Arabic Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-08-2022

If you want to become a more fluent speaker and writer of Arabic, you need to understand the Arabic alphabet, which orders the letters differently from the languages you may be used to. Knowing how to form both past tense verbs and present tense verbs goes a long way in helping you grasp the nuances of the Arabic language.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-15-2022

If you're learning Arabic, you need the basics — questions, phrases for meeting and greeting and being polite, days of the week, and numbers. The following can help you practice some key terms and speak more like a native Arabic speaker.

Article / Updated 04-11-2017

When traveling in Arabic-speaking countries, you'll find that the words and phrases you use most frequently will be the common Arabic greetings. These Arabic words and phrases will quickly become second nature to you because you use them day in and day out with everyone you come across. Saying hello and good-bye Polite greetings are just as important in Arabic-speaking countries as they are in America. In fact when greeting a group of people, it is best to greet each person in the group individually to ensure that everyone gets a proper greeting. Some of the most common ways to greet someone in Arabic are ahlan (hello) marHaban (hello; greetings) ahlan wa sahlan (welcome) Keep in mind that because of the conservative nature in many Arabic-speaking countries it is considered rude for men and women to greet each other in public. In addition to the initial greetings, there are a number of Arabic greetings that have a specific traditional response. Greeting Pronunciation Traditional Response Pronunciation Peace be upon you. (formal/group) as-salaam 'alaykum Upon you be peace wa 'alaykum salaam Good morning SabaaH al-khayr Morning of light SabaaH an-nuur Good evening Masaa' al-khayr Evening of light Masaa' an-nuur When meeting someone for the first time or greeting someone in a formal situation, it is common for members of the same sex to exchange handshake. However, if they're close friends or family, the standard greeting is a handshake and a kiss on each cheek. Always shake hands with your right hand. The left hand is considered unclean. Farewells can vary depending on where you're visiting, but two common ways to say goodbye to someone are ma'a as-salaama (goodbye) and ila-liqaa' (until we meet again). Asking and responding to "How are you?" How are you? How's it going? How many times a day do we hear or say these brief greetings at the beginning of our conversations? So many times, in fact, that we rarely even think about the response, we often respond with a standard "fine" or "good" regardless of who we are actually feeling. The same is true in Arabic. The question "kayf Haalak?" (How are you?) usually calls for a formulaic response — "Fine, praise God" (bi-khayr, al-Hamdu lillah) — rather than an actual description of your current condition. However, if you have a real need or are speaking to a friend, you can give a more realistic response. You can use "anaa . . ." (I am . . . ) followed by one of these conditions: sa'iid/sa'iida (happy [M/F]) .(Arabic adjectives have masculine and feminine forms. So, if you need to change these adjectives to feminine, just add an a.) Haziin/Haziina (sad) ta'baan/ta'baana (tired) ghaDbaan/ghaDbaa (angry) 'aTshaan/'aTshaa (thirsty) jaw'aan/jaw'aa (hungry) bardaan/bardaana (cold) Harraan/Harraa (hot) mashghuul/mashghuula (busy) mariiD/mariiDa (sick) muta'akhkhir/muta'akhkhira (late)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

There are two ways to form sentences in Arabic: You can manipulate definite and indefinite nouns and adjectives, or you can pull together nouns, adjectives, and verbs. In Arabic, it's possible to create a complete sentence with a subject, object, and verb without actually using a verb! This concept may seem a little strange at first, but this article helps you see the logic and reasoning behind such a structure. To be or not to be: Sentences without verbs Before you can construct verb-free sentences, you need to know that there's actually no "to be" verb in the Arabic language. The verb "is/are" as a proper verb simply doesn't exist. That's not to say that you can't create an "is/are" sentence in Arabic — you can. "Is/are" sentences are created without the use of an actual verb. In other words, you create "to be" sentences by manipulating indefinite and definite nouns and adjectives, similar to what's covered in the article "Understanding the Interaction between Nouns and Adjectives." When you put an indefinite noun with an indefinite adjective, you create an indefinite phrase. Similarly, when you add a definite adjective to a definite noun, you end up with a definite phrase. So what happens when you combine a definite noun with an indefinite adjective? This combination — defined noun and undefined adjective — produces an "is/are" sentence similar to what you get when you use the verb "to be" in English. For example, take the defined noun al-kitaab (the book) and add to it the indefinite adjective kabiir (big). The resulting phrase is al-kitaab kabiir, which means "The book is big." Here are some more examples to illustrate the construction of "is/are" sentences: al-walad mariiD. (al-wah-lad mah-reed; The boy is sick.) al-bint SaHiiHa. (al-bee-net sah-hee-hah; The girl is healthy.) as-sayyaara khadraa'. (ah-sah-yah-rah kad-rah; The car is green.) aT-Taaliba dakiiya. (ah-tah-lee-bah dah-kee-yah; The student is smart.) (F) al-mudarris qaSiir. (al-moo-dah-rees kah-seer; The teacher is short.) (M) al-'ustaadh Tawiil. (al-oos-taz tah-weel; The professor is tall.) (M) If you want to use additional adjectives in these verb-free sentences, you simply add the conjunction wa. Here are some examples of "is/are" sentences with multiple adjectives: al-walad mariiD wa Da'iif. (al-wah-lad mah-reed wah dah-eef; The boy is sick and weak.) al-bint SaHiiHa wa qawiiya. (al-bee-net sah-hee-hah wah kah-wee-yah; The girl is healthy and strong.) as-sayyaara khadraa' wa sarii'a. (ah-sah-yah-rah kad-rah wah sah-ree-ah; The car is green and fast.) aT-Taaliba dakiiya wa laTiifa. (ah-tah-lee-bah dah-kee-yah wah lah-tee-fah; The student is smart and nice.) (F) al-mudarris qaSiir wa dakiiy. (al-moo-dah-rees kah-seer wah dah-kee; The teacher is short and smart.) (M) al-'ustaadh Tawiil wa Sa'b. (al-oos-taz tah-weel wah sahb; The professor is tall and difficult.) (M) This construct is fairly flexible, and if you change the nature of one of the adjectives, you radically alter the meaning of the jumla (joom-lah; sentence). For instance, the examples all show a defined noun with two indefinite adjectives. What happens when you mix things up and add an indefinite noun to an indefinite adjective and a definite adjective? Consider the example al-bint SaHiiHa wa qawiiya (The girl is healthy and strong). Keep al-bint as a definite noun but change the indefinite adjective SaHiiHa into its definite version, aS-SaHiiHa; also, drop the wa, and keep qawiiya as an indefinite adjective. The resulting phrase is al-bint aS-SaHiiHa qawiiya, which means "The healthy girl is strong." You can grasp what's going on here by dividing the terms into clauses: The first clause is the definite noun/definite adjective combination al-bint aS-SaHiiHa (the healthy girl); the second clause is the indefinite adjective qawiiya (strong). Combining these clauses is the same as combining a definite noun with an indefinite adjective — the result is an "is/are" sentence. Here are more examples to help clear up any confusion you have regarding this concept: al-walad al-mariiD Da'iif. (al-wah-lad al-mah-reed dah-eef; The sick boy is weak.) as-sayyaara al-khadraa' sarii'a. (ah-sah-yah-rah al-kad-rah sah-ree-ah; The green car is fast.) aT-Taaliba ad-dakiiya laTiifa. (ah-tah-lee-bah ah-dah-kee-yah lah-tee-fah; The smart student is nice.) (F) al-mudarris al-qaSiir dakiiy. (al-moo-dah-rees al-kah-seer dah-kee; The short teacher is smart.) (M) al-'ustaadh aT-Tawiil Sa'b. (al-oos-taz ah-tah-weel sahb; The tall professor is difficult.) (M) Notice that a simple change in the definite article changes the meaning of the phrase or sentence. For example, when the noun is defined and both adjectives are indefinite, you create an "is" sentence, as in "The boy is big." On the other hand, when both noun and adjective are defined, the adjective affects the noun directly, and you get "the big boy." Building sentences with common prepositions In grammatical terms, prepositions are words or small phrases that indicate a relationship between substantive and other types of words, such as adjectives, verbs, nouns, or other substantives. In both English and Arabic, prepositions are parts of speech that are essential in the formation of sentences. You can add them to "is/are" sentences to give them more specificity. Table 1 lists the most common prepositions you're likely to use in Arabic. Table 1: Common Prepositions Arabic Pronunciation Translation min meen from fii fee in 'ilaa ee-lah to ma'a mah-ah with 'alaa ah-lah on qariib min kah-reeb meen close to ba'iid min bah-eed meen far from 'amaama ah-mah-mah in front of waraa'a wah-rah-ah behind taHta tah-tah underneath fawqa faw-kah above bijaanibi bee-jah-nee-bee next to You can use these prepositions to construct clauses and phrases using both indefinite and definite nouns and adjectives. Here are some examples: al-bint 'amaama al-madrasa. (al-bee-net ah-mah-mah al-mad-rah-sah; The girl is in front of the school.) aT-Taawila fii al-ghurfa. (ah-tah-wee-lah fee al-goor-fah; The table is in the room.) al-'ustaadha fii al-jaami'a. (al-oos-tah-zah fee al-jah-mee-ah; The professor is in the university.) (F) al-maT'am bijaanibi al-funduq. (al-mat-ham bee-jah-nee-bee al-foon-dook; The restaurant is next to the hotel.) ar-rajul min 'amriika. (ah-rah-jool meen am-ree-kah; The man is from America.) al-madiina qariiba min ash-shaaTi'. (al-mah-dee-nah kah-ree-bah meen ah-shah-teeh; The city is close to the beach.) as-sayyaara al-bayDaa' waraa'a al-manzil. (ah-sah-yah-rah al-bay-dah wah-rah-ah al-man-zeel; The white car is behind the house.) al-walad al-laTiif ma'a al-mudarris. (al-wah-lad ah-lah-teef mah-ah al-moo-dah-rees; The nice boy is with the teacher.) In addition, you can use multiple adjectives with both the subject and object nouns: al-'imra'a al-jamiila fii as-sayyaara as-sarii'a. (al-eem-rah-ah al-jah-mee-lah fee ah-sah-yah-rah ah-sah-ree-ah; The beautiful woman is in the fast car.) al-mudarissa ad-dakiyya 'amaama al-madrasa al-bayDaa'. (al-moo-dah-ree-sah ah-dah-kee-yah ah-mah-mah al-mad-rah-sah al-bay-dah; The smart teacher is in front of the white school.) (F) al-kursiiy aS-Saghiir waraa'a aT-Taawila al-kabiira. (al-koor-see ah-sah-geer wah-rah-ah ah-tah-wee-lah al-kah-bee-rah; The small chair is behind the big table.)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Nouns and adjectives go hand in hand, and in Arabic you can manipulate nouns and adjectives to create little phrases. Unlike in the English language, nouns in Arabic always come before the adjective. You can create three types of phrases by manipulating nouns and adjectives. This article examines the ways you can pair up nouns and adjectives to create definite and indefinite phrases. Indefinite phrases One of the most important things to remember about nouns and adjectives in Arabic is that they can be both defined and undefined using the definite article prefix al-. Hence, to create an indefinite phrase, all you do is take an undefined noun and add to it an undefined adjective. For example, to say "a big book" or "big book," you add the adjective kabiir (kah-beer; big) to the noun kitaab (kee-tab; book). So the phrase kitaab kabiir means "a big book" in Arabic. Here are some other examples of indefinite phrases featuring undefined nouns and adjectives: walad Tawiil (wah-lad tah-weel; a tall boy) bint jamiila (bee-net jah-mee-lah; a pretty girl) rajul qawiiy (rah-jool kah-wee; a strong man) 'imra'a laTiifa (eem-rah-ah lah-tee-fah; a nice woman) madrasa Saghiira (mad-rah-sah sah-gee-rah; a small school) Taawila Hamraa' (tah-wee-lah ham-rah; a red table) Notice that the adjectives agree with their corresponding nouns in gender. For example, you say bint jamiila and not bint jamiil. Adding more descriptive words to the noun is very simple: Because adjectives follow the noun in Arabic, you just add an extra adjective and you're done! But don't forget to add the conjunction wa (wah; and) between the adjectives. Check out some examples: walad Tawiil wa kabiir (wah-lad tah-weel wah kah-beer; a tall and big boy) bint Tawiila wa jamiila (bee-net tah-wee-lah wah jah-mee-lah; a tall and pretty girl) rajul qawiiy wa sarii' (rah-jool kah-wee wah sah-reeh; a strong and fast man) 'imra'a laTiifa wa qawiiya (eem-rah-ah lah-tee-fah wah kah-wee-yah; a nice and strong woman) madrasa Saghiira wa bayDaa' (mad-rah-sah sah-gee-rah wah bay-dah; a small and white school) Taawila Hamraa' wa qaSiira (tah-wee-lah ham-rah wah kah-see-rah; a red and short table) Definite phrases The biggest difference between creating an indefinite phrase and a definite phrase is the use of the definite article prefix al-. Both noun and adjective must be defined using the definite article prefix. For example, to say "the big book," you say al-kitaab al-kabiir. Here are some examples of definite phrases: al-walad aT-Tawiil (al-wah-lad ah-tah-weel; the big boy) al-bint al-jamiila (al-bee-net al-jah-mee-lah; the pretty girl) ar-rajul al-qawiiy (ah-rah-jool al-kay-wee; the strong man) al-'imra'a al-laTiifa (al-eem-rah-ah ah-lah-tee-fah; the nice woman) al-madrasa aS-Saghiira (al-mad-rah-sah ah-sah-gee-rah; the small school) aT-Taawila al-Hamraa' (ah-tah-wee-lah al-ham-rah; the red table) Using similar patterns, you can create a defined phrase using multiple adjectives. Just like in indefinite phrases, make sure you use the conjunction wa in between adjectives: al-walad aT-Tawiil wa al-kabiir (al-wah-lad ah-tah-weel wah al-kah-beer; the tall and big boy) al-bint aT-Tawiila wa al-jamiila (al-bee-net ah-tah-wee-lah wah al-jah-mee-lah; the tall and pretty girl) ar-rajul al-qawiiy wa as-sarii' (ah-rah-jool al-kah-wee wah ah-sah-reeh; the strong and fast man) al-'imra'a al-laTiifa wa al-qawiiya (al-eem-rah-ah al-lah-tee-fah wah al-kah-wee-yah; the nice and strong woman) al-madrasa aS-Saghiira wa al-bayDaa' (al-mad-rah-sah ah-sah-gee-rah wah al-bay-dah; the small and white school) aT-Taawila al-Hamraa' wa al-qaSiira (ah-tah-wee-lah al-ham-rah wah al-kah-see-rah; the red and short table)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

You'll be very pleased to know that verb tenses in Arabic, when compared to other languages, are fairly straightforward. Basically, you only need to be concerned with two proper verb forms: the past and the present. A future verb tense exists, but it's a derivative of the present tense that you achieve by attaching a prefix to the present tense of the verb. Digging up the past tense The structural form of the past tense is one of the easiest grammatical structures in the Arabic language. Basically, every regular verb that's conjugated in the past tense follows a very strict pattern. First, you refer to all regular verbs in the past tense using the huwa (hoo-wah; he) personal pronoun. Second, the overwhelming majority of verbs in huwa form in the past tense have three consonants that are accompanied by the same vowel: the fatHa (fat-hah). The fatHa creates the "ah" sound. For example, the verb "wrote" in the past tense is kataba (kah-tah-bah); its three consonants are "k," "t," and "b." Here are some common verbs you may use while speaking Arabic: 'akala (ah-kah-lah; ate) fa'ala (fah-ah-lah; did) dhahaba (zah-hah-bah; went) qara'a (kah-rah-ah; read) ra'a (rah-ah; saw) The following table shows the verb kataba (kah-tah-bah; wrote) conjugated using all the personal pronouns. Note that the first part of the verb remains constant; only its suffix changes depending on the personal pronoun used. Table 1: Kataba, Conjugated Using All the Personal Pronouns Form Pronunciation Translation 'anaa katabtu ah-nah kah-tab-too I wrote 'anta katabta an-tah kah-tab-tah You wrote (MS) 'anti katabtii an-tee kah-tab-tee You wrote (FS) huwa kataba hoo-wah kah-tah-bah He wrote hiya katabat hee-yah kah-tah-bat She wrote naHnu katabnaa nah-noo kah-tab-nah We wrote 'antum katabtum an-toom kah-tab-toom You wrote (MP) 'antunna katabtunna an-too-nah kah-tab-too-nah You wrote (FP) hum katabuu hoom kah-tah-boo They wrote (MP) hunna katabna hoo-nah kah-tab-nah They wrote (FP) antumaa katabtumaa an-too-mah kah-tab-too-mah You wrote (dual/MP/FP) humaa katabaa hoo-mah kah-tah-bah They wrote (dual/MP) humaa katabataa hoo-mah kah-tah-bah-tah They wrote (dual/FP) Every personal pronoun has a corresponding suffix used to conjugate and identify the verb form in its specific tense. Table 2 outlines these specific suffixes. Table 2: Personal Pronoun Suffixes for Verbs in the Past Tense Arabic Pronoun Pronunciation Translation Verb Suffix 'anaa ah-nah I/me -tu 'anta an-tah you (MS) -ta 'anti an-tee you (FS) -tii huwa hoo-wah he/it -a hiya hee-yah she/it -at naHnu nah-noo we -naa 'antum an-toom you (MP) -tum 'antunna an-too-nah you (FP) -tunna hum hoom they (MP) -uu hunna hoo-nah they (FP) -na 'antumaa an-too-mah you (dual) -tumaaa humaa hoo-mah they (M/dual) -aa humaa hoo-mah they (F/dual) -ataa Anytime you come across a regular verb you want to conjugate in the past tense, use these verb suffixes with the corresponding personal pronouns. Not all regular verbs in the past tense have three consonants. Some regular verbs have more than three consonants, such as: tafarraja (tah-fah-rah-jah; watched) takallama (tah-kah-lah-mah; spoke) Even though these verbs have more than three consonants, they're still considered regular verbs. To conjugate them, you keep the first part of the word constant and only change the last consonant of the word using the corresponding suffixes to match the personal pronouns. When you know how to conjugate verbs in the past tense, your sentence-building options are endless. Here are some simple sentences that combine nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the past tense: 'al-walad dhahaba 'ilaa al-madrasa. (al-wah-lad zah-hah-bah ee-lah al-mad-rah-sah; The boy went to the school.) al-bint takallamat fii al-qism. (al-bee-net tah-kah-lah-mat fee al-kee-sem; The girl spoke in the classroom.) 'akalnaa Ta'aam ladhiidh. (ah-kal-nah tah-am lah-zeez; We ate delicious food.) Examining the present tense Conjugating verbs in the past tense is relatively straightforward, but conjugating verbs in the present tense is a bit trickier. Instead of changing only the ending of the verb, you must also alter its beginning. You need to be familiar not only with the suffix but also the prefix that corresponds to each personal pronoun. To illustrate the difference between past and present tense, the verb kataba (wrote) is conjugated as yaktubu (yak-too-boo; to write), whereas the verb darasa (studied) is yadrusu (yad-roo-soo; to study). Here's the verb yaktubu (to write) conjugated using all the personal pronouns. Notice how both the suffixes and prefixes change in the present tense. Table 3: Yaktubu, Conjugated Using All the Personal Pronouns Form Pronunciation Translation 'anaa 'aktubu ah-nah ak-too-boo I am writing 'anta taktubu an-tah tak-too-boo You are writing (MS) 'anti taktubiina an-tee tak-too-bee-nah You are writing (FS) huwa yaktubu hoo-wah yak-too-boo He is writing hiya taktubu hee-yah tak-too-boo She is writing naHnu naktubu nah-noo nak-too-boo We are writing 'antum taktubuuna an-toom tak-too-boo-nah You are writing (MP) 'antunna taktubna an-too-nah tak-toob-nah You are writing (FP) hum yaktubuuna hoom yak-too-boo-nah They are writing (MP) hunna yaktubna hoo-nah yak-toob-nah They are writing (FP) antumaa taktubaani an-too-mah tak-too-bah-nee You are writing (dual/MP/FP) humaa yaktubaani hoo-mah yak-too-bah-nee They are writing (dual/MP) humaa taktubaani hoo-mah tak-too-bah-nee They are writing (dual/FP) As you can see, you need to be familiar with both the prefixes and suffixes to conjugate verbs in the present tense. Table 4 includes every personal pronoun with its corresponding prefix and suffix for the present tense. Table 4: Personal Pronoun Prefixes and Suffixes for Verbs in the Present Tense Arabic Pronoun Pronunciation Translation Verb Prefix Verb Suffix 'anaa ah-nah I/me 'a- -u 'anta an-tah you (MS) ta- -u 'anti an-tee you (FS) ta- -iina huwa hoo-wah he/it ya- -u hiya hee-yah she/it ta- -u naHnu nah-noo we na- -u 'antum an-toom you (MP) ta- -uuna 'antunna an-too-nah you (FP) ta- -na hum hoom they (MP) ya- -uuna hunna hoo-nah they (FP) ya- -na 'antumaa an-too-mah you (dual) ta- -aani humaa hoo-mah they (M/dual) ya- -aani humaa hoo-mah they (F/dual) ta- -aani Aside from prefixes and suffixes, another major difference between the past and present tenses in Arabic is that every verb in the present tense has a dominant vowel that's unique and distinctive. For example, the dominant vowel in yaktubu is a damma (dah-mah; "ooh" sound). However, in the verb yaf'alu (yaf-ah-loo; to do), the dominant vowel is the fatHa (fat-hah; "ah" sound). This means that when you conjugate the verb yaf'alu using the personal pronoun 'anaa, you say 'anaa 'af'alu and not 'anaa 'af'ulu. The dominant vowel is always the middle vowel. Unfortunately, there's no hard rule you can use to determine which dominant vowel is associated with each verb. The best way to identify the dominant vowel is to look up the verb in the qaamuus (kah-moos; dictionary). Peeking into the future tense Although Arabic grammar has a future tense, you'll be glad to know that the tense has no outright verb structure. Rather, you achieve the future tense by adding the prefix sa- to the existing present tense form of the verb. For example, yaktubu means "to write." Add the prefix sa- to yaktubu and you get sayaktubu, which means "he will write."

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Traveling internationally can be expensive, so it's crucial to have a good understanding of money and banking phrases in Arabic before traveling to the Middle East. Whether you're just visiting or you're planning to live in an Arabic-speaking country for a while, the best way to ensure that you get the most for your money is to be familiar with these common financial terms. bank (bank) maktab Sarraaf (currency exchange office) si'r aS-Sarf (exchange rate) Sarraaf (cashier) shiik siyaaHii (traveler's check) biTaaqat i'timaan (credit card) Hisaab (account) Hisaab jaarin (checking account) Hisaab tawfiir (savings account) fuluus, nuquud (cash) shiik (check) iiSaal (receipt) In actual practice, the English term "credit card" or the name of the credit card (for example, Visa, American Express) is more commonly recognized than using the Arabic term biTaaqat i'timaan. Each country has its own monetary system, and there are several forms of currency that are used throughout the Middle East. Economically, it is almost always best to exchange your American dollars for the local currency. In fact, exchanging money is the most common banking need for travelers. The following phrases will give you a guideline to follow when exchanging your dollars or forming your own questions about other banking needs while in an Arabic-speaking country. maa huwa si'r aS-Sarf? (What is the exchange rate?) uriid duulaaraat, min faDlik. (I would like dollars, please.) uriid an aftaH Hisaab. (I would like to open an account.) bikam haadhaa fii-duulaaraat? (How much is that in dollars?)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

How do you ask basic questions in Arabic? Well, Arabic interrogative words mean the same as they do for English: who, what, when, where, why, and how. By knowing basic Arabic interrogatives, you'll be able to express your questions, even without an extensive vocabulary. For example, say you're visiting a street market and find a jacket you want to buy. You could ask the vendor "bi-kam al- qubba'a?" ("How much is this jacket?"). But if you don't know enough vocabulary, you could simply point to the jacket and say "bikam?" and the seller will understand. man? (Who?) maa? (What? [without a verb]) maadhaa? (What [with a verb]) mataa? (When?) ayna? (Where?) limaadhaa? (Why?) kayfa? (How?) kam? (How many?) bikam (How much?) ayy/ayya? (Which?) hal hunaaka (Is there?) (Are there?) In addition to the question words above, you can put a hal in front of the sentence to create a question in Arabic that would elicit a yes (na'am) or no (laa) response. Here's a look at some different ways to put all these question words to practice in some useful phrases. bi-kam al-biTaaqa? (How much is the ticket?) ayna-l-baab? (Where is the gate?) kayf Haalak? (How are you?) maa ismuka? (What is your name?) maa waDHiifatuka? (What is your profession?) ayna al-mustashfaa? (Where is the hospital?) mataa taSil aT-Taa'ira? (When does the plane arrive?) hal hunaaka markaz bariid qariib min hunaa? (Is there a post office nearby?)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

One of the best ways to explore another country is to go shopping. Whether you're shopping for clothes, food, or souvenirs, you can use the following phrases in any Arabic-speaking country to help you find just the right thing. There are some fabulous deals to be found in the Middle East. In most Arabic-speaking countries, there are street markets (called souqs) where you can buy anything from fruits and vegetables to antiques and collectibles. If you need more specific grocery items, you want to visit a Baqqaal (grocery store). Bargaining in these marketplaces is one of the great cultural activities in the Arab world and one of the best opportunities for a visitor to practice speaking. Good-natured haggling is expected in the street markets (but not in fixed-price stores). Expect the salesperson to start at twice the expected price or higher. The following words can be used in a variety of shopping situations. baa'i' (salesperson) thaman, si'r (price) ghaalii (expensive) rakhiiS (cheap) maqbuul (acceptable) ghayr maqbuul (unacceptable) tanziilaat (sale [discount]) sajjaada (rug) nuHaas (brass) Sunduuq (box) ibriiq (coffee urn) finjaan (cup) 'iTr (perfume) Hariir (silk) jild (leather) The following phrases will be useful no matter what kind of shopping you plan on doing. bikam? (How much?) haadhaa ghaalii. (That is expensive.) haadhaa thaman jayyid. (That is a good price.) uriid haadhaa. (I want this (one).) uriid an ashtarii . . . (I want to buy . . .) uriid an adfa' bishiik. (I want to pay by check.) hal yumkinnii an ashtarii . . . hunaa? (May I buy . . . here?) hal anta tabii' . . . ? (Do you sell . . . ?) uriid shay'an arkhaS, min faDlik. (I want something less expensive, please.) ufaDDil haadhaa. (I prefer this [one].) haadhaa si'r maqbuul. (That price is acceptable.) sa'dfa' . . . (I will pay . . .) laa uriid an adfa' akthar min . . . (I don't want to pay more than . . .)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When making plans, appointments, and travel arrangements in Arabic-speaking countries, you need to be able to state dates and other calendar terms in Arabic. Understanding the days of the week, the months of the year, and how to tell time in Arabic can help you to avoid confusion. Calendar terms In Arabic, the week always starts on Sunday and the names of the days of the week are based (mostly) on numbers. yawm al-aHad (Sunday) yawm al-ithnayn (Monday) yawm ath-thulaathaa' (Tuesday) yawm al-arbi'aa' (Wednesday) yawm al-khamiis (Thursday) yawm al-jum'a (Friday) yawm as-sabt (Saturday) When using the names of the days in conversation, the word yawm (day) is often dropped. Other terms used to describe days in more general terms include al-yawm (today) ams (yesterday) ghadan (tomorrow) taariikh (date) The Arab world uses three different systems for the names of the months. The two most common ones are one based on the French months (used commonly in North Africa) and one that is used in the Fertile Crescent area (Syria, Iraq, and Jordan). North African Fertile Crescent English yanaayir kaanuun ath-thaanii January fabraayir shubaaT February maaris aadhaar March abriil niisaan April maayuu ayyaar May yuuniyuu Haziiraan June yuuliyuu tammuuz July aghusTus aab August sibtambir ayluul September uktuubir tishriin al-awwal October nuufimbir tishriin ath-thaanii November diisambir kaanuun al-awwal December The last system is based on the Islamic calendar, which is a lunar calendar and doesn't correspond to the months used in our calendar. Telling time The time of day can be described in general terms or specific times. The following words can be used to describe the general time of day. SabaaH (morning) DHuhr (noon) ba'd-aDH-DHuhr (afternoon) masaa' (evening) layl (nighttime) nahaar (daytime) When you want to know a specific time of day, you can ask as-saa'a kam? (What time is it?). Remember that time expressions use ordinal (first, second, and so on) numbers rather than cardinal numbers (one, two, and so on), such as the following: as-saa'a al-waaHida (one o'clock) as-saa'a ath-thaaniya (two o'clock) as-saa'a ath-thaalitha (three o'clock) as-saa'a ar-raabi'a (four o'clock) as-saa'a al-khaamisa (five o'clock) as-saa'a as-saadisa (six o'clock) as-saa'a as-saabi'a (seven o'clock) as-saa'a ath-thaamina (eight o'clock) as-saa'a at-taasi'a (nine o'clock) as-saa'a al-'aashira (ten o'clock) as-saa'a al-Haadiya 'ashra (eleven o'clock) as-saa'a ath-thaaniya 'ashra (twelve o'clock) When expressing time between the hours, use the following terms to break things down. saa'a (hour/time/clock/watch) daqiiqa (minute) thaaniya (second) nuSf (half) rub' (quarter) thulth (third [20 minutes]) To give a specific time, you would state the hour and then add the minutes, quarters, etc. to the end of the phrase, as in the following examples. as-saa'a ar-raabi'a illaa rub' (quarter 'til four) as-saa'a al-waaHida wa nuSf fii-SabaaH (1:30 a.m.) as-saa'a as-saabi'a wa rub'fii-l-masaa' (7:15 p.m.)