Let's Learn Some Arabic

Greetings
Hello

Marhaba

How are you?

Keef Halek

Good Morning

Sabah Al Kair

Good Evening

Masaa Al Kair

Good

Kowaies

Very Good

Kowaies Kateer

Please

Min Fadlak

Thank you

Shoo kran

Excuse Me

Ismahlee

Never mind

Maa leesh

OK

Taieb

Yes

Aiwa

No

La

Maybe

Yimken

None, nothing,
nobody

Mafee

Directions
Go

Rooh

Stop

Wagef

Turn Left

Lif Yassar

Turn Right

Lif Yameen

Straight Ahead

Ala Tool

Slowly

Shway Shway

Wait or Stay

Estanna

Show me

War Keni

Here

Hena

There

Hennak

Before

Gabel

After

Ba ad

Now

Al Ann

From

Min

To or At (a place) Ala
Wait 1 minute

Wahad da ghee
ga

Basics & General

Money

Feloos

Coffee

Gahwah

Sugar

Sokar

Salt

Melh

Car

Sayara

Hotel

Fon doq

Water

Moya

Tea

Shahi

Milk

Haleeb

Work

Shoghol

Airplane

Tayarah

Street

Sharee

Pronouns
I

Ana

You (to woman)

Intee

You (to man)

Inta

He

Whowa

She

Heeya

We

Nihna

They

Home

Asking Questions
Who?

Meen

What?

Aish

When?

Meta

Where?

Fayn

Why?

Lay ish

How much?

Kum

How much is this? Kum Hada

Where are you
from?

Min Fain Inta

Understand?

Maf Hoom

Do you speak
English?

Tet Kalam
Ingleezi

Useful Is
I want

Ana abgha

I dont want

Ana ma abgha

I have

Ana endi

I dont have

Ana ma endi

I dont

Ana ma fehempt

understand
I work at the

Ana bash taghel

fi

I dont speak
Arabic

Ana la tet kalam

al Arabiah

Counting & Numbers

0 Zero

Sifir

1 One

Wahid

2 Two

Ithnin

3 Three

Thalath
a

4 Four

Arba

5 Five

Khamsa

6 Six

Sitta

7 Seven

Saba

8 Eight

Thamani 9 Nine
a

10 Ten

Ashra

20 Twenty Ashreen

30 Thirty

Thala
theen

40 Forty

Arba en

50 Fifty

Khamsee 60 Sixty
n

Sitteen

70
Seventy

Saba en

90 Ninety Tisa en

Tisa

80 Eighty Thaman
en
100
Hundred

Mia

LESSONS 1 - 9
GREETINGS AND INTRODUCTIONS

Mar aba--Hello!
Ahlan wa Sahlan--Welcome!

As-Salaamu cAlaykum--Hello. "Peace be upon you"

Wa cAlaykum as-Salaam--Response "and on you be peace"
Maca as-Salaama--Goodbye "go in safety"
Yaa... --Hey! (used only with person's name or title)
Anaa--I
Anta--(also Inta)--you, masculine singular
Anti (also Inti)--you, feminine singular
Huwa--he
Hiya--she
Ismii.... --My name is...
Maa ismak? What is your name? (to a male)
Maa ismik? What is your name? (to a female)
Ustaath--male teacher
Ustaathah--female teacher
Tilmiith--Male student, pupil. (elementary/middle school)
Tilmiithah--Female student, pupil.
Taalib--Male student (high school or college)
Taalibah--Female student
Madrasah--School
Jaamicah--University
Min--from
Ayna--Where?
Min ayna anti? Where are you (f) from?
Min ayna huwa? Where is he from?
Anaa min Philadelphia--I am from Philadelphia.
Hiya min Lubnan--She is from Lebanon.
Man?--Who?
Man Hiya?--Who is she?
Man huwa?--Who is he?
Huwa Ustaath fii Jaamicat Pennsylvania.--He is a professor at U. Penn.
Hiya tilmiithah fii Madrasat Turner.--She is a student at Turner School.
abaa al-Khayr--Good Morning! (Morning of Goodness!)
abaa an-Nuur--(response) And Good Morning to you! (Morning of Light!)

Masaa' al-Khayr--Good Afternoon/Evening!

Masaa' an-Nuur--(response) And Good Afternoon to you!
Kayf--How?
al- aal--the situation or condition
Kayf al- aal?--How are you?
Bi-khayr--Fine, good, well
Anaa bi-khayr--I'm fine.
al- amdu li-Llah!--God be praised! (said in response to question How are you?)
Wa anti/anta?--and you?
LESSON 2: Arab and Islamic Names
Most Arab names really mean something in Arabic--many are pleasant or desirable
qualities--they are real words in Arabic and so can be used as names or adjectives--for
example....
A mad--most praiseworthy
Ma muud--commendable
Saciid--happy
Sucaad--happiness
Widaad--love, friendship
Amal--hope
Arab names also found in the Bible and their English equivalents
Old Testament
Ibrahiim--Abraham
Muusa--Moses
Da'uud--David
Mikha'iil--Michael
Yuusuf--Joseph
Saara--Sarah
Nuu --Noah
Yacquub--Jacob
Sulaymaan--Solomon
New Testament
Ya ya--John
c
Isa--Jesus
Butrus--Peter
Bulus--Paul
Maryam--Mary

Girgis--George
Prophet Muhammad's family and early leaders of Islam:
Mu ammad--means praised, commendable
Khadiija--Prophet's first wife
c
Ali--Prophet's son-in-law--means lofty or exalted
Faa ima--Prophet's daughter, married to cAli
c
Aa'isha--one of Prophet's wives--means prosperous
asan--Prophet's grandson, son of cAli --beautiful, handsome
usayn--Prophet's grandson, son of cAli --little beauty
c
Umar--second Caliph-(succeeder to Prophet Mu ammad
as leader of Islamic community)
c
Uthmaan--third Caliph
Bilaal--first Muezzin (caller of Muslims to daily prayers)
Peoples' names based on Names of God
Another class of Muslim names is based on the names of God in Arabic. Allah
means The God--The same God whom Jews and Christians worship
The 99 Names of God--called The Most Beautiful Names--have to do with God's
many attributes: such as, All-Seeing, All-Knowing, All-Powerful
We do this as well--example we say "The Almighty" to refer to God
c

Abd--is an Arabic word meaning servant or slave

Not all of the 99 names of God are used as names for people.
Some of the most popular ones are:
c

Abd Allah --Servant of God

Abd al-cAziiz --Servant of The Almighty
c
Abd al-Ra maan --Servant of The Merciful
c
Abd al-Ra iim --Servant of The Compassionate
c
Abd al- akiim --Servant of The Wise
c
Abd al-Kariim --Servant of The Generous
c
Abd al-Jabbaar --Servant of The Compeller
c
Abd al-Majiid --Servant of The Glorious
c
Abd al-Malik --Servant of The King, The Ruler of All
c
Abd al-Qaadir --Servant of The All-Powerful
c

There is no such name as "Abdul" by itself--it would mean "servant of the.....", that is,
"Abdul" would be only half a name...
As first names, these are all for males, but they can be used as last names for anyone.
In fact, many Arab names can be used as both first and last names. This is partly
because many Arabs take their father's first name as their own last name.

You may also hear the words Abu, Umm, Ibn, or Bint in people's names. Abu means
father, Umm means mother, Ibn means son, and Bint means daughter. So if a man is
named Mu ammad, you would call his father Abu Mu ammad and his mother Umm
Mu ammad. You would call his son Ibn Mu ammad, and his daughter is Bint Mu
ammad.
When Arab women get married, they usually keep their own family name.

0 ifr
1 Waa id
2 Ithnaan (Ithnayn)
3 Thalaatha
4 Arbaca
5 Khamsa
6 Sitta
7 Sabca
8 Thamaaniya
9 Tisca
10 cAshara

Lesson 46
Days of the Week
Yawm = Day
al-Yawm = Today
Usbuuc = Week
Ghaddan or Bukrah = Tomorrow
Ams or Imbaari = Yesterday
Learning the days of the week is easy if you remember how to count from 1 to 5.
Just remember that the first day of the week is Sunday.

Waa id
Ithnaan
Thalaatha
Arbaca
Khamsa

1
2
3
4
5

(Yawm) al-A ad
(Yawm) al-Ithnayn
(Yawm) ath-Thulathaa'
(Yawm) al-Arbicaa'
(Yawm) al-Khamiis
(Yawm) al-Jumcah
(Yawm) as-Sabt

Sunday (the first day)

Monday (the second day)
Tuesday (the third day)
Wednesday (the fourth day)
Thursday (the fifth day)
Friday (the day of coming together for prayer)
Saturday (the Sabbath day)

LESSONS 30 & 31
INTRODUCTION TO VERBS
Adrus = I study.
Askun = I live.
Adrus al-lughah al-cArabiyya. = I study the Arabic language.
Adrus fii Madrasat Shaw. = I study at the Shaw School.
Askun fii madiinat Philadelphia. = I live in the city of Philadelphia.
Askun fii wilaayat Pennsylvania. = I live in the state of Pennsylvania.
Ayna tadrus? = Where do you (m.) study?
Ayna tadrusii? = Where do you (f.) study?
Ayna taskun? = Where do you (m.) live?
Ayna taskunii? = Where do you (f.) live?
Here is how we conjugate several verbs: study, live, work, and write. Practice
repeating them out loud.
Adrus - I study
Tadrus - You (m.) study
Tadrusii - You (f.) study
Tadrus - She studies
Yadrus - He studies
Nadrus - We study
Askun - I live
Taskun - You (m.) live
Taskunii - You (f.) live
Taskun - She lives

Yaskun - He lives
Naskun - We live
Acmal - I work
Tacmal - You (m.) work
Tacmalii - You (f.) work
Tacmal - She works
Yacmal - He works
Nacmal - We work
Aktub - I write
Taktub - You (m.) write
Taktubii - You (f.) write
Taktub - She writes
Yaktub - He writes
Naktub - We write
Ayna yaskun cOmar? = Where does Omar live?
Ayna taskun Fa ima? = Where does Fatima live?
Ayna yacmal A mad? = Where does Ahmad work?
Ayna tacmal cA'isha? = Where does Aisha work?
Nacmal fii Philadelphia wa naskun fii New Jersey.
We work in Philadelphia and live in New Jersey.
Ayna Yaskun Ustaath Arnab ? Huwa yaskun fii wilaayat Jersey al-Jadiid.
Where does Mr. Rabbit live? He lives in the state of New Jersey.

Lessons 25 & 26
Nouns and Adjectives

A noun is a person, place or thing. "Proper nouns" are the names of people, places or
things, such as "Philadelphia," or "Ben Franklin." All nouns in Arabic are either
"masculine" or "feminine" in gender. In this way, Arabic is similar to most European
languages, such as French, Spanish or German, which all have genders for their
nouns. This makes sense when you're talking about nouns that are for people, such
as:
Masculine Human Nouns
Mudarris - male teacher
Ustaath - male professor
Waalid - father
Walad - boy

Akh - brother
Jadd - grandfather
Feminine Human Nouns
Mudarrisa - female teacher
Ustaatha - female professor
Waalida - mother
Bint - girl
Ukht - sister
Jadda - grandmother
But for speakers of English, it can be confusing to talk about the gender of non-human
objects, such as the following:
Masculine Non-human Nouns
Kitaab - book
Ism - name, noun
Baab - door
Al-Maghrib - Morocco
Qalam - pen
Dars - lesson
Bayt - house
Arnab - rabbit
Feminine Non-human Nouns
Madrasah - school
Sayyaarah - car
Lughah - language
Mi r - Egypt
Madiinah - city
Taawilah - table
Ziraafah - giraffe
Fortunately, in Arabic it is usually easy to tell if a noun is masculine or feminine.
Look at the examples above. You will notice that most of the feminine nouns end
with an "-ah" sound. This is how you can tell that the noun is feminine. It's a lot
easier than French or German, where you have to memorize the gender of every
noun. However, for some proper nouns, like Misr or al-Maghrib, you still need to
memorize whether it's masculine or feminine.
An adjective is a word which describes a noun. Here are some common adjectives:
Adjectives
Kabiir - big
aghiir - small
Jadiid - new

Qadiim - old
Jamiil - beautiful
Tawiil - long, tall
Qa iir - short
acb - difficult
Sahl - easy
In Arabic, the adjective follows the noun it describes--the opposite of English. An
adjective must "agree" in gender with the noun it describes: If the noun is masculine,
the adjective must be masculine. If the noun is feminine, the adjective must be
feminine. You make the adjective feminine simply by adding the "-ah" sound at the
end. Look at the following examples:
Kitaab qadiim = an old book
Walad jamiil = a handsome boy
Taalib jadiid = a new student
Baab aghiir = a small door
Bint jamiilah = a beautiful girl
Sayyaarah jadiidah = a new car
Madrasah kabiirah = a big school
Lughah qadiimah = an ancient language
An adjective must also agree with the noun it describes in "definiteness". Remember,
you make a noun definite in Arabic by adding the "al-" (The) at the beginning.
(Arnab = rabbit, al-arnab = the rabbit) So if the noun has an "al-" the adjective which
describes it also has to have an "al-." Look at the following examples:
bayt qadiim = an old house
al-bayt al-qadiim = the old house
walad awiil = a tall boy
al-walad a - awiil = the tall boy
dars acb = a difficult lesson
ad-dars a - acb = the difficult lesson
qalam jadiid = a new pen
al-qalam al-jadiid = the new pen
aawilah jamiilah = a beautiful table
a - aawilah al-jamiilah = the beautiful table

madiinah kabiirah = a big city

al-madiinah al-kabiirah = the big city
lughah sahlah = an easy language
al-lughah as-sahlah = the easy language
Mi r al-qadiimah = ancient Egypt
(Egypt is a proper noun, so it is definite)
Notice that with some of the words above, the "al-" has changed to "at-," "as-," etc.
This has to do with the way the "definite article" Al- is pronounced in combination
with certain letters. We will talk more about that later. For now, just pronounce the
words the way they are written above.

LESSON 33
PREPOSITIONS
Here are some prepositions--those little words that show the relation of one thing to
another. Prepositions are an important part of putting sentences together. They are
not always the exact equivalent of the English translation.
Prepositions:
Fii - In, at
Fawqa - Above
Ta ta - Below
c
Alaa - On, upon
Janba - Next to, beside
Maca - With
Let's practice putting sentences together using some new vocabulary words as well as
the ones we know already:
Madrasah - School
Bayt - House
Maktab - Office
Ma cam - Restaurant
Shaaric - Street
Philadelphia madiinah fii Pennsylvania. = Philly is a city in Pennsylvania.
Beirut madiinah fii Lubnaan. = Beirut is a city in Lebanon.
A mad fii al-maktab maca John. = Ahmad is in the office with John.
Ayna al-ma cam al-jadiid? = Where is the new restaurant?
Al-ma cam al-jadiid fii shaaric Walnut. = The new restaurant is on Walnut Street.
As-sayyaarah fii ash-shaari c. = The car is in the street.
Fa imah taskun fawqa al-maktab. = Fatimah lives above the office.
Anaa askun maca usratii. = I live with my family.
Al-bayt janba al-madrasah. = The house is next to the school.

Al-asad janba al-arnab. = The lion is beside the rabbit.

Al-daftar calaa a - aawilah. = The notebook is on the table.
Ayna al-qaamuus? = Where is the dictionary?
Al-qaamuus ta t al-kursii. = The dictionary is under the chair.

LESSON 35
POSSESSION

There are several ways to express possession in Arabic. The easiest ways are to just
use a preposition, which is followed by a pronoun suffix. The preposition "li" means
"to or for" so if you add the suffix "-k" for you, masculine, you get "liik" meaning
"to you, for you," but it also is used to mean "you have." This expression is usually
used for things that you cannot possess physically (intangibles) such as relationships.
Lii = I have
Liik (laka) = you m. have
Liiki (laki) = you f. have
Lahu = he has
Lahaa = she has
Linaa (lana) = we have
Liiku (lakum) = you pl. have
Lahum = they have
Lii akh wa ukht. = I have a brother and a sister
Lahaa sadiiq min Lubnaan. = She has a friend from Lebanon.
Lahu usrah kabiirah. = He has a big family.
Lahum jadd fii Kuwayt. = They have a grandfather in Kuwait.
The preposition "cinda" (sometimes pronounced "canda") is used to indicate
possession of things you own, like a car or a pencil.
c

indii = I have
indak = you m. have
c
indik = you f. have
c
induh = he has
c
indahaa = she has
c
indanaa = we have
c
indakum = you pl. have
c
indahum = they have
c

Indii sayyaarah qadiimah. = I have an old car.

Indahaa qaamuus jadiid. = She has a new dictionary.
c
Indanaa maktab kabiir. = We have a large office.
c

Sometimes you can use either "li" or "cinda."

Lii su'aal/ cindii su'aal. = I have a question.
When you are asking a yes or no question, you put the short word "hal" in front of the
question. This is used usually if you are writing or speaking formally. Usually, in
conversation, you do not say "hal" but indicate that you are asking a question by your
intonation, raising the tone of the word you are asking about.
(Hal) cindak qalam?/cindik qalam? = Do you (m/f) have a pen?
(Hal) cinduh sayyaarah? = Does he have a car?
(Hal) Liik akh? / Liiki akh? = Do you (m/f) have a brother?
(Hal) taskun fii bayt? = Do you (m.) live in a house?
ARAB COUNTRIES

Capitals

Algeria

Al-Jazaa'ir

Algiers (Al-Jazaa'ir)

Bahrain

Al-Ba rayn

Manama

Egypt

Mi r (Ma r)

Iraq

Al-cIraaq

Jordan

Al-Urdunn

Kuwait

Al-Kuwayt

Lebanon

Lubnaan

Libya

Liibyaa

Mauritania

Muuriitaaniyaa

Morocco
Oman

Al-Maghrib
c

Umaan

Palestine

Filas iin

Qatar

Qatar

Saudi Arabia
Somalia

As-Sacuudiyya
A - uumaal

Syria

Suuryaa

Sudan

As-Suudaan

Cairo (al-Qaahirah)
Baghdad
c

Amman
Kuwayt City
Beirut
Tripoli (at-Tarablus)
Nouakchatt
Rabat
Muscat

Doha
Riyadh
Mogadishu
Damascus (Dimashq)
Khartoum

Tunisia

Tuunis

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

Tunis
Al-Imaaraat Abu Dhabi

Al-Yaman

OTHER COUNTRIES
America

Amriikaa

Britain

Barii aaniyaa

Canada

Kanadaa

China

A - iin

Ethiopia

Athyuubiyaa

France

Faransaa

Germany

Almaaniyaa

Greece

Al-Yuunaan

India

Al-Hind

Indonesia

Induuniisiyaa

Iran

Iiraan

Israel

Israa'iil

Italy

Ii aaliyaa

Japan

Al-Yaabaan

Mexico

Al-Maksiik

Pakistan

Al-Baakistaan

Poland

Buuluuniyaa

Russia

Ruusiyaa

Senegal

Sinighaal

Turkey

Turkiyaa

ancaa

SCIENCE AND MATH

Alchemy
Algebra
Alkaline
Antimony
Chemistry
Elixir
Soda
Zero

Alcohol
Algorithm
Almanac
Azimuth
Cipher
Sine
Zenith

Names of many stars ( Altair, Betelgeuse, Fomalhaut, Rigel, Vega, etc.)

TRADE, COMMODITIES AND MILITARY
Admiral
Amber
Arsenal
Average
Borax
Caliber
Carafe
Cotton
Gauze
Hazard
Henna
Jar
Lapis Lazuli
Magazine
Ream (of paper) Safari
Sash
Satin
Talcum
Swahili
Zircon
Tariff
FOODS AND SPICES
Alfalfa
Artichoke
Candy
Coffee
Carob
Julep
Lime
Orange
Sherbet
Sugar
Syrup
Tangerine
ANIMALS
Albacore
Albatross
Camel
Gazelle

Apricot
Cafe
Caraway
Cafe
Jasmine
Lemon
Marzipan
Saffron
Spinach
Sumac
Tamarind

Gerbil
Giraffe
Monkey?
Tuna?
OTHER
Adobe
Alcove
Assassin
Bedouin
Check
Cork
Crimson
Genie
Ghoul
Guitar
Lilac
Lute
Mascara
Mafia
Massage
Mask
Monsoon
Mattress
Racquet
Mummy
Sofa
Scarlet
Talisman
Tambourine
Troubadour Tabby (cat)

LESSON 7
ALPHABET SOUP
English and most European languages are written in the Latin or Roman alphabet.
The Latin alphabet is the most widely used alphabet in the world, but did you know
that the Arabic alphabet is the second-most widely used alphabet in the world? In
addition to Arabic, many other languages are written in the Arabic script, especially in
Islamic countries. The major ones include Persian, the language of Iran, Urdu, the
language of Pakistan, Pushtu, the language of Afghanistan, and Kurdish, the
language of the Kurdish people who live in Turkey, Iran and Iraq. In all, about 100
languages around the world are or were written in the Arabic script, including some
African languages and many central and south Asian ones. Turkish used to be
written in the Arabic script, until the 1920s when the government made the change to
the Latin alphabet which Turkish uses now.
Arabic is a Semitic language. The word Semitic is the name of a family of
languages. It is named after one of the sons of Noah, Shem. You know in the Old
Testament there is the story of Noah and the Ark and the Great Flood. According to
the story, after the Flood, Noah and his family went out and re-populated the earth.
The descendants of his son Shem were called the Shemites, or Semites, and the
descendents of his son Ham were called the Hamites. The Semitic languages include
many ancient languages such as Babylonian and Assyrian as well as Hebrew, Arabic,
Amharic, the language of Ethiopia, and Aramaic, which is the language Jesus spoke.
In fact, Aramaic is still spoken today in villages in Syria, Iraq and Iran. The Hamitic
languages include ancient Egyptian, Coptic, Nubian, Berber--the languages of the
native peoples of North Africa--and many other African languages.

The Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic people who lived in what is now Syria,
Lebanon and Israel. They were famous for sailing and trading throughout the
Mediterranean. Mediterranean, in Latin, means "in the middle of the land." The
Phoenicians were expert sailors, and to them the sea was not a barrier...it was more
like the parking lot at the mall. They had to cross it to get to the countries on the other
side. What kinds of things were they trading?? Many things--in Lesson 6 we learned
that many English words for precious gems and spices and fine cloth come from
Arabic--the Phoenicians were famous for their purple dye that was very rare and
expensive. They made it from a particular kind of seashell that lived on their shores,
and it was so expensive that only kings could afford it--so it was called "royal
purple." They also traded in timber from the famous cedar trees that grew there, and
wine, olive oil and olives, and other things that were produced in their country.
But in addition to material goods, they were also exchanging knowledge and culture.
About 3000 years ago the Phoenicians started using an alphabet for their language,
and the new system quickly spread throughout the entire Mediterranean. The
Phoenician alphabet was a great advance over the other writing systems used before
that time. Previously, writing systems like Egyptian hieroglyphics used symbols for
different syllables....so they had to learn hundreds of them in order to put them
together to form words and sentences. The Phoenician alphabet had just 22 symbols-one for each individual sound--so it was a lot easier to learn. Each symbol was a
picture of a common object, and the letter's sound was the first sound in the name for
the object (in Phoenician.) This alphabet system made communication with different
cultures much simpler, which of course was in the interest of trade and commerce.
The Greeks quickly began to use the Phoenician system, adapting it to their own
language. The Hebrews also adopted it and made their own changes. Later, the
Romans adapted the Greek alphabet for their language, Latin. Our English alphabet is
derived from the Latin alphabet.
The word "Alphabet" comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet--alpha
and beta--but the names of the Greek letters themselves mostly come from the
Phoenician names.
The Arabic alphabet developed from an earlier script used by the Nabatean people,
who had also adapted the Phoenician alphabet to their own needs. The Nabateans
were an Arab people who lived about 2000 years ago in what is today Jordan and
northern Saudi Arabia. They grew rich from commerce, and had their capital at
Petra. They were later conquered by the Romans. By the year 600, the Arabic script
had developed to more or less the form it is in now...although it was not until later that
the dots were added to the shapes of the letters.
So now you know that it is no coincidence that all of the alphabets used in both
European and Semitic languages start with A B C D E....(or A B G D E...)
Now let's compare the Latin/English and Arabic alphabets:
Spelling in English can be confusing even for native speakers of English, and
especially for foreigners learning English. This is in part because English has words

derived from many different languages with many different spelling systems--such as
French, German, Latin and Greek. So in English we have spellings like:
kn in know
gh in laugh
ph elephant
sometimes a "c" is pronounced like a "k" and sometimes like an "s."
the "sh" sound is written as two letters instead of as one.
Arabic has one letter for each sound--so spelling is a lot easier than in English. You
hear the sound, you know which letter to use. Do you have to take spelling tests in
English class?? I'll bet you love them. I have been told that in schools in Arab
countries, they don't give spelling tests, because spelling is not a problem with the
Arabic language. If you can pronounce a word in Arabic, you can spell it. And if you
can read it, you can pronounce it. (unlike in English.)
There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet. English has both printing and writing, but
Arabic has only writing; it is a cursive alphabet, meaning the letters always connect
to one another. There are no capital letters in Arabic. Arabic letters can have as
many as 4 different shapes, depending on where the letter occurs in the word. This
may sound complicated, but it's really not. In English we have capital, or upper case,
and lower case letters, and then we have printing and writing. So we can have as
many as 4 letter shapes in English, too. For example a capital G looks nothing like a
lower-case g.
Lastly, Arabic, like Hebrew and other Semitic languages, has long vowel sounds and
short ones. Arabic does not consider the short vowels to be real letters, and they are
usually not used in writing. In a newspaper, for example, they are usually not
printed. So although Arabic has only 28 actual letters, there are also a number of
other symbols used in writing which are not considered letters.
Lesson 8: Introduction to Islam.
Vocabulary
Allah--God, The One God. The same God whom Christians and Jews worship.
al-Islaam--The religion of Islam. The word means "submission" to the will of God.
Muslim--one who believes in Islam. Preferred pronunciation and spelling.
Moslem--old way of pronouncing and spelling Muslim
Qur'an--The Holy Scripture of Islam. Believed by Muslims to be the literal words of
God, as revealed to His Prophet Mu ammad by the Angel Gabriel. Preferred
pronunciation and spelling.
Koran--old way of pronouncing and spelling Qur'an
Mu ammad--The Prophet of Islam. Muslims believe that he was the last Messenger
sent by God to humankind. He died in the year 632. Preferred pronunciation and

spelling.
Mohamed--old way of pronouncing and spelling Mu ammad
alla Allah cAlayhi wa Sallim-- "May God bless him and grant him salvation" said by
Muslims after they mention the Prophet Mu ammad's name. In English they say
"Peace Be Upon Him"
The "Five Pillars" of Islam--The basic obligations a Muslim must fulfill.
1. Shahaada--Declaration of Faith--Witnessing that "There is no god but God and Mu
ammad is the Messenger of God."
2. alaat--Prayer--Muslims are supposed to pray five times daily.
3. Zakaat--Charity tax--to support the less fortunate in the community.
4. awm--Fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan--Muslims abstain from
eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset during this month.
5. ajj--Pilgrimage to Mecca--If she or he is physically and financially able, a Muslim
should make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in her/his lifetime. The Hajj
purifies the pilgrim spiritually and unifies the Islamic community.
Mosque--Muslim place of worship.
Masjid or Jaamic--Arabic words for Mosque
Minaret--Tower of mosque, from which the Call to Prayer is given.
Athaan--Muslim Call to Prayer--broadcast from the minaret 5 times daily.
God is most great. God is most great.
God is most great. God is most great.
I testify that there is no god except God.
I testify that there is no god except God.
I testify that Mu ammad is the Messenger of God.
I testify that Mu ammad is the Messenger of God.
Come to prayer! Come to prayer!
Come to success! Come to success!
God is most great. God is most great.
There is no god except God.
Mu'aththin--the man who gives the call to prayer.
Muezzin--common pronounciation and spelling of Mu'aththin

alaal--"legal, lawful" Used, among other things, to refer to food, especially meat
from animals that have been slaughtered according to Islamic law. Devout Muslims
do not eat meat which is not alaal.
In shaa Allah. "If God wills," " God willing"--said by Muslims about any future plans
or actions.

Lessons 27 & 28: Building Equational Sentences

Last week we learned that in Arabic, nouns are either masculine or feminine. How
can you tell what they are? Usually feminine nouns end with the "-ah" sound. And we
learned that in Arabic the adjective comes after the noun it describes. We also learned
that nouns and adjectives in Arabic must agree, that is, an adjective must agree with
the noun it describes. It must agree in several ways--one is gender. So if the noun is
masculine, you need a masculine adjective to describe it. If a noun is feminine, you
need a feminine adjective to describe it. To make the adjective feminine, again you
usually just add an "-ah" at the end.
An adjective has to agree with the noun it describes not just in gender, but also in
definiteness. So if the noun is definite with an "Al-", then the adjective also has to be
definite with an "Al-." Remember the "Al-" is the Arabic equivalent of "The", which
we call the "definite article."
Look at these examples:
bayt qadiim = an old house
al-bayt al-qadiim = the old house
Both of these are phrases, not sentences. How do we make a sentence out of these
words? Remember, there is no word for "is" in Arabic.
Al-bayt qadiim. = The house is old. This is a simple equational sentence. Note that
the subject "al-bayt" has the definite article and the predicate "qadiim" does not.
Look at these additional examples, paying attention to which words have the "al-" and
which do not. See how the "al-" changes the meaning of the phrase or sentence.
bayt qadiim = an old house
al-bayt al-qadiim = the old house
Al-bayt qadiim. = The house is old.
walad awiil = a tall boy
al-walad a - awiil = the tall boy
Al-walad awiil. = The boy is tall.

dars acb = a difficult lesson

ad-dars a - acb = the difficult lesson
Ad-dars acb. = The lesson is difficult.
qalam jadiid = a new pen
al-qalam al-jadiid = the new pen
Al-qalam jadiid. = The pen is new.
aawilah jamiilah = a beautiful table
a - aawilah al-jamiilah = the beautiful table
A - aawilah jamiilah. = The table is beautiful.
madiinah kabiirah = a big city
al-madiinah al-kabiirah = the big city
Al-madiinah kabiirah. = The city is big.
lughah sahlah = an easy language
al-lughah as-sahlah = the easy language
Al-lughah sahlah. = The language is easy.
Mi r al-qadiimah = ancient Egypt
Mi r qadiimah. = Egypt is ancient.
You will note that in some cases above the "Al-" is written as ad-, at-, or as-. This has
to do with the pronunciation. It is written Alif Laam in Arabic, but some letters take
over the Laam sound--it gets absorbed into the preceding sound....We will earn the
rules for this later--for now you should just pronounce it the way it is written here.
What is this??
The word for "this" in Arabic is either masculine or feminine, depending on the noun
it describes:
Haathaa -- This (masc.)
Haathihi -- This (fem.)
To ask the question "What is this?" you would use the masculine form:
Maa haathaa? What is this?
The person answering the question would answer with either Haathaa or Haathihi,
depending on the gender of the word...if you know the word , you know what gender
it is. Look at these examples:
Maa haathaa? What is this?
Haathaa qaamuus. This is a dictionary. (qaamuus is masculine)
Maa haathaa? What is this?
Haathihi jariidah. This is a newspaper. (jariidah is feminine)
Here are some new nouns for you to learn:

Qaamuus - dictionary
Jariidah - newspaper
Kursii - chair
Daftar - notebook
Maktab - office or desk
Kharii ah - map
We can also make whole sentences using Haathaa and Haathihi. Look at these
examples:
Haathaa bayt = This is a house.
Haathaa bayt qadiim = This is an old house.
Haathaa al-bayt = this house...
Haathaa al-bayt qadiim = This house is old.
Haathaa dars = This is a lesson.
Haathaa dars acb = This is a difficult lesson.
Haathaa ad-dars = this lesson...
Haathaa ad-dars acb = This lesson is difficult.
Haathaa daftar = This is a notebook.
Haathaa daftar aghiir= This is a small notebook.
Haathaa ad-daftar = this notebook...
Haathaa ad-daftar aghiir= This notebook is small.
Haathihi jariidah = This is a newspaper.
Haathihi jariidah qadiimah = This is an old newspaper.
Haathihi al-jariidah = this newspaper...
Haathihi al-jariidah qadiimah = This newspaper is old.
Haathihi kharii ah = This is a map.
Haathihi kharii ah kabiirah = This is a big map.
Haathihi al-kharii ah = this map...
Haathihi al-kharii ah kabiirah = This map is big.
Haathihi lughah = This is a language.
Haathihi lughah sahlah = This is an easy language.
Haathihi al-lughah = this language...
Haathihi al-lughah sahlah = This language is easy.

LESSON 41 - PLURAL VERBS

PRESENT TENSE

Here are four verbs you've had in previous lessons, plus two new ones:
Adrus - I study
Askun - I live

Acmal - I work
Aktub - I write
Athhab - I go
Acrif - I know
Here are the complete conjugations of these verbs in the present tense:
When Arabs are speaking to each other, they usually drop the "N" at the end of some
of these. But when it is written, the "N" must be included.
Adrus - I study
Tadrus - You (m.) study
Tadrusii[n] - You (f.) study
Tadrus - She studies
Yadrus - He studies
Nadrus - We study
Tadrusuu[n] - You (pl.) study
Yadrusuu[n] - They study
Askun - I live
Taskun - You (m.) live
Taskunii[n] - You (f.) live
Taskun - She lives
Yaskun - He lives
Naskun - We live
Taskunuu[n] - You (pl.) live
Yaskunuu[n] - They live
Acmal - I work
Tacmal - You (m.) work
Tacmalii[n] - You (f.) work
Tacmal - She works
Yacmal - He works
Nacmal - We work
Tacmaluu[n] - You (pl.) work
Yacmaluu[n] - They work
Aktub - I write
Taktub - You (m.) write
Taktubii[n] - You (f.) write
Taktub - She writes
Yaktub - He writes
Naktub - We write
Taktubuu[n] - You (pl.) write
Yaktubuu[n] - They write
Athhab - I go
Tathhab - You (m.) go
Tathhabii[n] - You (f.) go
Tathhab - She goes
Yathhab - He goes

Nathhab - We go
Tathhabuu[n] - You (pl.) go
Yathhabuu[n] - They go
Acrif - I know
Tacrif - You (m.) know
Tacrifii[n] - You (f.) know
Tacrif - She knows
Yacrif - He knows
Nacrif - We know
Tacrifuu[n] - You (pl.) know
Yacrifuu[n] - They know
Example sentences with plural verbs:
Taskunuu fii bayt am shaqqah? (spoken style)
Do youse live in a house or an apartment?
Yaskunuun fii bayt.
They live in a house.
Yacmaluun fii matcam.
They work in a restaurant.
Yadrusuun fi Jaamicat Drexel.
They study at Drexel U.
Ilaa ayna tathhabuun?
Where are y'all going?
Yaktubuun kitaab.
They are writing a book.
Hal tacrifuun ayna taskun cA'isha? (written style)
Do you (pl.) know where cA'isha lives?
Yacrifuun al-Arabiyyah jayyidan.
They know Arabic well.
Negation: To negate present tense verbs, you just use the word "Laa," which means
"No."
Laa nacrif Ahmad.
We don't know Ahmad.
Laa yacrifuun al-Arabiyyah jayyidan.
They do not know Arabic well.
Laa yaskunuun fii bayt.
They do not live in a house.

Laa yacmaluun fii matcam.

They do not work in a restaurant.
Laa yadrusuun fi Jaamicat Drexel.
They do not study at Drexel U.
Plural pronouns:
Na nu (i na) - we
Antum (intu) - you pl. [youse, y'all]
Hum (humma) - they

Lessons 47 and 49
Past Tense Verbs

Past tense verbs in Arabic are made by adding different suffixes (endings) to the verb
stem.

Singular
Here are the conjugations for some verbs we have already had.
Darasa - He studied
Darasat - She studied
Darasti - You (f.) studied
Darasta - You (m.) studied
Darastu - I studied
Sakana - He lived
Sakanat - She lived
Sakanti - You (f.) lived
Sakanta - You (m.) lived
Sakantu - I lived
c

Arafa - He knew
Arafat - She knew
c
Arafti - You (f.) knew
c
Arafta - You (m.) knew
c
Araftu - I knew
c

Kataba - He wrote
Katabat - She wrote
Katabti - You (f.) wrote
Katabta - You (m.) wrote
Katabtu - I wrote

Qara'a - He read
Qara'at - She read
Qara'ti - You (f.) read
Qara'ta - You (m.) read
Qara'tu - I read
Fahima - He understood
Fahimat - She understood
Fahimti - You (f.) understood
Fahimta - You (m.) understood
Fahimtu - I understood
Examples:
Sakanat fii al-Qaahirah.
She lived in Cairo.
Darrasa fii Jaamicat Pennsylvania.
He taught at Penn.
Thahabtu ilaa al-ma cam.
I went to the restaurant.
c

Amalat fii haathaa al-maktab.

She worked in this office.
Negation: To negate the past tense, you just add the word "maa" before the verb,
meaning "not."
Hal fahimti haathaa ad-dars?
Did you (f.) understand this lesson?
Nacm, fahimtu haathaa ad-dars. Yes, I understood this lesson.
Laa, maa fahimtu haathaa ad-dars. No, I did not understand this lesson.
Hal qara'ta ar-risaalah?
Did you (m.) read the letter?
Nacm, qara'tu ar-risaalah. Yes, I read the letter.
Laa, maa qara'tu ar-risaalah. No, I did not read the letter.

Plural
There are actually different endings for masculine and feminine plurals ("you" m/f
and "they" m/f)
but most Arabs do not use them when they speak, so here we will give you only the
masculine plurals which
are usually used for everyone.

Darasna - We studied
Darastum - You (pl.) studied
Darasuu - They studied
Sakanna - We lived
Sakantum - You (pl.) lived
Sakanuu - They lived
c

Arafna - We knew
Araftum - You (pl.) knew
c
Arafuu - They knew
c

Katabna - We wrote
Katabtum - You (pl.) wrote
Katabuu - They wrote
Qaabalna - We met
Qaabaltum - You (pl.) met
Qaabaluu - They met
Qara'na - We read
Qara'tum - You (pl.) read
Qara'uu - They read
Fahimna - We understood
Fahimtum - You (pl.) understood
Fahimuu - They understood
Examples:
Sakanuu fii al-Qaahirah.
They lived in Cairo.
Darrasuu fii Madrasat Shaw.
They taught at Shaw School.
Anaa wa Khaalid thahabna ilaa al-ma cam.
Khalid and I went to the restaurant.
Wa qaabalna cAli hunaak.
And we met Ali there.
Hal camaluu fii haathaa al-maktab?
Did they work in this office?
Ayna thahabtum ilaa al-jaamicah?
Where did y'all go to college?
Thahabna ilaa Jaamicat Drexel.
We went to Drexel U.

Remember, the past tense is negated with the word "maa" before the verb.
Hal qara'tum al-jariidah al-yawm?
Did you (pl.) read the newspaper today?
Nacm, qara'na al-jariidah. Yes, we read the newspaper.
Laa, maa qara'na al-jariidah. No, we did not read the newspaper
Hal fahimtum haathaa ad-dars?
Did you (pl.) understand this lesson?
Nacm, fahimna haathaa ad-dars. Yes, we understood this lesson.
Laa, maa fahimna haathaa ad-dars. No, we did not understand this lesson.

LESSONS 56 & 58
PLURAL NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

If you've been paying attention, you will have noticed that we've already discussed
plural verbs, but not plural nouns, until now. That's because in Arabic they can be a
bit tricky sometimes.
In English you usually add an -S or an -ES to the end of the word to make it plural.
For example: student/students, rabbit/rabbits, dictionary/dictionaries.
In Arabic, however, there are different endings for masculine and feminine plural
nouns and adjectives. And Arabic makes an important distinction between nouns for
people and nouns which are for things. "Human" and "Non-human."
We'll start with feminine nouns, because they are generally the easiest. Most feminine
nouns that end with the sound -AH (the taa marbuu ah) make their plurals by simply
adding the ending -AAT. This includes any nouns for women, and also many
feminine nouns for things.
Feminine Human Nouns
aalibah/ aalibaat = student/s (f.)
ustaathah/ustaathaat = professor/s (f.)
tilmiithah/tilmiithaat = pupil/s (f.)
abiibah/ abiibaat = doctor/s (f.)
jaddah/jaddaat = grandmother/s
ukht/akhawaat = sister/s
bint/banaat = girl/s
Feminine Non-Human Nouns
jaamicah/jaamicaat = university/ies

wilaayah/wilaayaat = state/s
sayyaarah/sayyaaraat = car/s
aawilah/ aawilaat = table/s
kalimah/kalimaat = word/s
lughah/lughaat = language/s
sanah/sanawaat = year/s
maktabah/maktabaat = library/ies or bookstore/s
But there are some exceptions: Some feminine nouns don't form the plural with a
regular -AAT ending, and the plurals must be memorized, such as these words you
know:
jariidah/jaraa'id = newspaper/s
madrasah/madaaris = school/s
madiinah/mudun = city/ies
ghurfah/ghuraf = room/s
shaqqah/shiqaq = apartment/s
The masculine human plural ending is -UUN or -IIN. When you're writing, you need
to know which form to use. (It has to do with the grammar, that is, how the word is
used in the sentence.) But when speaking, most Arabs are only going to use the -IIN
ending. In Egypt, for example, they don't ever use the -UUN ending in regular, daily
speech.
Nouns starting with MU- usually take these regular human plural endings, for
example:
Mudarrisah/Mudarrisaat = teacher/s (f)
Mudarris/Mudarrisuun or Mudarrisiin = teacher/s (m)
Muhandisah/Muhandisaat = engineer/s (f)
Muhandis/Muhandisuun or Muhandisiin = engineer/s (m)
Mudiirah/Mudiiraat = director/s (f)
Mudiir/Mudiiruun or Mudiiriin = director/s (m)
Muslimah/Muslimaat = Muslim/s (f)
Muslim/Muslimuun or Muslimiin = Muslim/s (m)
Also, those adjectives that end with -ii, formed from the names of countries, take
these regular plural endings when they are used to describe people:
Sacuudii/Sacuudiyyuun or -iin = Saudi/s (m)
Sacuudiyyah/Sacuudiyyaat = Saudi/s (f)
c

Iraqii/cIraqiyyuun or -iin = Iraqi/s (m)

c
Iraqiyyah/cIraqiyyaat = Iraqi/s (f)
Lubnaanii/Lubnaaniyyuun or -iin = Lebanese (m)
Lubnaaniyyah/Lubnaaniyyaat = Lebanese (f)

Mi rii/Mi riyyuun or -iin = Egyptian/s (m)

Mi riyyah/Mi riyyaat = Egyptian/s (f)
Suudaanii/Suudaaniyyuun or -iin = Sudanese (m)
Suudaaniyyah/Suudaaniyyaat = Sudanese (f)
Amriikii/Amriikiyyuun or -iin = American/s (m)
Amriikiyyah/Amriikiyyaat = American/s (f)
If there's a group of people including both men and women, then you just use the
masculine plural form to refer to all of them.
In English there are all those weird plurals that you just have to learn. And they can
be very confusing for people who are learning English for the first time. If English is
not your native language, or you have friends from different countries who are
learning English, then you know what I mean. The plural of "Mouse" is "Mice" not
"Mouses," but the plural of "House" is not "Hice" but "Houses." The plural of
"Goose" is "Geese," but the plural of "Moose" is not "Meese," it's "Moose"--the same
as the singular. Why? Because English is a wonderful language. And Arabic is also a
wonderful language....
Many nouns in Arab have plurals that don't fit the -AAT/-UUN patterns. When you're
learning your vocabulary words, you have to memorize the plural form of the nouns
and adjectives along with the singular. Here are some words you already know, along
with their plurals. You can probably tell that there are some patterns for the plurals,
changes that happen with the syllables and vowels--see if you can pick them out. But
you still have to memorize which one goes with which noun.
Masculine Human Nouns
aalib/ ullaab = student/s (m)
tilmiith/talaamithah = pupil/s (m)
ustaath/asaatithah = professor/s (m)
walad/awlaad = boy/s
jadd/ajdaad = grandfather/s
ibn/abnaa' = son/s
akh/ikhwah = brother/s
Masculine Non-Human Nouns
bayt/buyuut = house/s
dars/duruus = lesson/s
fa l/fu uul = season/s
shahr/shuhuur = month/s
baab/abwaab = door/s
ism/asmaa' = name/s
qalam/aqlaam = pen/s
yawm/ayyaam = day/s
asad/usud = lion/s
kitaab/kutub = book/s
shaaric/shawaaric = street/s

ma cam/ma aacim = restaurant/s

arnab/araanib = rabbit/s
daftar/dafaatir = notebook/s
kursii/karaasii = chair/s
maktab/makaatib = office/s or desk/s
miftaa /mafaatii = key/s
qaamuus/qawaamiis = dictionary/ies
usbuuc/asaabiic = week/s
Here are a few practice sentences using plural subjects with the plural verb forms you
already know:
Al-Muhandisuun yacmaluun fii Philadelphia.
The engineers work in Philly.
A - ullaab yadrusuun fii Jaamicat Pennsylvania.
The students study at the University of Pennsylvania
Al-Asaatitha yudarrisuun al-lughah al-cArabiyyah.
The professors teach the Arabic language.
Plural Nouns and Adjectives
Remember how adjectives work with nouns. They follow the noun, and they also
have to be the same gender as the noun they describe. Also if the noun is definite,
then the adjective must be definite too. Now you will learn that adjectives have to
agree with the nouns they describe in a third way: in number.
As mentioned above, Arabic makes an important distinction between nouns for people
and nouns which are for things. "Human" and "Non-human." Human plurals take
plural adjectives. For the feminine ones, again, you just add the suffix "-AAT." For
the masculine ones you usually just add "-UUN" or "-IIN," but some irregular ones
just have to be memorized. Now here's the tricky part: non-human plurals, in
Arabic, are considered to be feminine singular, so you use the feminine singular
adjective with them. Let's practice. Look at these examples changing the singular
nouns and adjectives to plural ones:
mudiir muhimm = an important m. director
mudiiruun muhimmuun = important directors
mudiirah muhimmah = an important f. director
mudiiraat muhimmaat = important f. directors
jariidah muhimmah = an important newspaper
jaraa'id muhimmah = important newspapers
aalib jadiid = a new m. student
aalibah jadiidah = a new f. student
ullaab judud = new students

aalibaat jadiidaat = new f. students

a - aalib al-jadiid = the new student
a - ullaab al-judud = the new students
mudarris Mi rii = a m. Egyptian teacher
mudarrisuun Mi riyyuun = Egyptian teachers
al-mudarris al-Mi rii = the Egyptian teacher
al-mudarrisuun al-Mi riyyuun = the Egyptian teachers
bint jamiilah = a beautiful girl
banaat jamiilaat = beautiful girls
al-bint al-jamiilah = the beautiful girl
al-banaat al-jamiilaat = the beautiful girls
kitaab sahl = an easy book
kutub sahlah = easy books
al-kitaab as-sahl = the easy book
al-kutub as-sahlah = the easy books
baab aghiir = a small door
abwaab aghiirah = small doors
al-baab a - aghiir = the small door
al-abwaab a - aghiirah = the small doors
sayyaarah jadiidah = a new car
sayyaaraat jadiidah = new cars
as-sayyaarah al-jadiidah = the new car
as-sayyaaraat al-jadiidah = the new cars
madiinah kabiirah = a big city
mudun kabiirah = big cities
al-madiinah al-kabiirah = the big city
al-mudun al-kabiirah = the big cities
Qaabaltu ullaab kathiiriin. = I met many students.
Qaabaltu aalibaat kathiiraat. = I met many f. students.
Qara'tu kutub kathiirah. = I read many books.
The demonstrative pronouns "haathaa" and "haathihi" (this m/f) must also agree in
gender, so if you are talking about non-human plurals, you will use the feminine form
haathihi, as in these examples:
Maa fahimna haathaa ad-dars. = We did not understand this lesson.
Maa fahimna haathihi ad-duruus. = We did not understand these lessons.
Qara'tu haathaa al-kitaab al-jadiid. = I read this new book.
Qara'tu haathihi al-kutub al-jadiidah. = I read these new books.

Hal qara'ta haathihi al-jariidah? = Did you read this newspaper?

Hal qara'ta haathihi al-jaraa'id? = Did you read these newspapers?

LESSON 53
SEASONS and WEATHER
Fa l = Season (plural: fu uul)
ar-Rabiic = Spring
a -Sayf = Summer
al-Khariif = Fall
ash-Shitaa' = Winter
a -Taqs = the weather (also al-jaww; Egyptians say ig-gaww)
Ma ar = rain
Mum ir = rainy
ash-Shams - The Sun
Mushmis = sunny
Baarid = cold
aarr = hot
[note that " aarr" and "baarid" are used with things, and " arraan" and "bardaan" are
used with people]
Examples:
Na nu al-aan fii fa l ar-rabiic.
We are now in the season of spring.
Kaana haathaa ash-shitaa' baarid jiddan.
This winter was very cold.
Fii ar-rabiic a - aqs jamiil jiddan fii Philadelphia.
In spring the weather is very beautiful in Philadelphia.
A - aqs al-yawm aarr wa mushmis.
The weather today is hot and sunny.
Ams kaana a - aqs mushmis aydan.
Yesterday the weather was sunny too.
Yawm al-Jumcah kaana a - aqs mum ir.
Friday the weather was rainy.
Fii ash-shitaa' a - aqs baarid wa mum ir fii Philadelphia.
In winter the weather is cold and rainy in Philadelphia.

Wa fii a - ayf a - aqs aarr wa mushmis.

And in the summer the weather is hot and sunny.
Sun letters and Moon letters
These terms are used to describe the difference in the way letters are pronounced in
Arabic. There are 2 groups--the "Sun letters" and the "Moon letters."
With Sun letters, the "Al-" of the definite article ("the") gets assimilated to the
following letter. This means that the L is actually pronounced like the consonant
which follows it, as in "ash-Shams" The Sun. With Moon letters, the L of the Al- is
pronounced as normal, like an L, as in "al-Qamar" The Moon. This is why we say
AR-Rabiic (Spring) but AL-Khariif (Fall.) To pronounce the definite article ALcorrectly, you need to know if the letter following it is a Sun letter or a
Moon letter. It is easiest just to remember how words are pronounced, rather than
memorizing a list of letters, but for reference the Sun letters are: t, th, d, th, r, z,
s, sh, , daad, , TH, and n. (these are the letters pronounced at the front of your
mouth, with your tongue against your teeth.) All the other letters are Moon letters.
ash-Shams - The Sun
uruuf shamsiyyah = "Sun letters"
al-Qamar - The Moon
uruuf qamariyyah = "Moon letters"

LESSON 59
COLORS

Lawn (pronounced "loan")--color (plural Alwaan)

Colors in Arabic can get a bit tricky, so that's why we left them until the end of the
year. There are two types of adjectives for colors in Arabic. The first type is the
easiest....these are the colors related to things, and they are formed just like the
adjectives related to countries. Remember you form those adjectives by taking the
name of the country and adding -ii for the masculine adjective and -iyyah for feminine
adjectives, like this:
Amriikaa--America
Amriikii--American (m)
Amriikiyyah--American (f)
Lubnaan--Lebanon
Lubnaanii--Lebanese (m)
Lubnaaniyyah--Lebanese (f)

Some of the common adjectives for colors that are formed from nouns for things
include the following:
Bunnii/iyyah - Brown (from "bunn" meaning coffee beans)
Wardii/iyyah or Zahrii/iyyah - Pink (from "wardah" or "zahrah" meaning rose or
flower) [Egyptians use the Turkish word "bembe" for pink]
Banafsijii/iyyah - Purple or violet (from "banafsij" meaning the Violet flower)
Burtuqaalii/iyyah - Orange (from "burtuqaal" meaning the orange fruit)
Rumaadii/iyyah - Gray (from "rumaad" meaning ashes)
Thahabii/iyyah - Gold (from "thahab" meaning gold)
Fiddii/iyyah - Silver (from "fiddah" meaning silver)
Ku lii/iyyah - Navy blue (from "ku l" meaning Kohl, the dark-blue powder used as
eye-liner in the Middle East)
Khaakii/iyyah - Khaki (from the Persian word "khaak" meaning dust. This is where
English gets the word "khaki")
The second type of adjectives for colors in Arabic takes special forms, different from
regular adjectives. Remember, in Arabic the feminine form is usually made by simply
adding the suffix "-ah" to the masculine form. Adjectives of color (and many physical
defects) often take different forms:
Azraq/Zarqaa' - blue m/f
A mar/ amraa' - red m/f
Akhdar/Khadraa' - green m/f
A far/ afraa' - yellow m/f
Aswad/Sawdaa' - black m/f
Abyad/Baydaa' - white m/f
Here are a few example sentences:
c

Indii sayyaarah sawdaa' jadiidah. - I have a new black car.

Shaahadtu film abyad wa aswad. - I saw a black and white film.

Ayna qamii ii al-azraq? - Where is my blue shirt?
Al-kitaab al-a mar calaa al-qaamuus al-akhdar. - The red book is on the green
dictionary.
At-tuffa ah amraa'. The apple is red.
Al-mawzah afraa'. The banana is yellow.
Lawn al-ba r azraq. The color of the sea is blue.
The rainbow: In Arabic a rainbow is called "Qaws Quza a" meaning "the bow of the
rain god Quza . Quza was the ancient Arabian god of rain, in the time before
Islam. Remember when we learned about how the Kacbah in Makkah used to be full

of idols of the old Arabian gods, before the Prophet Mu ammad came and destroyed
all the idols? Well one of those idols they used to worship was Quza . He was an
important god to the ancient Arabians because there was not much rain in the desert.
Even though no-one worships him anymore, Arabs still call a rainbow "the bow of
Quza ."
What are the colors of the rainbow?
red - a mar
orange - burtuqaalii
yellow - a far
green - akhdar
blue - azraq
indigo (really dark blue) - niilii (or ku lii)
violet - banafsijii

LESSON 50
COFFEE!!!!
COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE!!!

Fountain in Saudi Arabia in the shape of traditional Arab coffee pots (dallah)
Today's show is brought to you by COFFEE. Actually every day's show is brought to
you by coffee....because without it I would not be able to get out of the house in the
morning! The story of coffee is actually a really interesting history of international
trade and relations between countries.
The Arabic word for coffee is qahwah, this word went into Turkish as kahve (Turkish
does not have a W sound,) and from that we get the words cafe and coffee. Qahwah
is actually an old Arabic word which was another name for wine, but eventually after
coffee was introduced it came to mean just coffee.
from this we also get words like caffeine and cafeteria....

The coffee plant is a small tree which actually originated in the mountains of
Ethiopia. The beans were used as both a food and to make the drink. From Ethiopia,
the Yemenis brought it over and planted it in Yemen, almost 600 years ago. The
Ethiopians called the tree, the coffee beans, and the drink made from them "Bunn,"
and that became the name of the beans in Arabic. I think it's just a coincidence that
"bunn" sounds like "bean."
From Yemen, coffee began to be exported all over the Arab world, and later to Turkey
and Iran. The main port from which coffee was exported was the city of alMukhaa...and that's where we get the word Mocha as a name for coffee. So coffee
growing started in Ethiopia, went over to Yemen, and for about 200 years Yemen was
the most important coffee-growing center. Then in the 1600's coffee started to
become popular in Europe, and European merchants started to get in on the coffee
trade. The Yemenis grew very rich from the demand for coffee in Europe, and prices
were high. So the Europeans figured they could break the Yemeni monopoly on
coffee by growing the tree in other places. They had lots of colonies, so the Dutch
smuggled plants to Indonesia and started growing it there., and the British took the
plants to Nigeria and Jamaica. Even so, Yemen remained the center of the world
coffee trade for hundreds of years.
There's a lot of talk today about "globalization." The story of coffee is an amazing
example of this. From its origins in Ethiopia, coffee is now grown in about 50
countries around the world, and some 25 million people around the world depend on
coffee to make their living. Do you know what country produces the most coffee
today? It's not Yemen. It's actually Brazil. When you go to buy coffee, you usually
find it called by the country it's grown in, such as Ethiopia, Colombia, Sumatra, Java,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Kenya, Jamaica, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and
Mexico. These are some of the best-known varieties of coffee.
An interesting subject in the history of coffee is its relationship with the religion of
Islam. You probably know that Islam prohibits drinking alcohol, or taking any other
intoxicating substances. So when coffee first started becoming popular, there was a
big debate about whether it was legal or not, because of course it has an effect on the
body. This went back and forth over more than a hundred years, and sometimes
coffee was made illegal, and then the next ruler would decide that it was legal after
all. Eventually coffee became accepted as Islamically permitted by almost
everybody. One of the earliest uses of coffee was actually as a medicine, although
there was also a debate as to whether it was helpful or harmful. And you know, that
debate is still going on today.
Coffeehouses are very popular in the Arab world. People (mostly men) go and sit and
hang out with their friends and drink tea or coffee, play backgammon or dominoes.
Arabs today actually drink more tea than coffee. In the past, storytellers would come
and tell stories in the coffeehouses, but now most of the story tellers are gone and
people just listen to the radio or watch TV.
The traditional Arab method of making coffee is to grind the roasted beans really fine,
and boil them for a while in the coffeepot, called a dallah. In much of the Arab
world, the easier way is to take a spoonful of the ground bunn and mix it with water in
a kanakah, and bring it to a boil over the stove. It's drunk in small cups, called

"finjaan." Some people like it with sugar and some without, but you never add milk.
Either way you produce what the Arabs call Arabic coffee, and what people in the
West usually call Turkish coffee. Often it is mixed with the spice called cardamom.
(hayl or abb al-haan in Arabic) Cardamom comes in little seed pods. It is ground up
and brewed with the coffee. Cardamom was and still is an expensive spice, more
expensive than coffee itself, so using cardamom was considered a luxury. The
wealthier you were, the more cardamom you used in your coffee, until if you were
really wealthy, or as a sign of your hospitality, you served your guests coffee that was
only about10% coffee and 90% cardamom--in fact it doesn't look like coffee at all-it's much yellower and more perfumy. You can get cardamom at most grocery stores.
If you grind your own beans for coffee, you can add a few cardamom pods to give
your coffee the "Arabic flavor." If you use a coffee filter, you can just grind up the
whole pod with your beans. If you want to mix the cardamom directly with the beans
in the water, in a kanakah, you will need to take the little seeds out of the pod husk
first.

Vocabulary Words for Lessons 17 and 19

In School; Practice Building Sentences
Ustaath--Male teacher/professor. (also used as title to mean "Mister")
Ustaatha--Female teacher/professor
Mudarris--Male teacher
Mudarrisa--Female teacher
Tilmiith--Male student, pupil. (elementary/middle school)
Tilmiitha--Female student, pupil.
Anaa--I
Huwa--He
Hiya--She
Madrasah--School
"Anaa tilmiitha/tilmiith fii Madrasat Thomas."--I am a student at the Thomas School.
"Man hiya?"--Who is she?
"Hiya tilmiitha fii Madrasat Shaw."--She is a student at the Shaw School.
"Man huwa?"--Who is he?
"Huwa Mudarris fii Madrasat Central East."--He is a teacher at Central East School.
Adrus...--I study...
"Adrus fii Madrasat Masterman." I study at the Masterman School.

Al-Lugha al-cArabiyya--The Arabic Language

"Adrus al-Lugha al-cArabiyya fii Madrasat Turner"--I study the Arabic Language at
the Turner School.
Jaamicah--University
Taalib--Male high school or college student
Taaliba--Female high school or college student
(Words from Lesson 10)
Akh--Brother
Akhii--My brother
Ukht--Sister
Ukhtii--My sister
Waalid--Father
Waalidii--My father
Waalida--Mother
Waalidatii--My mother
"Akhii taalib fii Jaamicat LaSalle."--My brother is a student at LaSalle University.
"Ukhtii taaliba fii Jaamicat Pennsylvania."--My sister is a student at the University of
Pennsylvania.
"Waalidii mudarris fii Madrasat Hopkinson."--My father is a teacher at the Hopkinson
School.
"Waalidatii ustaatha fii Jaamicat Drexel."--My mother is a professor at Drexel
University.

LESSONS 21, 22, 23

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
"Kullu Sana wa Antum bi-Khayr!"
Greeting used at holidays, birthdays, etc. to express good wishes: "May you be
well with every coming year!"
Kullu--each, every
Sana--year
Antum--you, plural
bi-Khayr--Well, good, "in wellness"
You will hear Arabs say it in many different ways.
"Kullu cAam wa Antum bi-Khayr" (cAam is another word for 'year')
"Kulli Sana wi Intu Tayyibiin" (This is what Egyptians say)
"Kulli cAam wa Intu Salmiin" ( This is what Palestinians and Syrians say)
c

Iid al-Miilaad--Christmas (Holiday of the Birth)

"cIid al-Miilaad Saciid!"--Merry Christmas!

"Bayt La m" Arabic name for Bethlehem

Iid al-Fi r--Festival of Fast-Breaking-The holiday which ends the month of

Ramadan.
"cIid Mubaarak!" Blessed Eid!
Ra's as-Sana--New Year (Literally, 'head of
the year,' and similar to Hebrew Rosh
Hashanah)
On all of these occasions Arabs will wish
each other "Kullu Sana wa Antum biKhayr!"
In 2001, the US Postal Service issued the
Eid Greetings stamp. The Arabic
calligraphy, by the noted American
calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya, says "Eid
Mubarak" "Blessed Eid." This is the first
U.S. stamp ever issued to commemorate an Islamic holiday.

Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is not celebrated in Arab countries because it is an American holiday. But
you may be surprised
to learn that many of the Swahili terms used in the Kwanzaa celebration are originally
from Arabic. This is
because the Swahili or KiSwahili language developed as a mixture of Arabic and the
native Bantu language,
as a means of communication for all of the trade which occurred up and down the
eastern coast of Africa. In fact,
the word "Swahili" comes from the Arabic meaning "Coastal, belonging to the
coasts."
Here are some of the Swahili words used in the Kwanzaa celebration which are of
Arabic origin:
Nguzo Saba--The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa--"Sabca" is the Arabic word for
'seven'
Ujamaa--Cooperative Economics, and Ujima--Collective Work--both derive from the
Arabic verb "jamaca,"
the root meaning of which is "coming together, gathering." Other Arabic words we
have already learned which

are related to this verb are "Jaamic"--Mosque, "Jaamicah"--University, and "Yawm

al-Jumcah"--Friday.
Nia--Purpose-- "Niyya" means 'purpose, intent' in Arabic.
Imani--Faith--From the Arabic word "Iimaan" meaning 'faith'. Also, it is related to the
English word "Amen," which
English got from Hebrew. Iimaan (Iman) is also a woman's name in Arabic.
Kinara--Candle holder--from the Swahili prefix Ki- and the Arabic word "naar"--fire.
Mshumaa--Candle--from the Arabic word "shamca" meaning candle or wax.
Karamu--Feast which ends Kwanzaa--from the Arabic word "karam" meaning
generosity. Related to the word
"Kariim" meaning generous, which can be used as a man's name as in Kareem
Abdul Jabbar.
Habari Gani?--What's the news, What's up?--Swahili greeting. "Habari" comes from
the Arabic "khabar" meaning
a news item.
So once again....you know more Arabic than you thought you did!
RAMADAN AND THE HOLY QUR'AN

B-ism Allah ar-Ra maan ar-Ra iim

In the Name of God, The Merciful, The Compassionate
Invocation said by Muslims on many occasions, particularly when beginning a new
activity.
Ramadaan--The holiest month of the Islamic year, when Muslims fast from dawn to
sunset.
Ramadaan Mubaarak!--Blessed Ramadaan!
a - awm; a - iyaam--Fasting. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the "Five Pillars
of Islam"
If aar--Meal to break the fast after sunset
Su uur--Pre-dawn meal
Anaa aayim/ aayima--I am fasting. masc./fem.
c

Iid al-Fi r--Festival of Fast-Breaking--The holiday which ends the month of

Ramadan.

Qur'an (Qur'aan)--The Holy Scripture of Islam. Believed by Muslims to be the literal

words of God, as revealed to His Prophet Mu ammad by the Angel Gabriel.
Preferred pronunciation and spelling.
Koran--old way of pronouncing and spelling Qur'an
Suurah--Chapter of the Qur'an. There are 114 Suurahs in the Qur'an.
Ayyah--Verse of a chapter. There are over 6,000 Ayyahs in the Qur'an.
Juz'--"Part or Section" The Qur'an is divided into 30 parts of approximately equal
length.
Tajwiid--The art of reciting the Qur'an.
Our Qur'an reciter was ajj Omar Woodard, Senior at Girard College.
ajj Omar was the winner of Villanova University's Islamic Studies Center's 2000
Children's Quranic Recitation Contest.
Ukindia

Learn to Read Arabic

Lesson 1
Lesson 2..Download all Arabic lessons (300k)..Home

Arabic is the language of a large part of our planet . It is the spiritual

language of Islam -one of the world's major religions. It is also a
permanent language of the UN.

These are a few very basic learn to read the alphabet lessons. You may freely copy
these lessons for non commercial uses . The words are mostly in English so you can
more easily recognise the shape of the letters.Write to us to let us know if you find the
.lessons useful and if you spot any mistakes
Arabic is written in the opposite direction from English ie from your Right to Left. In
the figure below are two letters sh as in shame and n as in no - read from right to left
.to get used to it- the nearest hindi equivalent is given as well

Each letter is written in four forms . For eg if Sh comes in the beginning of

a word it is written as

If in the middle as in

If at the end as

and if on its own , in a detached form

From the figure below one can see that it is easy to spot the four forms of
each letter. The detached form and final form look very similar . The inital
and medial ones have the final bit of a letter left out . Arabic has its own
built in shorthand !

.These are the four forms of Sh and N marked detached , initial , medial and final

Supposing we wanted to make a word beginning with Sh and ending with N ( eg to

shun somebody) we take initial form of Sh and final form of N to make shn

. Now follows the whole Arabic alphabet with the closest English equivalent

Note that in the figure above (which has the equivalent Hindi sound added ) some
sounds share a common letter. For example B and P are the same , although in some
.Arab countries three dots are present under B to make it P
Revise the alphabet again

Lesson 2..Learn Arabic Online..Home