |
رانْيا أَكْبَر مِن بَشير | raanyaa 2akbar min bashiir | Rania is older than Bashir. |
-- | -- | -- |
أُمّي أَغْنى مِن أَبي | 2ummii 2aghnaa min 2abii | My mother is richer than my father. |
أَبي أَفْفَر مِن أٌمّي | 2abii 2afqar min 2ummii | My father is poorer than my mother. |
The word “other” in Arabic is آخَر in the masculine. Beware: the feminine doesn’t take ة but rather follows a different pattern: أُخْرى.
Examples in Arabic | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
يَوْم مُمْطِر آخَر | yawm mumTir 2aakhar | another rainy day |
رَجُل آخَر | rajul 2aakhar | another man |
اَلْآخَر | al-2aakhar | the Other / the other one |
-- | -- | -- |
مَرّة أُخْرى | marra 2ukhraa | another time, again |
اِمْرَأة أُخْرى | imra2a 2ukhraa | another woman |
اَلْأُخْرى | al-2ukhraa | the other one |
Some nouns that are plural in English are singular in Arabic, like “pants” and “shoes.” This means those nouns take singular agreement, as illustrated by the examples below.
Examples in Arabic | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
هٰذا ٱلْبِنْطال جَميل | haadha l-binTaal jamiil | These pants are pretty. |
أُريد اَلْحِذاء اَلْأَزْرَق اَلْجَديد | 2uriid al-Hidhaa2 al-2azraq al-jadiid | I want the new blue shoes. |
Do you notice the singular masculine agreement with all words that describe “pants” and “shoes” in the table above? That’s how it works! If it’s easier, you can think of these words are “a pair of pants” and “a pair of shoes.”
You know that if you want to describe a masculine noun, you use a masculine adjective/verb/pronoun, etc. And if the noun is feminine, the agreement is feminine.
Examples of agreement with nouns | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
اَلْمَكْتَب كَبير. | al-maktab kabiir | The office is big. |
اَلْجامِعة كَبيرة. | al-jaami3a kabiira | The university is big. |
-- | -- | -- |
هٰذا ٱلْبَيْت لا يَنام | haadhaa l-bayt laa yanaam | This house does not sleep. |
هٰذِهِ ٱلْمَدينة لا تَنام | haadhihi l-madiina laa tanaam | This city does not sleep. |
-- | -- | -- |
!هٰذا ٱلْبِنْطال؟ نَعَم أُحِبّهُ كَثيراً | haadhaa l-binTaal? na3am 2uHibbhu kathiiran | This pair of pants? Yes, I like it a lot! |
!هٰذِهِ ٱلْصَّحيفة؟ نَعَم أُحِبّها كَثيراً | haadhihi S-SaHiifa? na3am 2uHibbhaa kathiiran | This newspaper? Yes, I like it a lot! |
One thing we haven’t seen yet is how to describe plural nouns. Arabic treats non-human plurals (e.g. cars, books, lessons, etc.) and human plurals (e.g. people, teachers, Arabs, Americans, etc.) differently. Today we’ll learn how to deal with non-human plurals.
Formal Arabic tends to view non-human plurals as one set, as opposed to a bunch of individual items. For this reason, it considers non-human plurals as singular. Non-human plurals take feminine singular agreement. This means that in order to describe non-human plurals, you will use words like هِيَّ (“they”), هٰذِهِ (“these”), ها (“them”), etc.
Examples of agreement with non-human plural nouns | With English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|
اَلْدُّروس سَهْلة | ad-duruus sahla | The lessons are easy. |
هٰذِهِ ٱلْلُّغات لَيْسَت صَعْبة أَبَداً | haadhihi l-lughaat laysat Sa3ba 2abadan | These languages are not difficult at all. |
-- | -- | -- |
أَفْلامهُ تُساعِدني | 2aflaamhu tusaa3idnii | His movies help me. |
هٰذه ٱلْكُتُب؟ نَعَم أُحِبّها كَثيراً | haadhihi l-kutub? na3am 2uHibbhaa kathiiran | These books? Yes, I like them a lot. |
To say “I will go,” you know to add سَ in front of the present verb أَذْهَب “I go.” The result is سَأَذْهَب sa-2adhhab “I will go.”
But what about “I will NOT go” or “we will NOT eat” or “they will NOT speak” etc.? To say this, use the word لَنْ lan followed by the verb, i.e. لَنْ أَذْهَب lan 2adhhab “I will not go.”
The table below contrasts “will” and “will not.”
Will | Arabic with English letters | Meaning | Will not | Arabic with English letters | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
سَأَشْرَب | sa-2ashrab | I will drink | لَنْ أَشْرَب | lan 2ashrab | I will not drink |
سَتَشْرَب | sa-tashrab | you will drink (to a male) | لَنْ تَشْرَب | lan tashrab | you will not drink (to a male) |
سَتَشْرَبين | sa-tashrabiin | you will drink (to a female) | لَنْ تَشْرَبي | lan tashrabii | you will not drink (to a female) |
سَيَشْرَب | sa-yashrab | he will drink | لَنْ يَشْرَب | lan yashrab | he will not drink |
سَتَشْرَب | sa-tashrab | she will drink | لَنْ تَشْرَب | lan tashrab | she will not drink |
سَنَشْرَب | sa-nashrab | we will drink | لَنْ نَشْرَب | lan nashrab | we will not drink |
سَتَشْرَبون | sa-tashrabuun | you all will drink | لَنْ تَشْرَبوا | lan tashrabuu | you all will not drink |
سَيَشْرَبون | sa-yashrabuun | they will drink | لَنْ يَشْرَبوا | lan yashrabuu | they will not drink |
As you see in the examples above, the present verb after لَنْ takes some special forms: the ن drops out at the end of the verb for you (to a woman), you all and they, AND a silent alif is added at the end of the verb for you all and they only. This is just like the verb after أَنْ!