100 Basic Arabic Words for Beginners (MSA + Transliteration)
🇸🇦 Arabic · 100 cards · A1 · by Nour Haddad
These are the 100 words I hand to anyone in their first week of Arabic: greetings, pronouns, question words, family, food, time, the commonest adjectives and verbs, and the little prepositions that hold a sentence together. Every headword is Modern Standard Arabic — the Arabic of news, books and street signs — and whenever what we actually say in Beirut or Cairo is a different word, I put it in the note, so you always know which Arabic you are memorising. The alphabet is not the hard part; the short vowels are, because ordinary texts leave them out. Read the transliteration once, then cover it and work from the Arabic alone. Verbs appear in the he-form of the present, the way dictionaries cite them.
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All 100 cards
| # | Arabic | Pronunciation | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | مَرْحَبًا Neutral and safe at any time of day. In Levantine speech it is shortened to مَرْحَبا marḥaba. | marḥaban | hello, hi | مَرْحَبًا، تَفَضَّلْ بِالدُّخُول. Hello, please come in. | |
| 2 | السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم The standard reply is وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَام (wa-ʿalaykumu al-salām). Used across the Arab world by speakers of all religions. | al-salāmu ʿalaykum | peace be upon you (hello) | السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُم، كَيْفَ حَالُكُم؟ Peace be upon you, how are you all? | |
| 3 | أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا Often shortened to just أَهْلًا (ahlan), which also works as a casual 'hi'. | ahlan wa-sahlan | welcome | أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا بِكَ فِي بَيْتِنَا. Welcome to our home. | |
| 4 | صَبَاحُ الخَيْر The expected reply is صَبَاحُ النُّور (ṣabāḥ al-nūr), literally 'a morning of light'. | ṣabāḥ al-khayr | good morning | صَبَاحُ الخَيْر، القَهْوَة جَاهِزَة. Good morning, the coffee is ready. | |
| 5 | مَسَاءُ الخَيْر Used from late afternoon onwards. Reply: مَسَاءُ النُّور (masāʾ al-nūr). | masāʾ al-khayr | good evening | مَسَاءُ الخَيْر، هَلْ مَا زَالَ المَحَلّ مَفْتُوحًا؟ Good evening, is the shop still open? | |
| 6 | مَعَ السَّلَامَة Literally 'with safety'. It is what the person staying says to the person leaving; the one leaving can say إِلَى اللِّقَاء (ilá al-liqāʾ). | maʿa al-salāma | goodbye | مَعَ السَّلَامَة، أَرَاكَ غَدًا. Goodbye, see you tomorrow. | |
| 7 | كَيْفَ الحَال؟ MSA. In Beirut people say كِيفَك kīfak (to a man) / كِيفِك kīfik (to a woman); in Egypt إِزَّيَّك izzayyak. | kayfa al-ḥāl | how are you? | كَيْفَ الحَال؟ لَمْ أَرَكَ مُنْذُ زَمَنٍ طَوِيل. How are you? I haven't seen you in ages. | |
| 8 | نَعَمْ MSA. Everyday spoken forms are آه āh or إِي ē in the Levant, أَيْوَه aywa in Egypt. | naʿam | yes | نَعَمْ، هٰذَا صَحِيح تَمَامًا. Yes, that's exactly right. | |
| 9 | لَا Also negates present-tense verbs: لَا أُرِيد (lā urīd) = 'I don't want'. | lā | no; not | لَا، لَسْتُ جَائِعًا الآن. No, I'm not hungry right now. | |
| 10 | شُكْرًا Same word everywhere. جَزِيلًا (jazīlan) adds 'very much'. | shukran | thank you | شُكْرًا جَزِيلًا عَلَى المُسَاعَدَة. Thank you very much for the help. | |
| 11 | عَفْوًا Two jobs: the reply to shukran, and a polite 'excuse me / pardon' when you bump into someone or need attention. | ʿafwan | you're welcome; excuse me, pardon | عَفْوًا، لَمْ أَقْصِدْ ذٰلِك. Pardon me, I didn't mean that. | |
| 12 | مِنْ فَضْلِكَ min faḍlika to a man, مِنْ فَضْلِكِ min faḍliki to a woman; in speech both shorten to min faḍlak / min faḍlik. | min faḍlika | please | الحِسَاب مِنْ فَضْلِكَ. The bill, please. | |
| 13 | آسِف Said by a man; a woman says آسِفَة (āsifa). For a real apology add سَامِحْنِي (sāmiḥnī) 'forgive me'. | āsif | sorry | أَنَا آسِف عَلَى التَّأْخِير. I'm sorry for being late. | |
| 14 | أَنَا Arabic has no 'am/is/are', so أَنَا + noun is already a full sentence. | anā | I | أَنَا مِنْ بَيْرُوت. I'm from Beirut. | |
| 15 | أَنْتَ Pronounced inta in most dialects. | anta | you (to a man) | هَلْ أَنْتَ جَاهِز لِلخُرُوج؟ Are you ready to go out? | |
| 16 | أَنْتِ Written exactly like أَنْتَ when the vowels are omitted; context tells you which one it is. Spoken inti. | anti | you (to a woman) | أَنْتِ مُحِقَّة فِي كَلَامِك. You're right in what you say. | |
| 17 | هُوَ Also used for any masculine object: 'it'. | huwa | he, it | هُوَ يَعْمَل فِي شَرِكَة كَبِيرَة. He works at a big company. | |
| 18 | هِيَ Also stands for feminine objects and for non-human plurals ('they' for things). | hiya | she, it | هِيَ تُحِبّ المُوسِيقَى الهَادِئَة. She likes quiet music. | |
| 19 | نَحْنُ MSA. Spoken: نِحْنَا niḥna in the Levant, إِحْنَا iḥna in Egypt. | naḥnu | we | نَحْنُ فِي الطَّرِيق إِلَيْك. We're on our way to you. | |
| 20 | هُمْ Masculine or mixed group; هُنَّ (hunna) for an all-female group. Dialects use هِنِّي hinne (Levant) or هُمَّ humma (Egypt) for everyone. | hum | they (people) | هُمْ يَنْتَظِرُون فِي الخَارِج. They're waiting outside. | |
| 21 | مَنْ MSA. In speech it is مِين mīn almost everywhere. Do not confuse it with مِنْ min 'from'. | man | who | مَنْ طَرَقَ البَاب؟ Who knocked on the door? | |
| 22 | مَا مَا before a noun, مَاذَا (mādhā) before a verb. Spoken: شُو shū (Levant), إِيه ēh (Egypt). | mā | what | مَا اسْمُ هٰذَا الشَّارِع؟ What's the name of this street? | |
| 23 | أَيْنَ Spoken: وَين wēn (Levant), فِين fēn (Egypt). | ayna | where | أَيْنَ وَضَعْتَ المَفَاتِيح؟ Where did you put the keys? | |
| 24 | مَتَى Spoken: إِيمْتَى ēmta (Levant), إِمْتَى imta (Egypt). | matá | when | مَتَى يَبْدَأ الفِيلْم؟ When does the film start? | |
| 25 | لِمَاذَا Spoken: لِيش lēsh (Levant), لِيه lēh (Egypt). | limādhā | why | لِمَاذَا تَأَخَّرْتَ اليَوْم؟ Why were you late today? | |
| 26 | كَيْفَ Spoken: كِيف kīf (Levant), إِزَّاي izzāy (Egypt). | kayfa | how | كَيْفَ أَصِل إِلَى المَحَطَّة؟ How do I get to the station? | |
| 27 | كَمْ The noun after كَمْ stays singular. For a price people say بِكَمْ؟ (bi-kam) 'how much is it?' | kam | how many, how much | كَمْ عُمْرُك؟ How old are you? | |
| 28 | هٰذَا Normally written هذا with no long alif but pronounced hādhā. Dialects say هَادَا hāda (Levant), دَه da (Egypt). | hādhā | this (masculine) | هٰذَا كُرْسِيّ مُرِيح. This is a comfortable chair. | |
| 29 | هٰذِهِ Dialects: هَيّ hayy or هَادِي hādi (Levant), دِي di (Egypt). | hādhihi | this (feminine) | هٰذِهِ حَقِيبَتِي، لَيْسَت حَقِيبَتَك. This is my bag, not yours. | |
| 30 | هُنَا Spoken: هُون hōn (Levant), هِنَا hina (Egypt). | hunā | here | تَعَالَ هُنَا لَحْظَة. Come here a second. | |
| 31 | هُنَاكَ هُنَاكَ also means 'there is/are': هُنَاكَ مُشْكِلَة (hunāka mushkila) = 'there's a problem'. | hunāka | there | ضَعِ الصُّنْدُوق هُنَاكَ. Put the box over there. | |
| 32 | اسْم Masculine. مَا اسْمُك؟ (mā ismuk) = 'What's your name?' — the initial alif is a hamzat waṣl, so it drops after a vowel. | ism | name | اسْمِي عَلَى القَائِمَة. My name is on the list. | |
| 33 | رَجُل Plural رِجَال (rijāl). Dialects usually say زَلَمِة zalame (Levant) or رَاجِل rāgil (Egypt). | rajul | man | يَنْتَظِر رَجُل عِنْدَ البَاب. A man is waiting at the door. | |
| 34 | امْرَأَة With the article it becomes المَرْأَة (al-marʾa). Plural نِسَاء (nisāʾ). In dialect مَرَة mara can sound blunt; سِتّ sitt is politer. | imraʾa | woman | هٰذِهِ المَرْأَة طَبِيبَة مَشْهُورَة. This woman is a well-known doctor. | |
| 35 | وَلَد Plural أَوْلَاد (awlād), which also means 'children' in general. | walad | boy, son | الوَلَد يَلْعَب فِي الحَدِيقَة. The boy is playing in the park. | |
| 36 | بِنْت Plural بَنَات (banāt). The same word covers both 'girl' and 'daughter'. | bint | girl, daughter | عِنْدِي بِنْت فِي الخَامِسَة مِنْ عُمْرِهَا. I have a five-year-old daughter. | |
| 37 | صَدِيق Male friend; a female friend is صَدِيقَة (ṣadīqa). Spoken: رْفِيق rfīq or صَاحِب ṣāḥib. | ṣadīq | friend | صَدِيقِي يَدْرُس الطِّبّ. My friend is studying medicine. | |
| 38 | عَائِلَة Feminine. أَهْل (ahl) is the more colloquial word for 'family, folks'. | ʿāʾila | family | عَائِلَتِي كُلُّهَا تَعِيش فِي الجَنُوب. My whole family lives in the south. | |
| 39 | أُمّ When speaking to her, people say مَامَا (māma), or يَمَّا (yamma) in parts of the Levant. | umm | mother | أُمِّي تَتَّصِل بِي كُلَّ مَسَاء. My mother calls me every evening. | |
| 40 | أَب 'My father' is أَبِي (abī), or colloquially بَابَا (bābā); the form أَبُو (abū) 'father of' appears in names and nicknames. | ab | father | أَبِي يَقْرَأ الجَرِيدَة كُلَّ صَبَاح. My father reads the newspaper every morning. | |
| 41 | أَخ 'My brother' = أَخِي (akhī). Plural إِخْوَة (ikhwa). | akh | brother | لِي أَخ أَكْبَر مِنِّي بِسَنَتَيْن. I have a brother two years older than me. | |
| 42 | أُخْت Plural أَخَوَات (akhawāt). | ukht | sister | أُخْتِي تَعِيش فِي الخَارِج. My sister lives abroad. | |
| 43 | بَيْت Masculine; plural بُيُوت (buyūt). مَنْزِل (manzil) is more formal; دَار (dār) is common in North Africa. | bayt | house, home | بَيْتُنَا قَرِيب مِنَ البَحْر. Our house is near the sea. | |
| 44 | بَاب Masculine. Plural أَبْوَاب (abwāb). | bāb | door, gate | أَغْلِقِ البَاب، الجَوّ بَارِد. Close the door, it's cold. | |
| 45 | غُرْفَة Feminine; plural غُرَف (ghuraf). In the Levant a room in a house is often أُوضَة ōḍa, but ghurfa is standard and used in hotels everywhere. | ghurfa | room | الغُرْفَة صَغِيرَة لٰكِنَّهَا مُشْمِسَة. The room is small but sunny. | |
| 46 | كِتَاب Plural كُتُب (kutub). Same root as كَتَبَ 'he wrote' and مَكْتَب 'office, desk'. | kitāb | book | هٰذَا الكِتَاب مُمْتِع جِدًّا. This book is really interesting. | |
| 47 | قَلَم Plural أَقْلَام (aqlām). Covers both; a pencil specifically is قَلَم رَصَاص (qalam raṣāṣ). | qalam | pen, pencil | هَلْ مَعَكَ قَلَم؟ Do you have a pen on you? | |
| 48 | هَاتِف MSA and written signage. In daily speech: تِلِفُون telifōn or مُوبَايْل mōbāyl. | hātif | phone | نَسِيتُ هَاتِفِي فِي السَّيَّارَة. I forgot my phone in the car. | |
| 49 | مَال MSA. Spoken: مَصَارِي maṣāri (Levant), فُلُوس fulūs (Egypt and elsewhere). | māl | money | لَيْسَ مَعِي مَال كَافٍ. I don't have enough money on me. | |
| 50 | سَيَّارَة Feminine. Plural سَيَّارَات (sayyārāt). | sayyāra | car | سَيَّارَتُهُ الجَدِيدَة حَمْرَاء. His new car is red. | |
| 51 | مَاء Spoken: مَيّ mayy (Levant), مَيَّة mayya (Egypt). | māʾ | water | أَعْطِنِي كُوب مَاء، مِنْ فَضْلِكَ. Give me a glass of water, please. | |
| 52 | خُبْز Spoken: خِبِز khibiz (Levant); in Egypt bread is عِيش ʿēsh. | khubz | bread | اشْتَرَيْتُ خُبْزًا طَازِجًا مِنَ الفُرْن. I bought fresh bread from the bakery. | |
| 53 | طَعَام Slightly formal. In everyday speech people say أَكْل akl. | ṭaʿām | food | الطَّعَام فِي هٰذَا المَطْعَم لَذِيذ. The food in this restaurant is delicious. | |
| 54 | قَهْوَة Feminine. Pronounced ʾahwe / ʾahwa in most dialects (no q sound); in Egypt قَهْوَة also means 'café'. | qahwa | coffee | أَشْرَبُ القَهْوَة بِدُونِ سُكَّر. I drink my coffee without sugar. | |
| 55 | شَاي Same word in every dialect. | shāy | tea | هَلْ تُرِيد شَايًا أَمْ قَهْوَة؟ Would you like tea or coffee? | |
| 56 | حَلِيب Careful: in Egypt milk is لَبَن laban, while in the Levant laban means yogurt. | ḥalīb | milk | أَشْرَبُ الحَلِيب قَبْلَ النَّوْم. I drink milk before bed. | |
| 57 | سُكَّر The related word السُّكَّرِي (al-sukkarī) means 'diabetes'. | sukkar | sugar | أَضِفْ مِلْعَقَة سُكَّر إِلَى الكُوب. Add a spoon of sugar to the cup. | |
| 58 | مَطْعَم Plural مَطَاعِم (maṭāʿim). Same root as طَعَام 'food'. | maṭʿam | restaurant | نَلْتَقِي فِي المَطْعَم فِي السَّاعَة الثَّامِنَة. We're meeting at the restaurant at eight. | |
| 59 | سُوق Can be treated as masculine or feminine; plural أَسْوَاق (aswāq). | sūq | market | السُّوق مُزْدَحِم يَوْمَ السَّبْت. The market is crowded on Saturdays. | |
| 60 | مَدْرَسَة Feminine; plural مَدَارِس (madāris). Same root as يَدْرُس 'he studies'. | madrasa | school | يَذْهَب الأَوْلَاد إِلَى المَدْرَسَة بِالحَافِلَة. The children go to school by bus. | |
| 61 | مَدِينَة Feminine; plural مُدُن (mudun). | madīna | city | أُحِبّ المَشْي فِي المَدِينَة القَدِيمَة. I like walking in the old city. | |
| 62 | بَلَد Plural بِلَاد (bilād) or بُلْدَان (buldān). In dialect balad can also mean 'town, village'. | balad | country | مِنْ أَيِّ بَلَد أَنْتَ؟ What country are you from? | |
| 63 | شَارِع Masculine; plural شَوَارِع (shawāriʿ). | shāriʿ | street | الشَّارِع مُغْلَق أَمَامَ السَّيَّارَات. The street is closed to cars. | |
| 64 | يَوْم اليَوْم (al-yawm) means 'today'. Plural أَيَّام (ayyām). | yawm | day | كَانَ يَوْمًا طَوِيلًا وَمُتْعِبًا. It was a long, tiring day. | |
| 65 | لَيْلَة لَيْل (layl) is night as a stretch of time; لَيْلَة is one particular night. Plural لَيَالٍ (layālin). | layla | night | قَضَيْنَا لَيْلَة هَادِئَة عَلَى الشَّاطِئ. We spent a quiet night on the beach. | |
| 66 | أُسْبُوع Plural أَسَابِيع (asābīʿ). From سَبْعَة 'seven'. | usbūʿ | week | سَأُسَافِر بَعْدَ أُسْبُوع. I'm travelling in a week. | |
| 67 | شَهْر Plural أَشْهُر (ashhur) or شُهُور (shuhūr). | shahr | month | أَدْفَع الإِيجَار فِي بِدَايَة الشَّهْر. I pay the rent at the beginning of the month. | |
| 68 | سَنَة Irregular plural سَنَوَات (sanawāt). عَام (ʿām) is a more formal synonym. | sana | year | تَعَلَّمْتُ العَرَبِيَّة فِي سَنَة وَاحِدَة. I learned Arabic in one year. | |
| 69 | وَقْت Time in the abstract sense. For clock time you need سَاعَة. | waqt | time | لَيْسَ عِنْدِي وَقْت اليَوْم. I don't have time today. | |
| 70 | سَاعَة Three meanings in one word. To ask the time: كَمِ السَّاعَة؟ (kam al-sāʿa) 'What time is it?' | sāʿa | hour; clock, watch | اِنْتَظَرْتُ سَاعَة كَامِلَة. I waited a whole hour. | |
| 71 | الآن MSA. Spoken: هَلَّق hallaʾ (Levant), دِلْوَقْتِي dilwaʾti (Egypt). | al-ān | now | أَنَا مَشْغُول الآن، سَأَتَّصِل بِكَ لَاحِقًا. I'm busy now, I'll call you later. | |
| 72 | غَدًا MSA. In speech everyone says بُكْرَا bukra. | ghadan | tomorrow | سَنَبْدَأ العَمَل غَدًا صَبَاحًا. We'll start work tomorrow morning. | |
| 73 | أَمْس Usually pronounced amsi in a sentence. Spoken: مْبَارِح mbāriḥ (Levant), إِمْبَارِح imbāriḥ (Egypt). | ams | yesterday | أَمْسِ كَانَ الطَّقْس مُمْطِرًا. Yesterday the weather was rainy. | |
| 74 | كَبِير Feminine كَبِيرَة (kabīra). Of people it means 'grown-up' or 'elderly', never 'fat'. | kabīr | big, large; old (of a person) | هٰذَا الحِذَاء كَبِير عَلَيّ. These shoes are too big for me. | |
| 75 | صَغِير Feminine صَغِيرَة (ṣaghīra). Also used for a young person. | ṣaghīr | small, young | عِنْدَهُم كَلْب صَغِير وَلَطِيف. They have a small, sweet dog. | |
| 76 | جَدِيد Adjectives follow the noun and agree with it: سَيَّارَة جَدِيدَة (sayyāra jadīda) 'a new car'. | jadīd | new | بَدَأْتُ عَمَلًا جَدِيدًا هٰذَا الشَّهْر. I started a new job this month. | |
| 77 | قَدِيم Not used for a person's age — for that say كَبِير فِي السِّنّ (kabīr fī al-sinn). | qadīm | old (of things) | أُحِبّ الأَغَانِي القَدِيمَة أَكْثَر. I prefer the old songs. | |
| 78 | جَيِّد MSA and school reports. In speech: مْنِيح mnīḥ (Levant), كُوَيِّس kwayyis (Egypt). | jayyid | good | لُغَتُكَ العَرَبِيَّة جَيِّدَة. Your Arabic is good. | |
| 79 | سَيِّئ Feminine سَيِّئَة (sayyiʾa). Dialects often just say مِش مْنِيح / مِش كُوَيِّس ('not good'). | sayyiʾ | bad | الطَّقْس سَيِّئ، لَنْ نَخْرُج. The weather is bad, we won't go out. | |
| 80 | جَمِيل Works for people, places and things. The everyday Levantine word is حِلْو ḥilu (fem. حِلْوِة ḥilwe). | jamīl | beautiful, nice | المَنْظَر مِنَ الشُّرْفَة جَمِيل. The view from the balcony is beautiful. | |
| 81 | كَثِير As an adverb it takes the ending كَثِيرًا (kathīran) = 'a lot, often'. | kathīr | much, many, a lot | عِنْدِي عَمَل كَثِير هٰذَا الأُسْبُوع. I have a lot of work this week. | |
| 82 | قَلِيل قَلِيلًا (qalīlan) = 'a little' as an adverb; the spoken equivalent is شْوَيّ shwayy. | qalīl | few, little | نِمْتُ قَلِيلًا اللَّيْلَة المَاضِيَة. I slept a little last night. | |
| 83 | سَهْل Feminine سَهْلَة (sahla). The identical-looking noun سَهْل also means 'a plain' (geography). | sahl | easy | الوُصُول إِلَى المَطَار سَهْل بِالمِتْرُو. Getting to the airport is easy by metro. | |
| 84 | صَعْب Feminine صَعْبَة (ṣaʿba). Also used of a difficult person. | ṣaʿb | difficult, hard | القَرَار صَعْب، أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى وَقْت. The decision is hard, I need time. | |
| 85 | يَذْهَب Cited in the 'he' form of the present, as dictionaries do; past ذَهَبَ (dhahaba). MSA only — dialects use بِيرُوح birūḥ (present) / رَاح rāḥ (went). | yadhhab | to go | أَذْهَبُ إِلَى العَمَل سَيْرًا عَلَى الأَقْدَام. I walk to work. | |
| 86 | يَأْتِي The imperative تَعَالَ (taʿāl) 'come!' is irregular and is used in MSA and in every dialect. | yaʾtī | to come | هَلْ تَأْتِي مَعَنَا هٰذَا المَسَاء؟ Are you coming with us this evening? | |
| 87 | يَأْكُل Past أَكَلَ (akala). The related noun أَكْل (akl) means 'food' in everyday speech. | yaʾkul | to eat | نَأْكُلُ فِي السَّابِعَة عَادَةً. We usually eat at seven. | |
| 88 | يَشْرَب Nearly identical in dialect: بْيِشْرَب byishrab. | yashrab | to drink | اشْرَبْ مَاءً، الجَوّ حَارّ. Drink some water, it's hot. | |
| 89 | يُرِيد MSA. Spoken: بِدِّي biddī 'I want' (Levant), عَايِز ʿāyiz (Egypt). | yurīd | to want | أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَحْجِزَ طَاوِلَة لِشَخْصَيْن. I'd like to book a table for two. | |
| 90 | يَعْرِف For knowing facts and knowing people. Negative: لَا أَعْرِف (lā aʿrif) 'I don't know'. | yaʿrif | to know | هَلْ تَعْرِف مَتَى يُغْلِق المَحَلّ؟ Do you know when the shop closes? | |
| 91 | يَتَكَلَّم يَتَحَدَّث (yataḥaddath) is a more formal synonym. Spoken: بْيِحْكِي byiḥkī (Levant), بْيِتْكَلِّم byitkallim (Egypt). | yatakallam | to speak, to talk | أَتَكَلَّمُ العَرَبِيَّة قَلِيلًا. I speak a little Arabic. | |
| 92 | يَفْهَم The same verb in all dialects: مَا فْهِمْت (mā fhimt) 'I didn't get it'. | yafham | to understand | لَمْ أَفْهَمْ، هَلْ يُمْكِنُكَ أَنْ تُعِيد؟ I didn't understand, can you repeat that? | |
| 93 | يَعْمَل In Egyptian, عِمِل ʿimil is mostly 'do/make', while 'to work' is بْيِشْتَغَل byishtaghal. | yaʿmal | to work; to do, to make | يَعْمَلُ فِي مَصْرِف مُنْذُ سَنَوَات. He has worked at a bank for years. | |
| 94 | يَسْكُن Used for where you live. يَعِيش (yaʿīsh) is 'to live' in the sense of being alive or living a certain life. | yaskun | to live, to reside | أَسْكُنُ فِي الطَّابِق الثَّالِث. I live on the third floor. | |
| 95 | فِي In Levantine and Egyptian speech فِيه fīh also means 'there is/are'. | fī | in, at | المِفْتَاح فِي جَيْبِي. The key is in my pocket. | |
| 96 | مِنْ Before the definite article it is read mina l-: مِنَ البَيْت mina l-bayt. | min | from, of | خَرَجْتُ مِنَ البَيْت مُبَكِّرًا. I left the house early. | |
| 97 | إِلَى MSA. Dialects usually use لَـ la- / عَـ ʿa-: رِحْت عَالسُّوق riḥt ʿa-s-sūq 'I went to the market'. | ilá | to, towards | نَصِل إِلَى المَطَار فِي العَاشِرَة. We arrive at the airport at ten. | |
| 98 | مَعَ مَعِي maʿī 'with me', مَعَكَ maʿaka 'with you'. مَعَكَ...؟ also asks whether someone has something on them. | maʿa | with | تَعَالَ مَعِي إِلَى السُّوق. Come with me to the market. | |
| 99 | عِنْدَ Arabic has no verb 'to have': عِنْدِي ʿindī = 'I have', عِنْدَكَ ʿindaka = 'you have'. Also 'at someone's place'. | ʿinda | at, by; to have | عِنْدِي سُؤَال بَسِيط. I have a simple question. | |
| 100 | وَ Always written attached to the following word, with no space. Pronounced wa in MSA, w or u in dialect. | wa | and | اشْتَرَيْتُ تُفَّاحًا وَمَوْزًا. I bought apples and bananas. |
Nour Haddad
Native Arabic · Speaks English, French
Beirut native. My decks use Modern Standard Arabic and say so when a word is really Levantine or Egyptian, because learners deserve to know which one they are memorising.
Published
Questions about this deck
- Is this deck Modern Standard Arabic or a dialect?
- Every headword is Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the shared written language of news, books, signs and formal speech. Where the everyday spoken word in the Levant or Egypt is different — hallaʾ for 'now', bukra for 'tomorrow', biddī for 'I want', mīn for 'who' — the note says so, so you learn the standard form and still recognise the spoken one when you hear it.
- Why are the verbs listed as yadhhab, yaʾkul and not as infinitives?
- Arabic has no infinitive like English 'to go'. Dictionaries cite a verb by its third-person masculine singular, either past (dhahaba) or present (yadhhab). This deck uses the present 'he' form because that is the shape you change most: swap the prefix and you get أَذْهَب adhhab (I go), تَذْهَب tadhhab (you go), نَذْهَب nadhhab (we go).
- Do I have to learn the vowel marks shown on the cards?
- You need them now, not forever. Normal Arabic text writes only consonants and long vowels, so kitāb appears simply as كتاب. The fatḥa, kasra and ḍamma printed here tell you how the word sounds while you memorise it; after a few weeks, cover the transliteration and read the bare letters, which is what you meet in real life.
- How do I say 'you', 'please' and 'sorry' to a woman?
- Arabic marks the gender of the person you address. To a man: أَنْتَ anta, مِنْ فَضْلِكَ min faḍlika, أَنَا آسِف anā āsif. To a woman: أَنْتِ anti, مِنْ فَضْلِكِ min faḍliki, أَنَا آسِفَة anā āsifa. Unvowelled writing hides the difference — أنت covers both — so when reading you rely on context.
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