Basic Arabic

Common greetings / courtesies:

Arabic has many greetings, some of the more common greetings follow. Most of the greetings also
have a response, as a matter of custom, it is best to learn the response as well as the greeting.
Hi (informal)

marHaba

Welcome

tafadal

Peace unto you

(response)

is-sallamu alakum
wa alakum is-sallam

good morning
(response)

sabah il-khayr
sabah in-noor

good evening
(response)

mesah il-khayr
mesah in-noor

how are you

kaif halak (ik) or shalonak (ik)

the common answer given to how are you is good, expressed as:
good

kuwais
tayib
rahib
zayn

excellent

mumtaz

these are traditionally followed by thanks to god (allah)

il hamdu li-lla
good bye (go with peace)

ma-salama

thank you
(response) (dont mention it)

shukran
afwan

please

min fadlak (ik)

excuse me

ismahlee

never mind

maalish

I speak little Arabic

ana tatakalem arabi shuwaya

Yes

away or naam

No

la

God willing

in-shaallah

Pronouns:
Arabic like many inflected languages places less importance on word order than on word from,
therefore, Arabic utilizes prefixes and suffixes to denote gender (masculine and feminine) and
subjective and objective case. Parenthetical notations will denote the feminine endings if applicable.
For example you in the masculine is inta, in the feminine it is inti.
I

ana

You

inta (i)

He

huwa

She

hiyya

We

niHna

Directions:
Go

rooh

Stop

wagef

Left

yassar

Right

yamin

Strait ahead

ala tool

Here

hina

There

hinak

Before

gabbl

After

baad

From

min

To or at (a place)

ala

Questions:
Who

meen

What

aysh

When

meta

Where

wayn / fayn

Why

laysh

How much

kam

Numbers:
Zero

sifir

One

wahid

Two

ithnayn

Three

thalatha

Four

arbaa

Five

khamsa

Six

sitta

Seven

sabah

Eight

thamania

Nine

tissa

Ten

ashra

Eleven

ahada-ashra

Twelve

ithnashra

Thirteen through nineteen simply prefix the numbers three through nine to the word ashra (ten). An
alternate method is to simply add the suffix ash to the corresponding number i.e. sittash for sixteen.
To form the ten of a number i.e. thirty, simply add the suffix een to the corresponding number, for
example thirty would be thalatheen. To form intermittent numbers in the tens range such as thirtyfive, you for the number as five and thirty or khamsa wa thalatheen. And in Arabic is wa.
One hundred

mia

One thousand

alf

Questions of demographics:
What is your name

aysh ismak (ik)

How old are you

kam amrak

Where are you from

min wayn inta (i)

Who do you work for

sho isem sharektkum

Anatomy:
Head

raas

Eye

aeen

Ear

authen

Chest

sader

Heart

galb

Stomach

baten

Arm

theraea

Leg

rajel

Hand

ayad

Feet

ikdam

Muscle

adelat

Symptoms:
Pain

alam

Nausea

talab nafsak

Vomiting

astifrag

Diarrhea

ashal

Constipation

amsak

Fever

harara

Hypertention

dagad ali

Hypotension

dagad nazel

Inflammation

waram

Cough

gaha

Cut

kataa bl saken

Dizzy

doka

Sick

marid

Exam questions:

Additional words:

Big

kabeer

Little

sager

Hour

saa

Man

rejawl

Woman
Girl

bint

Boy

waled

guys

shabaab

Friend

sadiq

Mad (crazy)

majnun

Think

azunn

Teacher

mudarris (a)

Doctor

tabib

Must

lazum

There is

fi

None, nothing

mafi

Problem

mushkula

Book

kitab

Bathroom

hammam

Half

noos

Not my issue

ana mani mosool

Emergency

tawari

Hospital

mustashfa

Little

qalil

A lot

katheer

Prayer

salah

Mosque

masjed

Police

shurta

Dont move

la taharek

Sit

ij-iless

Chair

course

Bed

sarier

Water

moyah

Food

akil

Go away

imshi

Lets go

yallah

Cold

bard

Hot

har

Home/house

bait

Later

badayn

Manager/supervisor

mudeer

Open

iftah

Close

saker

Poison

sem

Colors:
White

Abyadh

Black

Aswad

Red

Ahmar

Green

Akhdar

Yellow

Asfar

Orange

Burtoqali

Brown

Bonni

Blue

Azraq

___________________________________________________________________________

Common Kuwaiti Arabic Phrases

Introduction
Arabic is one of the most spoken languages in the world with
over 200 million speakers. It is spoken in 24 countries.

 It is also the second language of millions of Muslims around the

world.
It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
The Arabic language takes many forms and can be divided into
three main categories:
Classic Arabic.
Formal or Modern Standard Arabic.
Spoken Arabic.
The Arabic phrases presented here are most applicable to the
Gulf states

Pronunciation

A: as in had
E: as in bet
I: as in hit
O: as in hot
U: as in put

Basics

I: a-na
You (sg): in-ta/in-ti (m/f)
He: oh-wa
She: Eh-ya
We: Eh-nu
You (pl): In-tuw
They: Oh-ma

Greetings

Hello: as-salam alaykum

Hello (response); wa alaykum asalam
How are you: kaif halak
I am fine (Thank God): Al hamdulillah
Goodbye (person leaving): maasalama
Goodbye (person staying): allysalmak
Good morning: sabah al-khair
Good afternoon: masaa al-khair
Good night: tisbah ala khair
Welcome: ahlan wa sahlan OR marhaba

Basics

Yes: E or naam
No: la
Maybe: mumkin

Please: min fadhlik

After you: Taffadhal
Thank you: shukran
You are welcome: afwan
Excuse me: Atni (m) Atini (f)
OK: tayib or Inshallah
No problem: mafi mushkila

Small talk

How are you: kef Halak

Fine thanks : zein or al-Hamdulillah
Whats your name: shismek
My name is.ismi
I understand: ana afhum
I dont understand: ma afhum
I speak ana atakallam
Do you speak..titkallam..
English: inglizi
French: fransawi
German: almani
I dot speak Arabic: maatakallam arabi

Getting Around

Where is (the).wein (al-)

Airport: al-matar
Bus stop: mokaf al-bas
Bus station: maHattat al-bas
Taxi stand: maHattat taxi
Hospital: Mos-thash-fa
Police Station: Makhfar
Supermarket: Jam-ee-yah
Toilet: Ham-mam

Directions

Addres: onswan
Street: shari
Number: raqam
City: madina
Here: ehni
There: ehnak
Next to: yam
Opposite: gbal/mogabel
Behind: wara

From: min

Days

Monday: yom al-ithnayn

Tuesday: yom al-thalatha
Wednesday: yom al-arba
Thursday: yom al-khamees
Friday: yom al-jamaa
Saturday: yom as-sabt
Sunday: yom al ahad

Numbers

Zero: sifr
One: waHid
Two: ithnin
Three: thlatha
Four: arbaa
Five: khamsa
Six: sitta
Seven: saba
Eight: thimania
Nine: tisa
Ten: ashra

_________________________________________________________________________
arabic words & phrases

April - Nisan, Abreel

August - Ab, Aghustus

Big - (m): Kebir, (f): Kebira

Black - Aswad
Blue - Azrak
Bread - Khubz
Breakfast - Iftar

Brother - Akh
Brown - Jauzi, Buni

Coffee - Qahwa
Cold - (m): Barid, (f): Baridah

Daughter (of) - Bint

Day - Yom
December - Kanun Illau'wal, Desember
Dinner - Ashaa

Eight - Thamaniya
Engineer - Mohandis

Father - Ab
February - Shbat, Febrayer
Fish - Samak
Five - Khamsa
Four - Arba'a
Friday - Yom alJuma'ah

God - Allah
God knows best - Allah alim
God willing - Insha'allah
God's will - Masha'allah
Goodbye (Go in peace) - Ma'assalama Reply: Fi aman Allah or Ma'assalama
Good Afternoon/Evening - Masa alkhair Reply: Masa alnur
Good Morning - Sabah alkhair Reply: Sabah alnur
Good Night - Leila Sa'eeda
Grandfather - Jadd

Grandmother - Jaddah
Green - Akhdar
Grey - Ramadi

Happy Birthday - Eid Milad Sa'eed

Have a safe journey - Bissalama
He - Huwwa
Hello - Marhaba
Hot - Harr
How are you? - (m): Kaif halak, (f): Kaif halik

I
I
I
I

(am)... - Ana
am fine - Ana bekhair
am sorry - Ana asif
don't know - Ana la a'arif

January - Kanun Ittani, Yanayir

July - Tammuz, Yulyu
June - Huzairan, Yunyu

Library - Maktaba
Lunch - Gadaa

March - Adar, Maris

May - Ayar, Maayo
Milk - Haleeb
Monday - Yom alIthnain

Month - Shahr
Mother - Umm
Museum - Matihaf
My name is... - Ana ismi...

Nine - Tis'a
No - La
November - Tishrin Ittani, Nofember

Ocean - Mohit
October - Tishrin Ilau'wal, October
One - Wahid
Onion - Basal
Orange - Burdukali

Peace be upon you - Assalamu alaikum Reply: Walaikum assalam

...and mercy - wa rahmatullahi
...and blessings - wa barakatuhu
Please - (m): Min fadlak, (f): Min fadlik
Purple - Urjuwani, Banafsaji (violet)

Red - Ahmar

Salad - Salata
Saturday - Yom alSabt
School - Madrassa
September - Ailul, September
Seven - Sab'ah
She - Hiyya

Sister - Akht
Six - Sitta
Small - (m): Sagheer, (f): Sagheerah
Son (of) - Ibn
Student - (m): Talib, (f): Taliba
Summer - Al Sa'if
Sunday - Yom alA'had

Tea - Shaay
Ten - 'Ashra
Thank God - Alhamdulillah
Thank you - Shukran
They - Humma
Thousand - Alf
Three - Thalatha
Tuesday - Yom alThulutha'
Thursday - Yom alKhamis
Today - Al Youm
Tourist - (m): Sa'ih, (f): Sa'iha
Two - Ithnan

Valley - Wadi

Water - Ma'a
Wednesday - Yom alArba'a
Week - Usbuu'
Welcome - Ahlan wa sahlan Reply: Ahlan bekum
What do you want? - (m): Matha tureed?, (f): Matha tureedeen?
Where - Ain
Where is...? - Ayna...?
...the bathroom - alHammam
...the hotel - alFunduq
...the library - alMaktaba
...the police station - Qism alShurtah
...the post office - Maktab alBareed
...the telephone - alHatif, alTilifoun
White - Abyad

Yellow - Asfar
Yes - Na'am
You... - (m): Inta, (f): Inti, (pl): Intu