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Different Arabic Dialects: Which One Should You Learn?

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Before too long in your Arabic studies, people are going to ask you a simple question:

Which dialect are you going for?

Well, it sounds simple. But there’s a lot under the surface. For example, how many different Arabic dialects are there? Where are they spoken, and where are they understood? Who teaches what dialects?

These questions don’t have easy answers. Learning more about this topic, though, will help you see a broader picture of Arab culture and history in general—and we’ll tell you up front that no matter which dialect you choose, you will be richer for it. Start with a bonus, and download the Must-Know Beginner Vocabulary PDF for FREE!(Logged-In Member Only)

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Arabic Table of Contents
  1. An Overview of the Arabic Language, Part 1: Legal Recognition
  2. Dialects and Their Status
  3. Modern Standard Arabic
  4. Maghrebi (Moroccan) Arabic
  5. Egyptian Arabic
  6. Gulf Arabic
  7. Levantine Arabic
  8. How Much Do Native Speakers Understand?
  9. Which One is Best to Learn?
  10. Conclusion

1. An Overview of the Arabic Language, Part 1: Legal Recognition

Woman Thinking About Something

Makes sense to start here, right? If a country adopts a language for its official use, it’s a good bet that it will be easy to learn about it.

Arabic is the only official language in fifteen different countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. It’s co-official in ten more, including Iraq, Tanzania, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, and Somalia.

Arabic is also recognized as a minority language in Cyprus, Iran, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Turkey; it’s given special status in several other countries, including Israel, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

Naturally, some of these places have more Arabic speakers than others—very few Filipinos or Turks end up fluent in Arabic. They all, however, contribute to the enormous tapestry of diverse Arabic dialects that exist throughout the world.

2. Dialects and Their Status

To put it briefly, Arabic speakers from different countries will often have a hard time understanding each other. The Arabic language dialects of different regions have diverged quite a lot.

However, the written Arabic language has remained mostly unchanged since its beginnings, in fact getting slightly simpler over time. In effect, there’s a huge difference between formal Arabic writing and casual Arabic speech, so much so that they can be called two separate languages.

The vast majority of written Arabic that you’ll encounter is going to be in Modern Standard Arabic, also called MSA. Only small bodies of literature, poetry, and songs are written in dialects.

The “big question” for Arabic learners is this: Dialect or MSA? Before we give you an answer, let’s take a closer look at the differences between Modern Standard Arabic vs. dialects.

3. Modern Standard Arabic

Quran

The Arabic MSA dialect is a slightly simplified version of the Classical Arabic used to write the Quran. 

If you learn it exactly as prescribed by the strictest Arabic teachers, you’ll deal with a pretty staggering (for an English-speaker) number of consonants, case endings, grammatical agreements, and verb forms that don’t exist in the spoken languages anymore. 

That’s right—it’s objectively much more complicated grammatically than all of the dialects.

MSA is very often described as “rigid.” That’s because, without any governing language body, native speakers of dialects are rarely taught that anything is right or wrong in their dialects, while in school, they’re constantly told by their teachers that they’re making mistakes. 

Of course, the dialects have many rules, but the point is that they’re not as formalized as the rules of MSA.

Coming from no Arabic background, it may actually be slightly easier for you to learn MSA because you won’t have a perfectly formed dialect in your head leading you astray as you read and write.

4. Maghrebi (Moroccan) Arabic

Starting from the western part of the Arabic-speaking regions, we have Maghrebi Arabic, spoken in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. 

Many people consider this dialect to be the most divergent one by far, enough to make it very hard to understand for native speakers. Many speakers of other Arabic dialects even have a first reaction of “Is this really Arabic?”

In fact, this form of Arabic has many complex variations and accents within this region, so that one’s word choice might give away their origin even if they’re from the same larger geographic area. The most prestigious dialect in this region is the Moroccan Arabic dialect, and you can find resources for learning it online pretty easily.

What exactly makes it so hard? A lot of unstressed vowels simply get deleted, for one. This leads to consonant clusters that don’t show up in other dialects of Arabic. So for instance, the word for “sky” in MSA is samaa’, while in Maghrebi Arabic it’s sma.

Another reason is that there are a lot of French-derived loanwords in Maghrebi Arabic. The word for “cheese” is jobn in MSA, but formaj here (from the French fromage).

Anecdotally, some people from the Maghreb tend to be better at speaking MSA than, say, Egyptians. This is because they have to put in more effort to speak it than people who speak a widely understood colloquial dialect!

Most foreigners learning a Maghrebi dialect are doing so for travel, and so they’re probably interested in Morocco, as that’s the most touristic country in the region. 

But even inside this dialect group, you’ll still find diversity. The word for “same,” ironically enough, is bhalbhal in Morocco but kifkif in Algeria!

5. Egyptian Arabic

Camel with Calf

Next we’ve got Egyptian Arabic. This one you’ve almost definitely heard of, since it’s by far the biggest cultural presence of any colloquial dialect.

That’s because Egypt is famous within the Arab world for its movies and TV. Seriously—that’s all it takes for your dialect to become famous.

Because of all the star power, it’s widely understood in the Arab world, and many people from other countries are able to make some changes to their speech to approximate the Arabic dialects in Egypt.

Perhaps the most obvious of these changes is the pronunciation of the letter ج, which is a “j” (as in “judge”) sound in most dialects, but a “g” (as in “gum”) in Egypt.

Egyptian Arabic is related to the Arabic Sudanese dialect, which doesn’t have the same prestige but still has more than thirty-million speakers. Sudanese Arabic keeps the original pronunciation of ج, and so some people say that it’s a little bit “clearer” for foreign learners.

6. Gulf Arabic

Dubai

If you just look at the Arabian Gulf, you’ll see that it’s dominated by Saudi Arabia. But that doesn’t mean it’s dominated by just one dialect. Instead, there are multiple dialects of Gulf Arabic, too, divided roughly into north, south, east, west, and central dialects.

In general, the Arabic Gulf dialect isn’t as “prestigious” compared to the others. If you travel outside of the Gulf and speak it, you may end up sounding provincial. Even inside the geographic region, you’re likely to meet different dialect-speakers instead of people aiming for the dialect of the capital.

Some of the biggest differences are that the vowel combinations ow and ay are simply o and e respectively, and that ك makes a “ch” sound instead of a “k” sound.

We’ll include the Arabic Iraqi dialect here too, just because there are, unfortunately, relatively few resources available for learning about it. Broadly speaking, it’s a bit similar to Gulf Arabic, with a couple of small sound changes. 

It’s pretty hard for an Egyptian- or Maghrebi-speaker to understand at first though, because it has a different cadence to it.

Iraqi Arabic has English loanwords in unexpected places, such as tire and brake which remain virtually unchanged from their English equivalents.

7. Levantine Arabic

“The Levant” is a region in the Eastern Mediterranean that roughly includes Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Cyprus. 

You might think that the name comes from “Lebanon,” but in fact, it comes from the same Latin root as “levitate,” referring to the sun rising in the sky. There’s also a large number of speakers from Lebanon, so it’s easy to get confused!

The Arabic Levantine dialect is probably one of the most-learned these days after Egyptian Arabic, because of the instability in that area forcing millions of refugees to travel to other countries. For example, most Arabic teachers in Europe are likely to be from that region.

If you’ve heard of “Syrian Arabic,” then you’ve heard of Levantine Arabic. This “prestige dialect” is sometimes taken to be that of Damascus, Syria’s capital.

Levantine Arabic, as one would expect from its location, has many loanwords from Turkish, Aramaic, and Hebrew. بوظة  (boza), for instance, is a Turkish loan meaning “ice cream,” and شيروتيم (shirutim) means “toilets.” 

As part of that area was under French control for some years following the First World War, some words from French have made it in as well, such as بلكون (balcon) for “balcony.”

Many people say that the sound system is softer and the grammatical system is easier than those in MSA. 

The dual grammatical form, and some special tricks with the verbs in different positions, simply don’t exist in Levantine Arabic, letting legions of students sigh in relief. However, that means that native speakers have to work that much harder to learn those features of MSA!

8. How Much Do Native Speakers Understand?

This is a really interesting question that has a ton of different answers depending on who you’re talking to.

Some people maintain that these are totally separate languages, and others maintain that you can pick any of them up with enough exposure. Who’s right?

It all depends on your experience growing up. If you were the type of Arabic-speaker to have great MSA classes, friends from different regions, and an interest in TV shows from all over, it’s going to be far, far easier for you to understand new dialects than if none of those things were true.

There are plenty of people, in contrast, who grew up mostly listening to their own dialects, and perhaps a few others. To them, far-removed dialects sound like total gibberish!

Lastly, people who speak any language make an effort to standardize their speech or play to the listener’s strengths when speaking to somebody new. There’s always a time in introductory conversations when somebody tests the waters a little by referencing something or using a more “in-group” word.

In educated settings, people will use more MSA and less regional vocabulary, even if nobody’s actually speaking “pure” MSA. If nobody present is that good at MSA, they may try to adapt to whichever person’s dialect is more prestigious—thus, an Iraqi person speaking to an Egyptian person might make an effort to use some typical Egyptian phrasings instead of Sudanese phrasings.

9. Which One is Best to Learn?

Okay, so what’s the best Arabic dialect to learn? You can read a dozen different articles on this topic and get a dozen different answers.

Our stance here is that you should go with Modern Standard Arabic as your foundation, and then expand to other dialects as you see fit. This is for a few reasons.

1. You’ll get respect from native speakers.

Remember, Arabic-speakers think of MSA as hard. A foreigner who can speak it correctly and fluently is a foreigner who has put an enormous amount of work into learning their language and culture. That foreigner immediately wins charisma points.

2. Dialects will be much easier.

As you inevitably expand into dialects to actually hang out with native Arabic-speakers, it will be easy to use your foundation in MSA to learn new vocabulary and fit it into a more simplified grammar structure. Going from a dialect to MSA, though, you’ll have to put in a lot more work and remember a whole lot more seemingly arbitrary rules. Get those rules fixed in your mind at first, for sure.

3. You can read and be understood wherever you go.

Woman Holding Map and Looking Ahead

There’s a lot of text in the world, and little is written in dialects. You’ll be able to read the MSA in newspapers, magazines, and online from Morocco to Iraq. 

Plus, most people you speak to will be able to understand you. If they can’t speak MSA back to you, they might be able to communicate some other way or find someone who can—and that’s a whole lot different from speaking only English and trying to accomplish the same thing.

From our point of view, the only reason you might want to focus only on a dialect first is if you have an immediate social need, such as communicating with new neighbors or a partner’s family. If you’ve got time to wait, go for MSA. However, starting with a dialect works for some people who prefer to have a good time watching and listening to media, while also training their ears to understand a new language.

10. Conclusion

So what do you think? Will you head for the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and learn Levantine Arabic, enjoy the glamour of Egyptian Arabic, dive into literature with MSA, or something else entirely?

Right now, ArabicPod101 focuses on Egyptian Arabic and MSA, and we’ve got a huge library of lessons and course material, including some lessons for beginner Moroccan Arabic. Even if you do end up going for a smaller local dialect, the articles here on etiquette and culture may still be of some use to you.

The important thing is to keep your curiosity strong and never stop learning. That’s how you become a master of all things Arabic!

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Is Arabic Hard to Learn? Yes and No.

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“You’re learning Arabic? Wow, I could never do that!”

You’ve probably heard that sentiment, or something like it, dozens of times. Or perhaps you’ve become intimidated hearing it said to other people. 

For English-speakers, Arabic has a reputation for being an incredibly tough language to learn. Nobody offers Arabic classes in middle school, and nobody talks about picking up Arabic from watching cartoons.

But does Arabic deserve such a reputation? Is Arabic hard to learn? Could it be that there’s more to a language than its perceived difficulty? Let’s find out!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Learning Arabic Table of Contents
  1. Is Arabic Really the Hardest Language?
  2. Why Arabic is Hard to Learn
  3. Why Arabic is Easier Than You Think
  4. What Every New Arabic Learner Should Know
  5. How to Start Learning Arabic
  6. What ArabicPod101 Can Do for You
  7. Conclusion

1. Is Arabic Really the Hardest Language?

A Boy Listening to Music After Getting a Good Grade

The United States government seems to think so.

The Department of State in the U.S. has spent decades teaching languages to people who want to go abroad and serve in the military or as part of the diplomatic corps. According to them, it takes the average motivated learner about eighty-eight weeks of full-time study to become proficient in Modern Standard Arabic.

That’s on the same level as Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean—languages which are also famous for not being a walk in the park.

And when you consider that you might not be quite as motivated as a future diplomat, nor have the resources available to you to study full-time, you might start to get a little worried about your chances.

There’s one more thing that should give you pause. Think about how many Arabic language classes there are available to you, compared to language classes for other, “easier” languages. If Arabic were easier, wouldn’t more people be studying it?

But wait—if Arabic is so hard, how come it’s one of the most-spoken languages on the planet? How come you can go to a mosque in practically any city in the world and find people who can comfortably explain what Classical Arabic scripture means?

As it turns out, the Arabic language is hard in some areas, but it has some easy parts too, which balance out the load. 

2. Why Arabic is Hard to Learn

A Kid Stressed Out with His Homework

First, though, some details on why Arabic has its reputation.

The first impression that most people have is that Arabic sounds hard. For people used to the consonant-vowel rhythm of Spanish or Japanese, the numerous consonant clusters and rare sounds in Arabic can cause learning difficulty.

Arabic has some “pharyngeal” consonants that are literally made by constricting the throat. Now, it’s important to note that there’s nothing inherently difficult about sounds made from the throat—little children who grow up speaking Arabic do it all the time.

But you probably aren’t used to it if you grew up with a European or East Asian linguistic background (though Danish does actually have some pharyngeal sounds). That means it takes some serious conditioning to make these sounds in isolation, and even more to speak fluently with these sounds in the middle of words.

Another thing that makes the Arabic language hard to learn is the case system.

Cases are word endings that give additional information about which words in the sentence are the subjects, objects, and direct objects. This information is invisible in English, but it’s clear in languages with cases.

For instance, look at these simple sentences:

“The house is hot.”
البَيْتُ جَميل.
al-baytu ǧamīl.

“I entered the house now.”
دَخَلتُ البَيتَ الآن.
daḫaltu al-bayta al-ʾān.

As you can see, the word البيت (al-bayt), meaning “house,” changes in the second sentence because it’s the direct object, as opposed to the first sentence where it was the subject. Modern Standard Arabic-learners have to remember these changes for every noun and adjective—and for both genders!

If all of this has been putting you off, don’t run away just yet. It’s not all bad news when it comes to learning Arabic! 

3. Why Arabic is Easier Than You Think

A Woman All Finished with Her Homework

Fortunately, there are definitely some parts of Arabic that are easier to learn than others.

Chief among these is probably the loanwords. In today’s Arabic-speaking world, there’s nobody going around saying that you absolutely must use pure Arabic vocabulary dating back centuries. Take a look at any of the Arabic vocabulary lists floating around, and you’ll see plenty of loanwords, like al-intarnet for “Internet.”

There are also dozens upon dozens of Arabic words that you already know, thanks to language transfer happening in the opposite direction.

Words like سبانخ (sabanekh), or “spinach,” and مطرح (matrah), or “mattress,” have changed over the centuries, but they’re just a few examples of the rich vocabulary brought to Europe from the Middle East.

Another pretty cool thing about learning Arabic is the triliteral root system. Most everybody who’s thought about learning Arabic has heard of how words tend to be formed with three (sometimes up to four or five) consonants, which then stay consistent as vowels and consonants are added in-between the root letters to make other words.

It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you fully understand the system, you’ll see that there’s actually a lot of value in it.

Take a word like ‘-l-m, which has to do with “knowing.” You could learn the words ‘alima (“to know”) and ‘allama (“to teach”) as separate words, but that might be pretty confusing.

However, the consonant being doubled is actually a pattern (called the second form), and it refers to causation and verb transitivity. Teaching is “causing to know,” and that pattern will hold true for tons of other Arabic verbs! 

4. What Every New Arabic Learner Should Know

Casablanca in Morocco

The big question for most Arabic learners is “MSA or dialect?”

That’s because there are many, many articles out there with strong opinions on one side of the debate or the other.

People just learning Arabic should be aware of the fact that Modern Standard Arabic isn’t used day-to-day in Arabic-speaking countries. It’s considered the formal language appropriate for writing and news broadcasts, not for chatting with others.

On the other hand, it’s tough to find good, comprehensive resources for the dialects of Arabic that are actually spoken everywhere in the Middle East and North Africa.

For that reason, ArabicPod101 focuses on both Modern Standard Arabic and spoken dialects of Arabic. This allows you to have a strong base, but also be able to communicate with locals in a natural spoken dialect.

MSA is much more difficult than any dialect, by the way. A lot of grammatical features (such as the cases) have been simplified considerably in actual spoken dialects.

You won’t need to actually speak or write MSA unless you find yourself taking a job in Arabic media, or if you really want to make an impression of formality.

So don’t worry about learning how to produce the complexities of MSA that you see. You’ve just got to be able to understand them. 

5. How to Start Learning Arabic

A Man Listening to Music with Headphones

Given the difficult sounds that exist in the Arabic language, you should definitely focus on pronunciation first.

If you can’t correctly hear and produce each sound, then you’ll go through your whole Arabic career with two big problems—you’ll have a heavy accent and you’ll have a really hard time telling similar words apart.

Next, use a good course like ArabicPod101 to guide you through the process of slowly building up your vocabulary and learning to understand the nuances of grammar.

At the same time, make sure to listen to a lot of Arabic through kids’ shows and news broadcasts. It’s totally fine if you don’t understand everything at first, because you’ll notice yourself starting to understand more and more over time. 

6. What ArabicPod101 Can Do for You

ArabicPod101 has a huge library of content in excellent MSA. A typical lesson breaks down a conversational topic and introduces a new grammar point as well as a little bit of new vocabulary.

In the supplemental materials, you’ll see related vocabulary with a romanization and a recording of a native speaker pronouncing the word. Once you’ve created an account, you can add these to your flashcards and review them at any time.

This way, when you come across a troublesome word in your daily Arabic study, you can look it up on ArabicPod101 and see if there’s an article or podcast episode about it for you to review.

By the way, there’s a great resource you can take advantage of right now: the ArabicPod101 YouTube channel! Of particular value are the listening comprehension videos, where you can follow along with English, Arabic, and romanized subtitles. 

7. Conclusion

In the end, you’ll find that thinking of Arabic as easy or hard has to do with perspective.

Languages aren’t really learned. They’re acquired.

Sure, a language like Modern Standard Arabic, with its relatively artificial grammar, does have some elements that need to be “learned,” but you can also just lay back and let the language come to you.

Languages are only “easy” or “hard” when you put a time limit on yourself to try learning them. If you want to be speaking Arabic fluently within six months, you’ll find it much harder than if you just enjoy your progress and keep your expectations managed.

And if you have the help of a great learning aid like ArabicPod101, you’ll be well-equipped to make that a fun-filled journey. 

What things in Arabic do you struggle with the most? Which parts are easier for you? Let us, and your fellow Arabic-learners, know in the comments!

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The Most Common Mistakes Arabic Speakers Make

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Wouldn’t it be fantastic to speak flawless Arabic?

It’s a language that flummoxes students around the world daily. Even in Arabic-speaking countries, people are divided on what’s really “correct” and “proper” Arabic.

The truth is, you really don’t have to speak Arabic by the book in order to show your respect for the cultures and languages of Arab people. A little really does go a long way!

In this article, you’ll see some of the most common mistakes Arabic speakers make when learning the language, as well as the best ways to overcome them.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Arabic Table of Contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Vocabulary Mistakes
  3. Word Order Mistakes
  4. Arabic Grammar Mistakes
  5. Uniquely Arabic Mistakes
  6. The Biggest Mistake
  7. Conclusion

1. Pronunciation

Someone Holding a Microphone

Arabic pronunciation involves trying to get your tongue and mouth to do a lot of things they probably aren’t used to. For that reason, a lot of learners end up imperfectly tackling Arabic pronunciation.

One of the classic giveaways of a heavy foreign accent in Arabic is the vowels.

Modern Standard Arabic has just three vowels: /i/ as in “see,” /u/ as in “you,” and /a/ as in “father.” 

You’ll also need to pay attention to long and short vowels. In English, “long” and “short” mean an actual change in the vowel sound, but in MSA, it’s literally a vowel that’s held longer or shorter like a musical note. This is a matter of rhythm in the word and in the sentence, so be sure to listen to a lot of Arabic content to get comfortable with the intonation.

Vowels are probably the biggest giveaway, but ask any learner what the hard sounds are in Arabic, and they’ll answer “consonants.” Arabic has whole groups of consonants that are totally absent in most European and Asian languages, meaning that no matter how many other languages you speak, Arabic is probably going to challenge you with its sounds.

The hardest one for most speakers is ع, written as “3” in a lot of unofficial transcription systems because of the Arabic letter’s similarity to the digit. Most sounds in most languages are made with the tongue maneuvering around and tapping the roof of the mouth or otherwise shaping the airflow.

The  ع, by contrast, is made by bringing the back of the tongue as far back as possible. In all honesty, it’ll be uncomfortable when you first start doing it, but the more reading and speaking aloud you do, the more natural it will feel.

2. Vocabulary Mistakes

Woman Holding Her Hand to Her Head in Embarrassment

Every language has confusing pairs of words that make learners hem and haw over the right one to use, and this is the type of mistake Arabic-learners need to be cautious of.

In Arabic, these word pairs unfortunately pop up quite frequently. This is especially true if you’re just learning from the written word instead of from audio. You know, the whole vowel-marking thing? Here’s a couple of examples:

الكِليَة  (al-kilyah) “kidney”
الكُلِّيَّة  (al-kulliyyah)“college”

السُكَّر  (al-sukkar) – “diabetes,” “surgot”
السُكر  (al-sukr) – “drunken stupor”

تَوَابِل  (tawabil) – “spice”
تَبَوُّل  (tabawwul) – “urination”

Although the triliteral root system does let you easily learn related words, when unrelated words come up that happen to share the same consonants, they really mess with your memory!

The solution here is to listen to tons of Arabic audio. A word like al-koliya is going to come up a lot earlier than al-kilya in your learning, especially if you follow podcasts like ArabicPod101. 

If you can connect the written word in your reading exercises to the spoken word from your listening, you’ll avoid confusing them because of a lack of vowel diacritics. Thankfully, almost all of our content on ArabicPod101.com has a vowelled version in case you’re unsure of how a word is pronounced.

Other typical vocabulary mistakes stem from the fact that Arabic makes distinctions that other languages might not. Take the simple conjugation for “and” for example.

وَ (wa) is the word for “and” when it connects two clauses or verbs:

أبي مُدَرِّسٌ و أمّي رَبَّةُ بَيْت.
ʾabī mudarrisun wa ʾummī rabbatu bait.
“My father is a teacher and my mother is a stay-at-home mom.”

تُمَّ (ṯumma) can also be translated as “and,” but it connects two actions in a sequence!

أَكَلتٌ ثُمَّ شَرِبتُ.
ʾakaltun ṯumma šaribtu.
“She ate first and then she drank.”

You can think of translating fa as “and then…” Before you get more advanced in Arabic, it’s totally normal to be translating things in your head. As long as you can think in an Arabic sentence structure, you can compose your sentences in English first.

3. Word Order Mistakes

Another type of mistake in Arabic to watch out for is using incorrect word order. For some people, adjusting to a different word order is a cinch; for others, a different word order ties their brain in knots from the get-go.

Prescriptively speaking, the verb always comes first in an Arabic sentence. However, as you watch more and more videos and TV programs in MSA, you’ll see that they occasionally switch the word order around to add emphasis to a certain part of the sentence.

يَذهَبُ اِبراهيم إلى السوق.
yaḏhabu ʾIbrāhīmu ʾila s-sūq.
“Ibrahim goes to the market.”

Note how the verb ذَهَبَ (ḏahaba), meaning “to go,” is conjugated and placed at the beginning of the sentence. In some European languages, placing the verb before the subject is a marker of a question. Not so in Arabic! 

4. Arabic Grammar Mistakes

Someone Writing with a Pen

The most common mistake that even advanced students make in Arabic is failing to correctly make the verb, adjective, and noun agree in a sentence.

So, for instance, a student might write:

مِحوَرُ الشِعر هِيَ الروح. X
miḥwaru al-šiʿr hiya al-rūḥ. X
“The focus of poetry is the soul.” X

When it should actually be:

مِحوَرُ الشِعر هُوَ الروح.
miḥwaru al-šiʿr huwa al-rūḥ.
“The focus of poetry is the soul.”

Modern Standard Arabic has a lot of rules that don’t show up in any of the colloquial dialects that are spoken day-to-day. For that reason, tons of people in Arabic-speaking countries tend to be more comfortable writing in English or French than MSA! A lot of native speakers, for instance, might make mistakes with the dual:

لَدَيَّ أُختان.
ladayya ʾuḫtān.
“I have two sisters.”

لَدَيَّ ثَلاثُ أَخَوَات.
ladayya ṯalāṯu ʾaḫawat.
“I have three sisters.”

Lots of learners end up just using the plural form for two things without thinking. After all, the dual as a grammatical feature is relatively rare in the world’s languages. 

5. Uniquely Arabic Mistakes

Arabic Calligraphy

Up until this point, we’ve been discussing things that might apply to every language in the world. Plenty of languages have hard grammar and pronunciation, after all!

But there are a couple of mistakes that pretty much only Arabic-learners tend to make.

Like the plural forms of words—in Arabic, you kind of just have to memorize them. There are so many exceptions!

Also, numbers tend to trip a lot of people up. The number system in Arabic is beautifully complex (if you’re into that sort of thing), but so complicated that most native speakers tend to ignore its intricacies.

And with colloquial varieties of Arabic spoken in dozens of countries, you’ll often find yourself misunderstood if you use a word from one dialect with speakers of another. You could spend a lifetime learning all the little subtleties of the lexicon, like how دولاب (dulab) means “closet” in Egypt but means “wheel” in most other dialects.

Some people might suggest that you try to “speak Egyptian,” as many people understand Egyptian slang words, but the best way to avoid confusion is to use terms that are as close to MSA as possible if you don’t know the local term.

6. The Biggest Mistake

Man with Tape Over His Mouth

The biggest mistake is perfectionism. As they say, perfect is the enemy of good enough.

Tons of Arabic students end up letting their hard-earned knowledge slip away for fear of offending others.

Suppose you even end up taking the plunge and staying in an Arabic-speaking country for awhile with the goal of pushing yourself into speaking. If you’re anxious about speaking incorrectly, you’re probably going to end up just using English with the internationally minded local community in coffee shops and hip restaurants.

But that isn’t going to improve your Arabic—it’s going to actively harm it.

The more you actually put yourself out there and speak Arabic with others, the more you’ll learn. Sure, you’ll make mistakes from time to time, but everybody does. 

In fact, since most people tend to not be that comfortable with spoken MSA, the fact that you can speak it correctly—even some of the time—is going to be quite impressive! 

7. Conclusion

One of the best ways to avoid being embarrassed about making mistakes is to use your free time to get as prepared as possible.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be a hard slog. Just reading about and seeing the examples in this article is a big step on that path to high-quality Arabic.

And when you have a great all-in-one resource at your fingertips, like ArabicPod101, with audio lessons, vocabulary lists, and flashcards, you’ll be able to target your studying.

Try it out now and see for yourself how good your Arabic can become!

Before you go, we would love to hear from you in the comments. What Arabic mistakes do you struggle with the most?

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Arabic Questions and Answers to Start a Great Conversation

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You can learn quite a bit of a language through questions.

Whether you’re traveling or hanging out in your hometown, any conversation you have with a native speaker in Arabic is going to involve a little bit of Q-and-A.

In fact, this is especially true for Arabic, since it’s a language not as commonly learned by foreigners. People are going to be rather curious about you as, in all likelihood, you’re going to be the first Arabic-speaking foreigner they’ve ever met.

Check out these common Arabic questions and answers, so that you have a leg up when the conversation starts!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Arabic Table of Contents
  1. What’s your name?
  2. Where are you from?
  3. Do you speak Arabic?
  4. How long have you been studying Arabic?
  5. Have you been to ___?
  6. Can you speak our dialect?
  7. Do you like the food?
  8. What are you doing?
  9. How is your family?
  10. How much is it?
  11. Conclusion

1. What’s your name?

First Encounter

If you make a friend in Arabic, you’ll definitely need to be able to ask for their name!

Talking to a man:

ما اسمُكَ؟
masmuka?
“What’s your name?”

Talking to a woman:

ما اسمُكِ؟
masmuki?
“What’s your name?”

To answer, simply say ʾismī followed by your name. You’ve successfully introduced yourself in Arabic!

2. Where are you from?

Talking to a man:

 من أين أنت؟
min ayna anta?
“Where are you from?”

Talking to a woman:

من أين أنت؟
min ayna anti?
“Where are you from?”

This may be one of your first introductions to the complexities of grammatical gender in Arabic. Fortunately, this is a pretty easy one to deal with!

Literally, you’re saying “From where you?” The last word, “you,” changes its vowel from ‘anta to ‘anti depending on whether you’re speaking to a man or woman. 

And although we end the question with “you” in Arabic, we end the answer with the location:

أنا من نيويورك.
ana min New York.
“I’m from New York.”

3. Do you speak Arabic?

Talking to a man:

 هَل تَتَحَدَّث اللُغة العَرَبِيَّة؟
hal tataḥaddaṯ al-luġah al-ʿarabiyyah?
“Do you speak Arabic?”

This question has an interesting grammatical similarity to the English version: that little word hal. It functions as a dummy particle for questions, just like “You speak Arabic,” turns into “Do you speak Arabic?” with the addition of “do.”

Now, the important thing is that you make an effort. You can do a lot better than saying “No, sorry,” in English and walking away!

عَفوَاً، أَنا أَتَكَلَّمُ فَقَط القَليل.
ʿafwan, ʾanā ʾatakallamu faqaṭ al-qalīl.
“Sorry, I only speak a little.”

That should just about cover it if someone happens to come up and ask you this question (it’s rare, but possible!). You should take a glance at this page of the names for languages in Arabic and imagine yourself asking others!

Introducing Yourself

4. How long have you been studying Arabic?

How’s your accent? The better it is, the better you get to feel when you answer this question about your study habits.

Talking to a man:

كَم مَضى لَكَ في دِراسَةِ العَرَبِيَّة؟
kam maḍā laka fī dirāsaẗi al-ʿarabiyyah?
“How long have you been studying Arabic?”

Talking to a woman:

كَم مَضى لَكِ في دِراسَةِ العَرَبِيَّة؟
kam maḍā laki fī dirāsaẗi al-ʿarabiyyah?
“How long have you been studying Arabic?”

Broken down a little more, the structure of this question is “How much time has passed to you in studying Arabic?”

That “to you/me” structure is crucial, since it will also play an important role in the answer.

مَضى لي شَهر.
maḍā lī šahr.
“For one month.”

The answer is pretty much the same structure: “To me one month has passed.”

5. Have you been to ___?

Glasses Lying on Top of a Map of Europe

Everybody’s got something in the country they want to show you. Definitely get ready for Arabic questions like this as you travel around!

Talking to a man:

هَل ذَهَبتَ إلى ___مِن قَبل ؟
hal ḏahabta ʾilā ___ min qabl ?
“Have you been to ___ before?”

Talking to a woman:

 هَل ذَهَبتِ إلى ___مِن قَبل؟
hal ḏahabti ʾilā ___ min qabl?
“Have you been to ___ before?”

Pay attention to the word order here. We start with that question tag hal, then immediately we have the verb “you went.” In English, that conjugation has two words, and we split them around the pronoun. In Arabic, the verb contains the pronoun, so it gets accomplished in just one word!

لا، لَم يَسبِق لي أَن ذَهَبتُ إلى ___ مِن قَبل.
lā, lam yasbiq lī ʾan ḏahabtu ʾilā ___ min qabl.
“No, I haven’t been to ___ before.”

Add whatever location is necessary here. Truth be told, you could simply say la, meaning “no,” but it’s more polite to use the full sentence.

6. Can you speak our dialect?

Many foreigners in Arabic classes study Modern Standard Arabic, but the vast majority of people you meet and speak Arabic with are going to strongly prefer speaking in their regional dialect.

Earlier, we discussed the Arabic phrase for “Do you speak Arabic?” but now we’ll learn it in Egyptian and Moroccan Arabic (Darija), two very different yet commonly learned Arabic variants.

Talking to a man:

بِتِتكَلِّم عامِّيَّة؟
bititkallim ʿāmmiyyah?
“Do you speak Egyptian Arabic?”

Talking to a woman:

بِتِتكَلِّمي عامِّيَّة؟
bititkallimi ʿāmmiyyah?
“Do you speak Egyptian Arabic?”

 واش كتعرف دارجة؟
waš ktʿref dāriǧah?
“Do you speak Darija?”

As you can see, the dialects naturally have their own words for a “colloquial variety” that isn’t fusha (MSA).  And even from these examples, you can see that the question is quite different in all three—major respect for taking more on!

7. Do you like the food?

Egyptian Maamoul fFood

Talking to a man:

هَل أَعجَبَكَ الطَعام؟
hal ʾaʿǧabaka al-ṭaʿām?
“Do you like the food?”

Back to MSA again. People are always going to want to know how you feel about food in Arab countries, especially because it tends to be so different from place to place.

Again, we’re dealing with that grammatical particle hal for asking a yes-no question.

What if you don’t actually like the food that much? As unlikely as that situation is, you should probably have a pleasant and polite reply handy, just in case.

كُلُّ شَيْءٍ لَذيذ!
kullu šayʾin laḏīḏ!
“It’s all delicious!”

أنا لست متعودا مع الطعام 
Ana lasto motaeawidan maea taeam baead.
“I’m not really used to the food yet.”

8. What are you doing?

If you’re young-looking, people are probably going to assume that you’re a student of some sort, even more so in a city with a big and well-known university.

Talking to a man:

هَل أَنتَ طالِب؟
hal ʾanta ṭalib?
“Are you a student?”

Talking to a woman:

هَل أَنتِ طالِبَة؟
hal ʾanti ṭalibah?
“Are you a student?”

Note how easy questions and answers in Arabic like these are. You just have to remember the feminine and masculine forms of the pronoun and noun, but there’s no verb to worry about!

Here’s an example of a question that might require a verb, though: 

Talking to a man:

ماذا تَعمَل؟
māḏā taʿmal?
“What do you do for a living?”

Talking to a woman:

ماذا تَعمَلين؟
māḏā taʿmalīn?
“What do you do for a living?”

However, the grammar in the answer is just as simple as in the first question. Just throw the words into the sentence!

أنا مُصَوِّر.
ʾanā muṣawwir.
“I am a photographer.”

9. How is your family?

In most Arab countries, asking about another person’s family is considered a polite small talk question. Here’s how you do it!

كَيْفَ حالُ عائِلَتِك؟
kayfa ḥalu ʿāʾilatik?
“How is your family?”

Now, what if you happen to know that the person isn’t married, or is married with no children? Trick question. You still ask the same thing. It’s actually not polite to ask about somebody’s spouse unless you know them personally.

No matter what you ask, the response is very likely going to be something like this:

كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِخَيْر، الحَمدُ لله.
kullu šayʾin biḫayr, al-ḥamdu lillah.
“All well, praise God.”

It’s common knowledge among Arabic speakers that the phrase ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ‎ (al-ḥamdu lillah), or “thanks be to God,” and other religious phrases are used more commonly in Arabic than in English, by both Muslims and Christians, and even when speaking to people who aren’t religious.

10. How much is it?

Someone Getting Money from Their Wallet

Wrapping up, we have an extremely useful question for everything from shopping to dining out.

بِكَم هَذا؟
bikam haḏā?
“How much is it?”

Asking for the price in Arabic is dead easy. All you have to do is put the question word “how much,” which is bikam, before the pronoun “it,” and you’re already finished!

بِجُنَيْهَيْن.
biǧunayhayn.
“It’s two pounds.”

Egypt calls their currency pounds as the United Kingdom does. The interesting grammar point here is that we’re not actually saying the sentence “It costs two pounds.” Instead, the literal translation is “with two pounds,” and all that gets expressed in a single Arabic word.

11. Conclusion

If you happen to find someone willing to help you practice Arabic (and thanks to the kindness of Arab people, you will, whether or not you offer to help them with English), you can use these simple Arabic questions and answers as a great jumping-off point for fluency practice.

Record answers that start from just the bare minimum that’s required to not be rude, then try expanding. Start with answers that restate the question, such as the examples in this article, and then move on to answers that hold a dash of your own creativity.

And if you want to get a headstart without a speaking partner, sign on to ArabicPod101.com right now and take a look at our lessons about questions!

Before you go, why not start practicing right away in the comments section? Try answering one or more of these questions in Arabic. We look forward to hearing from you!

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How to Prepare for any Arabic Test or Exam

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Arabic is a language with a lot of prestige attached to it.

In Western culture, we don’t consume a whole lot of Arabic movies, music, or TV shows, but if someone can speak Arabic as a foreign language, we tend to assume they’re ridiculously smart.

If you don’t know any Arabic, though, it’s pretty easy for anybody with a decent accent to fool you into thinking their Arabic is perfect, even if native speakers would be totally lost trying to follow what they’re saying.

That’s why there are Arabic tests and exams that you can take to show that your Arabic proficiency has been verified by a third party.

Language exams come with certificates. Those certificates can get you a job inside or outside the Arabic-speaking world.

But which exam should you take? Which of them are trusted, and how can you approach each one in the most efficient manner?

Well, that’s why you’re here! Let’s dive together into the world of Arabic language exams, and see which of the Arabic language proficiency tests is right for you!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Study Strategies in Arabic Table of Contents
  1. The Arabic Tests Begging for Your Attention
  2. The Reading Exam
  3. The Listening Exam
  4. The Writing Exam
  5. The Speaking Exam
  6. Preparation and Test-Taking Strategies
  7. Conclusion

1. The Arabic Tests Begging for Your Attention

People Taking a Written Examination

There is no “single” Arabic exam that’s widely accepted by everyone. Instead, there are three different tests designed for three different purposes and audiences.

The ALPT, or Arabic Language Proficiency Test, is a very official-sounding exam produced by The Arab Academy, a private language school in Cairo. 

You can take this Arabic proficiency test online, but you need to have a registered proctor there with you who makes sure you’re not flipping through a dictionary under the table. Once you get this exam, it’s accepted for government and university purposes in all Arabic-speaking countries, plus several Asian and African countries. 

The CIMA (Certificat International de Maîtrise en Arabe, or International Certificate for Arabic Language Proficiency) is an exam written by the Arab World Institute in Paris. 

It’s brand-new, having just been announced in 2018, and is currently available at schools and exam centers throughout Europe and the Middle East. It comes in “cima+1” and “cima+2” variants, where the first tests from A1-B2 levels and the second tests from B2-C2 levels. 

Finally, last in the alphabet soup of acronyms, we have the DLPT, or the Defense Language Proficiency Test

This is an exam given by the United States military for speakers of many different languages who want to use their languages in military intelligence. For this reason, civilians can’t take it. Most people in the military are enrolled in specific language courses that prepare them for what they’ll be needing Arabic for, and taking the DLPT is just a part of that course. 

However, it is possible to take the DLPT even if you haven’t taken a course from the Defense Language Institute (DLI). As you probably already know, though, Arabic is one of the hardest languages to do this with! 

So those are your choices. No matter which one you take, your study routine should be roughly similar for all of them. Let’s have a brief look at the individual sections on each exam!

2. The Reading Exam

Man Reading a Book Intently

1- ALPT

The reading section for this Arabic language proficiency test is designed to pressure you into thinking quickly. For the C2 exam—the most difficult of all—you’ll have 90 multiple-choice questions, and just 60 minutes to read the texts and answer all the questions. 

The other levels adapt to you as you do better or worse in your responses. You won’t be expected to be intimately familiar with Arab or Muslim culture, as the test is designed to be internationally applicable. 

2- CIMA

The CIMA exam tests you on 35 reading questions and gives you a leisurely 45 minutes. It’s multiple-choice as well, and each question has just three possible answers. It’s designed with a focus on everyday language comprehension, so you’ll get questions about advertisements, flyers, menus, and timetables.

3- DLPT

The DLPT is also a multiple-choice exam, but it’s infamous for being extremely tricky. The test-writers put in a lot of very similar-sounding answers that are very close together in meaning. 

For example, you might read a passage where a father asks his son where he was and if he would be late coming home. 

Then in the answer, you’d have to choose between “The father wanted to know when the son would come home” and “The father wanted to know where the son was.” Both look correct, but the father only asked if the son would be late, not specifically when he’d come home! 

3. The Listening Exam

A Man Listening to Something with Headphones

1- ALPT

Since listening, by nature, takes longer than reading, the ALPT listening section allows 60 minutes to get through 38 questions. 

You’ll be tested on your knowledge of both academic and non-academic language, though it will all be in Modern Standard Arabic. There’s also a separate “Structure” section for the ALPT, where you’ll breeze through questions about syntax and word order for another 60 minutes. 

2- CIMA

On the CIMA exam, you’ll listen to monologues and dialogues about all types of content. They’re pretty creative, so on any given test day, you might hear phone conversations, business presentations, and radio programs. 

It lasts around 35 minutes, and you won’t hear anything repeated. However, you won’t have to deal with heavy regional accents or fast-paced speakers. 

3- DLPT

The listening section of the DLPT is actually a separate test from the writing module. If you’d like, you can take it on another day! It biases heavily toward news and other formal language, so as long as you can understand the news, you’re golden. 

Naturally, in news MSA, everybody speaks very clearly, so you don’t have to worry about regional accents here, either. 

    → Not very confident in your current listening skills? Learn how to improve this crucial aspect of your Arabic language abilities! 

4. The Writing Exam

A Man Typing Something on a Keyboard

1- ALPT

Fortunately, the ALPT is computer-based, so you won’t have to worry about your Arabic penmanship! Compared to the other fast-paced sections of the test, this one’s a breeze. You’ll have one general question to respond to, and one hour to write a response. 

The computer will adapt the question based on your performance in previous sections, so if you were breezing through the reading and listening questions, you may have to write an essay about an abstract and complicated topic such as ethics or technology. 

2- CIMA

If you take the CIMA exam, you’ll have to complete three tasks: briefly describing an image, responding to an informal text or email, and writing a brief paragraph on a question about daily life, such as office space organization or homework.

3- DLPT

Since the DLPT is designed for people employed by the United States military, they don’t expect that test-takers will need to produce Arabic texts. Therefore, there’s no required writing section for the DLPT. 

5. The Speaking Exam

A Man Doing a Skype Interview

1- ALPT

The ALPT speaking exam is done live over a Skype connection with a certified teacher. It takes the form of an interview lasting at least fifteen minutes. 

The interviewer will first get you comfortable and make sure you’re able to hear them clearly. Then, they’ll ask more and more detailed questions about you and what you think about different issues in the world. Since it’s an adaptive test, if they notice that you’re having a lot of trouble, they’ll circle back to easier topics so as not to stress you out. 

2- CIMA

The CIMA speaking portion is quite similar to the IELTS exam for English, though perhaps a little bit more demanding. 

First, you’ll speak with the interviewer about ordinary daily-life things for two minutes, introducing yourself and so on. 

Then you’ll take part in a roleplay, with some time for preparation. Afterwards, without any preparation, the examiner will ask you a more abstract question like “What makes a country pleasant to live in?” and you’ll have to give a three-minute monologue in which you explore and justify your own feelings. 

3- DLPT

The DLPT has no built-in speaking test. Instead, if speaking Arabic is required for your position, you’ll be referred to a telephone-based Oral Proficiency Interview, or OPI.

6. Preparation and Test-Taking Strategies

Language Skills

When it comes to Arabic language proficiency testing, the single biggest factor separating people who do well and those who don’t is probably reading efficiency.

Everybody’s naturally going to learn the Arabic alphabet during their Arabic courses, but some people are always going to be more comfortable with it than others.

Those who can skim through Arabic words with ease are going to be the most confident during the test, but that skill doesn’t come easy. You have to read thousands and thousands of pages of Arabic text, sometimes over and over, before you become as comfortable with the Arabic alphabet as you are with the Latin one.

One great exercise is to try translating a text orally. Just look at an Arabic text and try to come up with a decent translation line-by-line in English. This is an exercise used in formal courses for interpreting. But if you do it as a learner, you’ll quickly see your holes in vocabulary and grammar, more so than if you just tried reading silently and looking for unfamiliar parts. 

7. Conclusion

In addition to reading speed, the best way to get prepared for an Arabic exam is to get really comfortable with a wide vocabulary. This is good for your Arabic in general! The wider your vocabulary in MSA, the easier it will be to learn dialects later on.

And there’s no better way to start improving than right here on ArabicPod101.com

If you spend about a third of your active study time really going through the podcasts and articles one-by-one and making sure you know all the words, you can use the other two-thirds to relax. For example, doing things like listening to and reading all kinds of things on and off the ArabicPod101 website.

Lots of language enthusiasts talk about learning things as fast as humanly possible, but life is a lot more comfortable at a gentle pace. Take it easy with Arabic, and you’re sure to go far.

We hope you feel more confident now in your abilities to ace that Arabic exam. If you have any questions, or anything you would like to share with fellow readers about a previous Arabic test experience, please leave a comment below. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Basic Arabic Sentences & Patterns: Your Ticket to Fluency


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Did you know that language is really just patterns?

Even the most complex languages, like Arabic, can be described with a long, long list of rules and patterns.

Of course, we’re talking about multiple research teams working for decades to really tease out all the patterns of a natural language. There are always some unusual things that crop up and extend the research by a couple of years.

Fortunately, the inconsistencies and the exceptions don’t detract from one simple ground truth: to speak Arabic well, you need to master key Arabic sentences and sentence patterns.

That’s one of the best ways to start speaking Arabic quickly, too. Once you have a deep knowledge of a single sentence pattern, you can use that understanding to swap in vocabulary about, well, anything! 

In this article, we’ve prepared a bit of advice and some example patterns for ten different types of very useful Arabic sentences.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Beginner Vocabulary in Arabic Table of Contents
  1. Simple Arabic Noun Sentences
  2. Describing Words with Adjectives
  3. Saying “I Want” in Arabic
  4. Saying “I Need” in Arabic
  5. Can You Tell Time in Arabic?
  6. Would You Kindly…?
  7. Comparing Two Things
  8. Review: Asking Questions
  9. If This, Then That
  10. Making “Because” Sentences in Arabic
  11. Conclusion

1. Simple Arabic Noun Sentences


Sentence Patterns

First up is the easiest of all, the simple equivalency of two nouns. This Arabic sentence structure is so simple because “to be” is omitted in the present tense in Arabic. This should be quite familiar to anybody who knows a little Russian. 

So in lieu of the verb “to be,” we just put one noun next to the other and call it a day!

  • “Today is Saturday.”
    اليَوْم السَبت.
    al-yawm al-sabt.

  • “I am a high school teacher.”
    أَنا أُستاذ بِالثانَوِيَّة.
    ʾanā ʾustāḏ bilṯānawiّah.

  • “Health is a blessing.”
    الصِحَّةُ بَرَكَة.
    al-ṣiḥḥaẗu barakah.

  • “My boss is a nice guy.”
    مُديري رَجُلٌ طَيِّب
    mudīrī raǧulun ṭayyib.

  • “This is a textbook from Arabic class.”
    هَذا كِتابٌ مَدرَسِيٌّ مِن دَرس اللُغَةِ العَرَبِيَّة.
    haḏā kitābun madrasiyyun min dars al-luġaẗi al-ʿarabiyyah.

2. Describing Words with Adjectives

Constructing a simple noun-adjective sentence in Arabic couldn’t be easier. You simply put the words in the same order you would in an English sentence. 

The only thing you have to remember for this Arabic sentence construction is that adjectives need to agree with their nouns in number and gender.

  • “Wow, this bag is heavy!”
    هَذا الكيسُ ثَقيل!
    haḏā al-kīsu ṯaqīl!

  • “The sunset is beautiful.”
    الغُروبُ جَميل.
    al-ġurūbu ǧamīl.

  • “Your food is super-tasty!”
    طَعامُكَ لَذيذٌ جِدّاً!
    ṭaʿāmuka laḏīḏun ǧiddan!

  • “Your speech yesterday was brilliant.”
    خِطابُكَ البارِحَة كانَ رائِعاً.
    ḫiṭābuka al-bāriḥah kāna rāʾiʿan.

  • “I heard the new movie was terrible.”
    سَمِعتُ بِأَنَّ الفيلم الجَديدَ كارِثِيّ.
    samiʿtu biʾanna al-fīlm al-ǧadīda kāriṯiyy.

3. Saying “I Want” in Arabic


Pizza, Wings, and Pasta

As a visitor to an Arabic-speaking country, you’ll definitely get a lot of mileage out of this Arabic sentence pattern. Simply take the verb ُأُريد (ʾurīdu) and add a noun or verb after it.

  • “I want that pizza.”
    أُريدُ تِلكَ البيتزا.
    ʾurīdu tilka al-bītzā.

  • I want a cold drink.”
    أُريدُ مَشروباً بارِداً.
    ʾurīdu mašrūban bāridan.

  • “I want to go home.”
    أُريدُ أَن أَذهَبَ إلى المَنزِل.
    ʾurīdu ʾan ʾaḏhaba ʾilā al-manzil.

In English, we use a different verb form (“want” / “would like”) to be more polite. In Arabic, the verb doesn’t change, but we add on extra phrases to pad out the sentence with extra politeness markers.

  • “Please, I want the book about cats.”
    لَوْ سَمَحت، أُريدُ الكِتابَ المُتَعَلِّق بِالقِطَط.
    law samaḥt, ʾurīdu al-kitāba al-mutaʿalliq bilqiṭaṭ.

  • “If you wouldn’t mind, I want another piece of bread.”
    إذا كُنتَ لا تُمانِع، أُريدُ قِطعَةَ خُبزٍ أُخرى.
    ʾiḏā kunta lā tumāniʿ, ʾurīdu qiṭʿaẗa ḫubzin ʾuḫrā.

4. Saying “I Need” in Arabic

أَحْتَاج (ʾaḥtāǧu) is the verb meaning “need” in Arabic, and the sentence pattern is:

ʾaḥtāǧu + ilā + noun

ʾaḥtāǧu means “I need,” ilā  is a preposition meaning “for” or “to,” and then comes the noun of your choice.

  • “I need a new laptop.”
    أَحتاجُ إلى حاسوبٍ جَديد.
    ʾaḥtāǧu ʾilā ḥāsūbin ǧadīd.

  • “You will need a pencil for the exam.”
    سَوْفَ تَحتاجُ إلى قَلَمٍ رَصاص لِلاِمتِحان.
    sawfa taḥtāǧu ʾilā qalamin raṣāṣ lilimtiḥān.

  • “I don’t need anything from the store.”
    لا أَحتاجُ إلى أَيِّ شَيْءٍ مِن المَتجَر.
    lā ʾaḥtāǧu ʾilā ʾayyi šayʾin min al-matǧar.

5. Can You Tell Time in Arabic?

Clock on White Background

Telling time in Arabic is complex enough to deserve its own article, but as a tourist, you might just need to be able to say the different hours of the day. The context (a bus ride, a business closing, and so on) will make the meaning clear for everyone.

  • “It’s four o’clock.”
    الساعَةُ الرابِعَة.
    al-sāʿaẗu al-rābiʿah.

  • “The bus arrived at two o’clock in the morning.”
    الباص وَصَل عِندَ الثانِيَةِ صَباحاً.
    al-bāṣ waṣal ʿinda al-ṯāniyaẗi ṣabāḥan.

  • “By the time we get home, it will be midnight.”
    بِحُلولِ الوَقتِ الَّذي نَصِلُ فيهِ إلى المَنزِل، سَيَكونُ مُنتَصَفِ اللَيْل.
    biḥulūli al-waqti allaḏī naṣilu fīhi ʾilā al-manzil, sayakūnu muntaṣafi al-layl.

  • “He was supposed to leave at three o’clock.”
    كانَ مِن المُفتَرَضِ أَن يُغادِرَ في الساعَةِ الثالِثَة.
    kāna min al-muftaraḍi ʾan yuġādira fī al-sāʿaẗi al-ṯaliṯah.

  • “Tonight, I’ll definitely sleep before ten o’clock.”
    اللَيْلَة حَتماً سَوْفَ أَنامُ في الساعَةِ العاشِرَة.
    al-laylah ḥatman sawfa ʾanāmu fī al-sāʿaẗi al-ʿāširah.


6. Would You Kindly…? 


An Air Conditioner

This Arabic language sentence structure is similar to the polite requests section from earlier, but here we can see how to add verbs in the polite request.

  • “Could you please finish your work faster?”
    لَوْ سَمَحت، هَل يُمكِنُكَ أَن تُنهِيَ عَمَلَك بِشَكلٍ أَسرَع؟
    law samaḥt, hal yumkinuka ʾan tunhiya ʿamalak bišaklin ʾasraʿ?

  • “Would you mind letting me sit down?”
    هَل يُمكِنُكَ أَن تَسمَحَ لي بِالجُلوس؟
    hal yumkinuka ʾan tasmaḥa lī bilǧulūs?

  • “Could you please turn up the air conditioning?”
    هَل يُمكِنُكَ أَن تَرفَعَ دَرَجَةَ تَكيِيف الهَوَاء؟
    hal yumkinuka ʾan tarfaʿa daraǧaẗa takyiīf al-hawaʾ?

  • “Excuse me, could you help me reach that box?”
    لَوْ سَمَحت، هَل يُمكِنُكَ أَن تُساعِدَني عَلى الوُصولِ إلى ذاكَ الصُندوق؟
    law samaḥt, hal yumkinuka ʾan tusāʿidanī ʿalā al-wuṣūli ʾilā ḏāka al-ṣundūq?

Just for fun, let’s try a rude request!

  • “Sit down and shut up right now!”
    اِجلِس واِغلِق فَمَك الآن!
    iǧlis ūiġliq famak al-ʾān!

7. Comparing Two Things


Large, Expensive House

Similarly to English, in Arabic there are two ways to compare things, depending on whether or not the adjective in question has a commonly used comparative form:

1 – More skillful than…
أَكثَر مَهارَة مِن
ʾakṯar mahārah min…

2 – Bigger than…
أَكبَر مِن
ʾakbar min…

Take a look at the following sentences and observe which ones belong to the first type, and which ones belong to the second.

  • “You did better on the exam than I did.”
    كُنتَ أَفضَلَ مِنّي في الاِمتِحان.
    kunta ʾafḍala minnī fī al-imtiḥān.

  • “His house is more expensive than mine.”
    مَنزِلُه أَغلى مِن مَنزِلي.
    manziluh ʾaġlā min manzilī.

  • “Dubai is hotter than Casablanca.”
    دُبَيّ أَكثَر سُخونَة مِن الدار البَيْضاء.
    dubayy ʾakṯar suḫūnah min al-dār al-bayḍāʾ.

  • “The market near my house is dirtier than the market downtown.”
    السوق القَريب مِن مَنزِلي أَكثَر اِتِّساخاً مِن سوق وَسَط المَدينَة.
    al-sūq al-qarīb min manzilī ʾakṯar ittisāḫan min sūq wasaṭ al-madīnah.

  • “I can run faster than you can.”
    يُمكِنُني الجَري أَسرَع مِنك.
    yumkinunī al-ǧarī ʾasraʿ mink.

8. Review: Asking Questions 


Sentence Components

Before we see the last two sentence patterns (which are a tiny bit more difficult), let’s review the basic concepts we learned earlier—only this time, they’ll be in the form of questions.

  • “Is that bag heavy?”
    هَل ذَلِكَ الكيس ثَقيل؟
    hal ḏalika al-kīs ṯaqīl?

  • “Do you want water?”
    هَل تُريدُ ماء؟
    hal turīdu māʾ?

  • “Do you need help?”
    هَل تَحتاجُ إلى المُساعَدَة؟
    hal taḥtāǧu ʾilā al-musāʿadah?

  • “Is his house bigger than yours?”
    هَل مَنزِلُه أَكبَرُ مِن مَنزِلِك؟
    hal manziluh ʾakbaru min manzilik?

  • “Is today Wednesday?”
    هَل اليَوْمُ الأَربَعاء؟
    hal al-yawmu al-ʾarbaʿāʾ?

9. If This, Then That


A Dungeon

Surprise, it’s time for conditional sentences! This pattern is very regular, so once you learn it once, you know it forever.

  • “If you don’t lower the price, I’ll go somewhere else.”
    إذا لَم تُخَفِّض السِعر، سَوْفَ أَذهَبُ إلى مَكانٍ آخَر.
    ʾiḏā lam tuḫaffiḍ al-siʿr, sawfa ʾaḏhabu ʾilā makānin ʾāḫar.

  • “If you do that again, I’ll be angry.”
    إذا قُمتَ بِهَذا مَرَّةً أُخرى، سَأَغضَب.
    ʾiḏā qumta bihaḏā marraẗan ʾuḫrā, saʾaġḍab.

  • “We can escape if the guard falls asleep.”
    يُمكِنُنا الهَرَب إذا خَلَدَ الحارِس إلى النَوْم.
    yumkinunā al-harab ʾiḏā ḫalada al-ḥāris ʾilā al-nawm.

  • “If I buy this camera, I won’t have enough money for rent.”
    إذا اِشتَرَيْتُ هَذِهِ الكاميرا، لَن يَكونَ لَدَيّ المال الكافي لِلإيجار.
    ʾiḏā ištaraytu haḏihi al-kāmīrā, lan yakūna ladayy al-mal- al-kāfī lilʾiīǧār.

  • “If I see you tomorrow, I’ll say hello.”
    إذا رَأَيْتُكَ غَداً، سَأُسَلِّمُ عَلَيْك.
    ʾiḏā raʾaytuka ġadan, saʾusallimu ʿalayk.

10. Making “Because” Sentences in Arabic

Let’s go out with a bang for the last one! These two compound Arabic sentence patterns are included because they sound quite advanced, but you really only have to practice them a few times before you remember them. You could be speaking Arabic at this level within a couple of weeks!

  • “I was late because I slept in.”
    لَقَد تَأَخَّرتُ لِأَنَّني نِمت.
    laqad taʾaḫḫartu liʾannanī nimt.

  • “I need a key because the door is locked.”
    أَحتاجُ إلى مُفتاحٍ لِأَنَّ البابَ مُغلَق.
    ʾaḥtāǧu ʾilā muftāḥin liʾanna al-bāba muġlaq.

  • “He had to pay because she didn’t bring any money.”
    لَزَمَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَدفَعَ لِأَنَّها لَم تُحضِر أَيَّ مال.
    lazama ʿalayhi ʾan yadfaʿa liʾannahā lam tuḥḍir ʾayya mal.

  • “She won a prize because her research was excellent.”
    لَقَد فازَت بِجائِزَةٍ لِأَنَّ بَحثَها كانَ مُمتازاً.
    laqad fāzat biǧāʾizaẗin liʾanna baḥṯahā kāna mumtāzan.

11. Conclusion

The best source of Arabic sentence patterns, of course (outside of a grammar book), is real Arabic language.

You can get that right here on ArabicPod101.com!

As you listen to the podcast episodes and read the transcripts, look for these ten sentence patterns as they show up again and again. Consciously marking them in your mind will really seal them into your memory.

Then see if you can find others! Even if you already know all the verbs and nouns in the sentence, think about how they relate to each other in terms of case, number, and gender. That awareness means that you’ll start speaking Arabic correctly without even thinking.

Take the opportunity right now to review this article and learn Arabic sentence patterns; then, see what you can find in real life!

Before you go, let us know in the comments how many of these sentence patterns are new to you. Did our article answer your questions about how to construct Arabic sentences? We look forward to hearing from you!

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The Adverb in Arabic: 100 Amazingly Useful Arabic Adverbs

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Can you say anything in Arabic—anything at all?

If you’re on this website, I should hope so! But how accurately can you describe what you see, and even more importantly, what people are doing?

This is a job for adverbs. Adverbs modify verbs and nouns, and in Arabic, you may be surprised how they end up coming together. Knowing just the right adverb in Arabic can take a sentence from okay to amazing, and enhance clarity.

Right here, we have 100 Arabic adverbs just for you. Check them out!

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Table of Contents
  1. Arabic Adverbs of Time
  2. Arabic Adverbs of Place
  3. Arabic Adverbs of Manner
  4. Arabic Adverbs of Degree
  5. Arabic Adverbs for Wishes, Hopes, and Probability
  6. Get in Touch with Your Emotions
  7. Personality Traits
  8. The Interesting Word Kull
  9. Conclusion

1. Arabic Adverbs of Time

A Woman Holding an Alarm Clock

By far the most common, and therefore the most plentiful, adverbs in any language are the adverbs of time. You need to be able to talk about when things happen, how often things happen, and so on.

1. Now

“Please do it now.”

مِن فَضلِك قُم بِذَلِكَ الآن.

min faḍlik qum biḏalika al-ʾān.

2. Later

“I’ll finish my homework later.”

سَأُنهي وَاجِباتي المَنزِلِيَّةِ لاحِقاً.

saʾunhī waǧibātī al-manziliyyaẗi lāḥiqan.

3. Soon

“Your parents will arrive soon.”

وَالِداك سَيَصِلان قَريباً.

Walidaka sayasilona walidāk sayaṣilān qarīban. 

4. Sometimes

“I sometimes go to sleep after midnight.” 

أَذهَبُ أَحياناً لِلنَوْمِ بَعدَ مُنتَصَفِ اللَيْل.

ʾaḏhabu ʾaḥīānan lilnawmi baʿda muntaṣafi al-layl.

5. Usually

“I usually eat a big breakfast.”

عادَةً ما آكُلُ فُطوراً كَبيراً.

ʿādaẗan mā ʾākulu fuṭūran kabīran.

6. Never

“My dad never becomes angry.”

وَالِدي لا يَغضَبُ أَبَداً.

walidī lā yaġḍabu ʾabadan.

7. Rarely

“I rarely get sick.”

نادِراً ما أَمرَض.

nādiran mā ʾamraḍ.

8. Recently

“David recently bought a new car.”

إشتَرى داوود مُؤَخَّراً سَيَّارَةً جَديدَة.

ʾištarā dāūd muʾuaḫḫaran sayyāraẗan ǧadīdah.

9. Once

“Clap your hands once.”

صَفِّق مَرَّة وَاحِدَة.

ṣaffiq marrah waḥidah.

10. Twice

“Always check your work twice.”

تَحَقَّق مِن عَمَلِكَ مَرَّتَيْن دائِماً.

taḥaqqaq min ʿamalika marratayn dāʾiman.

11. Yesterday

“I was gone yesterday.”

غادَرتُ البارِحَة. 

ġādartu al-bāriḥah. 

12. Today

“I can’t do any more work today.”

لَم أَعُد أَستَطيعُ القِيَامَ بِأَيِّ عَمَلٍ اليَوْم.

lam ʾaʿud ʾastaṭīʿu al-qiyama biʾayyi ʿamalin al-yūm.

13. Constantly

“I feel like I’m constantly cleaning.”

أُحِسُّ بِأَنَّني أُنًظِّفُ بِشَكلٍ مُتَوَاصِل.

 ʾuḥissu biʾannanī ʾunًẓẓifu bišaklin mutawaṣil.

14. Consistently

“She consistently writes terrible books.”

إنَّها تَكتُبُ كُتُباً مُريعَة بِاِستِمرار.

ʾinnahā taktubu kutuban murīʿah biistimrār.

15. Generally

“Generally, I don’t like mushrooms.”

بِشَكلٍ عامّ، أَنا لا أُحِبُّ الفِطر.

bišaklin ʿāmm, ʾanā lā ʾuḥibbu al-fiṭr.

16. Regularly

“I check my email regularly.”

أَتَحَقَّقُ مِن بَريدي الإلِكتروني بِاِنتِظام.

ʾataḥaqqaqu min barīdī al-ʾiliktrūnī biintiẓām.

17. Hourly

“The bell rings hourly.”

يَدُقُّ الجَرَسُ كُلَّ ساعَة.

yaduqqu al-ǧarasu kulla sāʿah.

18. Currently

“We currently do not have any of those in the store.”

لَيْسَ لَدَيْنا حالِياً أَيٌّ مِن تِلكَ في المَتجَر.

laysa ladaynā ḥal-iīan ʾayyun min tilka fī al-matǧar.

19. Already

“I finished my work already.”

أَنهَيْتُ عَمَلي بِالفِعل.

ʾanhaytu ʿamalī bilfiʿl.

20. Since (time)

“I’ve been crying since last night.”

لَقَد كُنتُ أَبكي مُنذُ اللَيْلَةِ الماضِيَة.

laqad kuntu ʾabkī munḏu al-laylaẗi al-māḍiyah.

21. Before

“Before you eat dinner, please wash your hands.”

قَبلَ أَن تَأكُلَ العَشاء، مِن فَضلِك اِغسِل يَدَيْك.

qabla ʾan taʾkula al-ʿašāʾ, min faḍlik iġsil yadayk.

22. After

“After you finish dinner, please clean the table.”

بَعدَ الاِنتِهاء مِن العَشاء، مِن فَضلِك نَظِّف الطاوِلَة.

baʿda al-intihāʾ min al-ʿašāʾ, min faḍlik naẓẓif al-ṭāwilah.

23. Often

“I often see him at work.”

غالِباً ما أَراهُ في العَمَل.

ġal-iban mā ʾarāhu fī al-ʿamal.

24. Early

“Please arrive early to your appointment.” 

يُرجى الوُصول في وَقتٍ مُبَكِّر إلى مَوْعِدِك.

yurǧā al-wuṣūl fī waqtin mubakkir ʾilā mawʿidik.

25. Late

“Why did you get home late?”

لِماذا وَصَلتَ إلى المَنزِلِ مُتَأَخِّراً؟

limāḏā waṣalta ʾilā al-manzili mutaʾaḫḫiran?

26. Daily

“I exercise daily.”

أَتَمَرَّنُ يَوْمِيّاً.

ʾatamarranu yūmiyyan.

27. Weekly

“Do you get paid weekly?”

هَل تَتَقاضى راتِبَك أُسبوعِيّاً؟

 hal tataqāḍā rātibak ʾusbūʿiyyan?

28. Monthly

“The rent is due monthly.”

الإيجار يُدفَعُ شَهرِيّاً.

al-ʾiīǧār yudfaʿu šahriyyan.

29. Annually

“You will be tested annually.”

سَيَتِمُّ اِختِبارُكَ سَنَوِيّاً.

sayatimmu iḫtibāruka sanawiّan.

30. Last year

“Last year was the last year of my education.”

السَنَةُ السابِقَة كانَت آخِرَ سَنَةٍ في دِراسَتي.

sayatimmu al-sanaẗu al-sābiqah kānat ʾāḫira sanaẗin fī dirāsatī.

2. Arabic Adverbs of Place

Top Verbs

Arabic can transform prepositional phrases as we know them in English to adverbs of place. In addition, did you know that the words “nowhere” and “everywhere” are also adverbs in Arabic?

31. Under the tree
“The farmer is sleeping under the tree.”

المُزارِع نائِم تَحت الشَجَرَة.

al-muzāriʿ nāʾim taḥt al-šaǧarah.

32. In the house

“The cat is eating in the house.”

القِطَّةُ تَأكُلُ في المَنزِل.

al-qiṭṭaẗu taʾkulu fī al-manzil.

33. At the hospital

“I work at the hospital.”

أَعمَلُ في المُستَشفى.

ʾaʿmalu fī al-mustašfā.

34. On the bed

“I can’t sleep on this bed.”

لا يُمكِنُني النَوْمَ عَلى هَذا السَرير.

lā yumkinunī al-nawma ʿalā haḏā al-sarīr.

35. Under the table

“The cat chased the mouse under the table.”

طارَدَت القِطَّةُ الفأَر تَحت الطاوِلَة.

ṭāradat al-qiṭṭaẗu al-fʾar taḥt al-ṭāwilah.

36. Next to the car

“A young man is standing next to the car.”

هُناكَ شابٌّ يَقِفُ بِجانِبِ السَيَّارَة.

hunāka šābbun yaqifu biǧānibi al-sayyaārah.

37. Here

“You can’t smoke here.”

لا يُمكِنُكَ التَدخين هُنا.

lā yumkinuka al-tadḫīn hunā.

38. Abroad

“How long did you work abroad?”

مُنذ مَتى وأَنتَ تَعمَلُ في الخارِج؟

munḏ matā ūʾanta taʿmalu fī al-ḫāriǧ?

39. Everywhere

“I go everywhere with my brother.”

أَذهَبُ إلى أَيِّ مَكانٍ مَع أَخي.

ʾaḏhabu ʾilā ʾayyi makānin maʿ ʾaḫī.

40. Nowhere

“This road leads nowhere.”

هَذا الطَريق لا يُؤَدّي إلى أَيِّ مَكان.

haḏā al-ṭarīq lā yuʾuaddī ʾilā ʾayyi makān.

41. Anywhere

“I can’t find my glasses anywhere.”

لا يُمكِنُني أَن أَجِدَ نَظّاراتي في أَيِّ مَكان.

lā yumkinunī ʾan ʾaǧida naẓẓārātī fī ʾayyi makān.

3. Arabic Adverbs of Manner

Women Dancing

Lots of adverbs in Arabic are made with a noun and the preposition bi. Here are some common ones.

42. Quickly

“Don’t speak quickly!”

لا تَتَكَلَّم بِسُرعَة!

lā tatakallam bisurʿah! 

43. Beautifully

“My wife can dance beautifully.”

زَوْجَتي تَستَطيعُ الرَقص بِجَمال.

zawǧatī tastaṭīʿu al-raqṣ biǧamal-.

44. Carefully

“Sign the form carefully.”

وَقِّع النَموذَج بِحِرص.

waqqiʿ al-namūḏaǧ biḥirṣ.

45. Carelessly

“He carelessly broke the mirror.”

لَقَد كَسَرَ نافِذَتي بِدونِ أَيِّ اِكتِراث.

laqad kasara nāfiḏatī bidūni ʾayyi iktirāṯ.

46. Perfectly

“The work was done perfectly.”

تَمَّ العَمَل تَماماً.

tamma al-ʿamal tamāman.

47. Fluently

“I can speak Arabic fluently.”

يُمكِنُني تَكَلُّم العَرَبِيَّة بِطَلاقَة.

yumkinunī takallum al-ʿarabiyyah biṭalāqah.

48. Quietly

“Speak quietly in the library.”

تَكَلُّم بِهُدوءٍ في المَكتَبَة.

takallum bihudūʾin fī al-maktabah.

49. Loudly

“He talks loudly when he’s afraid.”

إنَّهُ يَتَكَلَّم بِصَوْتٍ عالي عِندَما يَكونُ خائِفاً.

ʾinnahu yatakallam biṣawtin ʿal-ī ʿindamā yakūnu ḫāʾifan.

50. Easily

“We won the game easily.”

لَقَد فازَ بِاللُعبَةِ بِسُهولَة.

laqad fāza billuʿbaẗi bisuhūlah.

51. Like this

“Hold the knife like this.”

اَمسِك السِكّين هَكَذا.

amsik al-sikkīn hakaḏā.

52. Like that

“Don’t dress like that.”

لا تَلبِس هَكَذا.

lā talbis hakaḏā.

53. Fairly

“The money will be distributed fairly.”

سَيَتِمُّ تَوْزيع النُقود بِمُساوَاة.

sayatimmu tawzīʿ al-nuqūd bimusāwah.

54. Roughly

“They play too roughly.”

إنَّهُم يَلعَبونَ بِخُشونَة.

ʾinnahum yalʿabūna biḫušūnah.

4. Arabic Adverbs of Degree

More Essential Verbs

Nearly as important as the adverbs of time, adverbs of degree let you quantify pretty much anything. This includes the world-famous “not,” without which we would all be lost when speaking a foreign language.

55. Very (for adjectives)

“My food is very spicy.”

طَعامي حارُّ جِدّاً.

ṭaʿāmī ḥārru ǧiddan.

56. Not

“My shirt is not white.”

قَميصي لَيْسَ أَبيَضاً.

qamīṣī laysa ʾabyaḍan.

57. A lot (for verbs)

“We work a lot.”

نَعمَلُ كَثيراً.

naʿmalu kaṯīran.

58. More

“Can you make the light more bright?”

هَل يُمكِنُكَ جَعل الضَوْء أَكثَرَ سُطوعاً؟

hal yumkinuka ǧaʿl al-ḍawʾ ʾakṯara suṭūʿan?

59. Less

“I can only eat it if it’s less sweet.”

لا يُمكِنُني أَكلُهُ إلا إذا كان أَقَلَّ حَلاوَة.

lā yumkinunī ʾakluhu ʾilā ʾiḏā kān ʾaqalla ḥalāwah.

60. Extremely

“Planes fly extremely fast.”

الطائِرات تَطير بِسُرعَة خارِقَة. 

al-ṭāʾirāt taṭīr bisurʿah ḫāriqah. 

61. Pretty

“She’s pretty smart.”

إنَّها ذَكِيَّةٌ جِدّاً.

ʾinnahā ḏakiyyaẗun ǧiddan.

62. Well

“I can cook well.”

يُمكِنُني الطَبخَ جَيِّداً.

yumkinunī al-ṭabḫa ǧayyidan.

63. Poorly

“I used to speak Arabic poorly.”

كُنتُ أَتَكَلَّم العَرَبِيَّة بِشَكلٍ رَديء.

kuntu ʾatakallam al-ʿarabiyyah bišaklin radīʾ.

64. Barely

“I barely escaped.”

       بِالكادِ هَرِبت.                                    

bilkādi haribt.

65. Exactly

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

هَذا ما أَعنيهِ بِالتَحديد.

haḏā mā ʾaʿnīhi biltaḥdīd.

66. Approximately

“It’s approximately five kilometers from the city.”

إنَّها تَبعُدُ حَوَالي 5 كيلومِترات مِن المَدينَة.

Inaha tabeodo 5 kilomitratin min almadina.

67. Truly

“You are truly a magnificent chef.”

أَنتَ حَقّاً طَبّاخ رائِع.

ʾanta ḥaqqan ṭabbāḫ rāʾiʿ.

68. At least

“At least try to be here on time.”

عَلى الأَقَل حاوِل أَن تَكونَ هُنا في الميعاد.

ʿalā al-ʾaqal ḥāwil ʾan takūna hunā fī al-mīʿād.

69. Too

“I’m too thirsty to eat bread.”

أَنا عَطشان جِدّاً أن آكُلَ خُبز.

ʾanā ʿaṭšān ǧiddan ʾn ʾākula ḫubz.

70. Mostly

“Air is mostly nitrogen.”

الهَوَاءُ يَتَكَوَّنُ مُعظَمُهُ مِن النيتروجين.

al-hawaʾu yatakawwanu muʿẓamuhu min al-nītrūǧīn.

71. Nearly

“We’re nearly fifty years old.”

عُمرُنا تَقريباً خَمسونَ سَنَة.

ʿumrunā taqrīban ḫamsūna sanah.

72. Somewhat

“I feel somewhat sad.”

أَشعُرُ بِالحُزن إلى حَدٍّ ما.

ʾašʿuru bilḥuzn ʾilā ḥaddin mā.

73. Almost

“That’s almost true.”

هَذا صَحيح تَقريباً.

haḏā ṣaḥīḥ taqrīban.

5. Arabic Adverbs for Wishes, Hopes, and Probability

A Girl Wishing for Something

In Arabic, there are many adverbs and adverbial phrases that have to do with wishes, hopes, and probability. The first example here is even beginning to enter the English of people who have lived for a long time in the Middle East.

74. God willing

“God willing, I will get a promotion.”

سَأَحصُلُ عَلى تَرقِيَةٍ إن شاء الله.

saʾaḥṣulu ʿalā tarqiyaẗin ʾin šāʾ allah.

75. Maybe

“Maybe Dad will come home early.”

رُبَّما سَيَعودُ أَبي إلى المَنزِل مُبَكِّراً.

rubbamā sayaʿūdu ʾabī ʾilā al-manzil mubakkiran.

76. Probably

“The war will probably end soon.”

الحَربُ غالِباً سَتَنتَهي قَريباً.

al-ḥarbu ġal-iban satantahī qarīban.

77. Absolutely

“I will absolutely finish my work on time.”

قَطعاً سَأُنهي عَمَلي في الوَقت المُحَدَّد.

qaṭʿan saʾunhī ʿamalī fī al-waqt al-muḥaddad.

78. Frequently

“I frequently sleep in late.”

كَثيراً ما أَنامُ حَتّى وَقتٍ مُتَأَخِّر.

kaṯīran mā ʾanāmu ḥattā waqtin mutaʾaḫḫir.

79. Sometimes

“I sometimes forget my husband’s name.”

أَنسى أَحيَاناً اِسمَ زَوْجي.

ʾansā ʾaḥyanan isma zawǧī.

80. Always

“The sky will always be blue.”

سَتَكونُ السَماء دائِماً زَرقاء.

satakūnu al-samāʾ dāʾiman zarqāʾ.

81. Never

“My love will never end.”

حُبّي لَن يَنتَهي أَبَداً.

ḥubbī lan yantahī ʾabadan.

82. Actually

“Actually, I don’t want to eat pizza.”

في الوَاقِع، أَنا لا أُريدُ أَن آكُلَ البيتزا.

fī al-waqiʿ, ʾanā lā ʾurīdu ʾan ʾākula al-bītzā.

83. Unfortunately

“I will, unfortunately, be late tomorrow.”

مَع الأَسَف سَأتَأَخَّرُ غَداً.

maʿ al-ʾasaf saʾtaʾaḫḫaru ġadan.

6. Get in Touch with Your Emotions

Kitten Mewling

Whenever you do something while feeling a certain emotion, you can describe what you’re doing with an adverb. 

84. Angrily

“I shouted angrily at my cat.”

لَقَد صَرَختُ بِغَضَبٍ إلى قِطَّتي.

laqad ṣaraḫtu biġaḍabin ʾilā qiṭṭatī.

85. Politely

“Ask politely next time.”

اِسأَل بِاِحتِرامٍ في المَرَّةِ المُقبِلَة.

isʾal biiḥtirāmin fī al-marraẗi al-muqbilah.

86. Honestly

“Speak honestly with your family.”

تَكَلَّم بِصِدقٍ مَع عائِلَتِك.

takallam biṣidqin maʿ ʿāʾilatik.

87. Rudely

“They treated me very rudely.”

لَقَد عامَلوني بِوَقاحَة.

laqad ʿāmalūnī biwaqāḥah.

88. Seriously

“We need to discuss this seriously.”

نَحتاجُ إلى أَن نُناقِشَ هَذا بِجِدِّيَّة.

naḥtāǧu ʾilā ʾan nunāqiša haḏā biǧiddiyyah.

89. Irritably

“George answered the phone irritably.”

أَجابَ جورج الهاتِف بِاِنفِعال.

ʾaǧāba ǧūrǧ al-hātif biinfiʿal-.

90. Kindly

“The grandmother smiled kindly at the child.”

لَقَد اِبتَسَمَت الجَدَّة بِعَطفٍ إلى الطِفل.

laqad ibtasamat al-ǧaddah biʿaṭfin ʾilā al-ṭifl.

91. Hungrily

“They were all looking hungrily at my shawarma.”

كانَ الجَميع يَنظُرونَ بِجوعٍ إلى شاوِارمَتي.

kāna al-ǧamīʿ yanẓurūna biǧūʿin ʾilā šāwiārmatī.

92. Nervously

“I always play nervously on my phone.”

أَلعَب دائِماً بِتَوَتُّر عَلى هاتِفي. 

ʾalʿab dāʾiman bitawattur ʿalā hātifī. 

93. Efficiently

“It’s important to do your work efficiently.”

مِن المُهِمِّ القِيَام بِعَمَلِكَ بِفَعالِيَّة.

min al-muhimmi al-qiyam biʿamalika bifaʿal-iyyah.

94. Cleverly

“They cleverly solved the problem.”

لَقَد حَلّوا المُشكِلَةَ بِذَكاء.

laqad ḥallū al-muškilaẗa biḏakāʾ.

7. Personality Traits

Woman Winking

Subtly different from emotions are a few core personality traits that affect everything you do, not just what you do when you feel a certain way.

95. Boldly

“She walked boldly toward the enemy.”

مَشَت بِجُرأَة نَحوَ العَدو.

mašat biǧurʾah naḥwa al-ʿadū.

96. Awkwardly

“She danced awkwardly.”

إنَّها تَرقُصُ بِغَرابَة.

ʾinnahā tarquṣu biġarābah.

97. Obediently

“The knight bowed obediently to the king.”

اِنحَنى الفارِس بِطاعَةٍ لِلمَلِك.

inḥanā al-fāris biṭāʿaẗin lilmalik.

98. Attractively

“The woman winked at me attractively.”

المَرأَة غَمَزَت إلَيَّ بِشَكلٍ جَذّاب.

al-marʾah ġamazat ʾilayya bišaklin ǧaḏḏāb.

99. Happily

“We lived happily for fifty years together.”

عِشنا بِسَعادَة لِمُدَّةِ خَمسينَ عاماً مَعاً.

ʿišnā bisaʿādah limuddaẗi ḫamsīna ʿāman maʿan.

8. The Interesting Word Kull

One last adverb here is unique to Arabic and takes a bit to wrap your head around. The word is كُلّ , and it has the meanings of “each,” “every,” and “entire.”

When the noun is indefinite and singular, it means “each.”

“I wake up at five each day.”

أَستَيْقِظُ في الخامِسَة كُلَّ يَوْم.

ʾastayqiẓu fī al-ḫāmisah kulla yawm.

When the noun is definite and singular, it means “entire.”

“I was driving the entire day.”

كُنتُ أَقود اليَوْمَ كُلَّه.

kuntu ʾaqūd al-yawma kullah.

And when you use a definite and plural noun? “Every.”

“I pray every day.”

أُصَلّي كُلَّ يَوْم.

ʾuṣallī kulla yawm.

9. Conclusion

What an accomplishment!

But still, our Arabic adverbs list only scratches the surface. Dive any further into Arabic vocabulary lists and you’ll find dozens, or even hundreds, of additional Arabic adverbs.

How can you learn them all?

It just takes a little time—and some great resources. Head on over to our other articles and blog posts, and see just what else ArabicPod101.com has to offer!

If you have any questions or didn’t quite get something, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments. We’ll do our best to help you out!

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Arabic Keyboard: How to Install and Type in Arabic

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You asked, so we provided—easy-to-follow instructions on how to set up your electronic devices to write in Arabic! We’ll also give you a few excellent tips on how to use this keyboard, as well as some online and app alternatives if you prefer not to set up a Arabic keyboard.

Log in to Download Your Free Arabic Alphabet Worksheet Table of Contents
  1. Why it’s Important to Learn to Type in Arabic
  2. Setting up Your Computer and Mobile Devices for Arabic
  3. How to Activate an Onscreen Keyboard on Your Computer
  4. How to Change the Language Settings to Arabic on Your Computer
  5. Activating the Arabic Keyboard on Your Mobile Phone and Tablet
  6. Arabic Keyboard Typing Tips
  7. How to Practice Typing Arabic

1. Why it’s Important to Learn to Type in Arabic

A keyboard

Learning a new language is made so much easier when you’re able to read and write/type it. This way, you will:

  • Get the most out of any dictionary and Arabic language apps on your devices
  • Expand your ability to find Arabic websites and use the various search engines
  • Be able to communicate much better online with your Arabic teachers and friends, and look super cool in the process! 

2. Setting up Your Computer and Mobile Devices for Arabic

A phone charging on a dock

It takes only a few steps to set up any of your devices to read and type in Arabic. It’s super-easy on your mobile phone and tablet, and a simple process on your computer.

On your computer, you’ll first activate the onscreen keyboard to work with. You’ll only be using your mouse or touchpad/pointer for this keyboard. Then, you’ll need to change the language setting to Arabic, so all text will appear in Arabic. You could also opt to use online keyboards instead. Read on for the links!

On your mobile devices, it’s even easier—you only have to change the keyboard. We also provide a few alternatives in the form of online keyboards and downloadable apps.

3. How to Activate an Onscreen Keyboard on Your Computer

1- Mac

1. Go to System Preferences > Keyboard.

2. Check the option “Show Keyboard & Character Viewers in Menu Bar.”

3. You’ll see a new icon on the right side of the main bar; click on it and select “Show Keyboard Viewer.”

A screenshot of the keyboard viewer screen

2- Windows

1. Go to Start > Settings > Easy Access > Keyboard.

2. Turn on the option for “Onscreen Keyboard.”

3- Online Keyboards

If you don’t want to activate your computer’s onscreen keyboard, you also have the option to use online keyboards. Here are some good options:

4- Add-ons of Extensions for Browsers

Instead of an online keyboard, you could also choose to download a Google extension to your browser for a language input tool. The Google Input Tools extension allows users to use input tools in Chrome web pages, for example.

4. How to Change the Language Settings to Arabic on Your Computer

Man looking at his computer

Now that you’re all set to work with an onscreen keyboard on your computer, it’s time to download the Arabic language pack for your operating system of choice:

  • Windows 8 (and higher)
  • Windows 7
  • Mac (OS X and higher)

1- Windows 8 (and higher)

  1. Go to “Settings” > “Change PC Settings” > “Time & Language” > “Region & Language.”
  2. Click on “Add a Language” and select “Arabic.” Here you have multiple options of different countries. Choose “Arabic (Egypt)” unless you have a certain preference. This will add it to your list of languages. It will appear as “(العربية (مصر” or “Arabic (Egypt)” with the note “language pack available.”
  3. Click on “Arabic (Egypt)” > “Options” > “Download.” It’ll take a few minutes to download and install the language pack.
  4. As a keyboard layout, you’ll only need the one marked as “Arabic (101)” You can ignore other keyboard layouts.

2- Windows 7

  1. Go to “Start” > “Control Panel” > “Clock, Language, and Region.”
  2. On the “Region and Language” option, click on “Change Keyboards or Other Input Methods.”
  3. On the “Keyboards and Languages” tab, click on “Change Keyboards” > “Add” > “Arabic.”
  4. Expand the option of “Arabic” and then expand the option “Keyboard.” Select the keyboard layout marked as “Arabic.” You can ignore other keyboard layouts. Click “OK” and then “Apply.”

3- Mac (OS X and higher)

If you can’t see the language listed, please make sure to select the right option from System Preferences > Language and Region

1. From the Apple Menu (top left corner of the screen) go to System Preferences > Keyboard.

2. Click the Input Sources tab and a list of available keyboards and input methods will appear.

3. Click on the plus button, select “Arabic,” and add the “Arabic” keyboard.

Adding a system language

5. Activating the Arabic Keyboard on Your Mobile Phone and Tablet

Texting and searching in Arabic will greatly help you master the language! Adding a Arabic keyboard on your mobile phone and/or tablet is super-easy.

You could also opt to download an app instead of adding a keyboard. Read on for our suggestions.

Below are the instructions for both iOS and Android mobile phones and tablets.

1- iOS

1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard.

2. Tap “Keyboards” and then “Add New Keyboard.”

3. Select “Arabic” from the list.

4. When typing, you can switch between languages by tapping and holding on the icon to reveal the keyboard language menu.

2- Android

1. Go to Settings > General Management > Language and Input > On-screen Keyboard (or “Virtual Keyboard” on some devices) > Samsung Keyboard.

2. Tap “Language and Types” or “ + Select Input Languages” depending on the device and then “MANAGE INPUT LANGUAGES” if available.

3. Select “العربية – Arabic” from the list.

4. When typing, you can switch between languages by swiping the space bar.

3- Applications for Mobile Phones

If you don’t want to add a keyboard on your mobile phone or tablet, this is a good app to consider:

6. Arabic Keyboard Typing Tips

Typing in Arabic can be very challenging at first! Therefore, we added here a few useful tips to make it easier to use your Arabic keyboard.

A man typing on a computer

1- Computer

  1. Pressing the shift button in combination with letters give you the variations of the letter.
  2. In some cases, it’s hard to predict which letter you’ll get when you combine shift with a letter. For example, the Y button, which in Arabic is the غ letter, produces a إ letter when pressed while holding down the shift button.
  3. Most vowels can be produced by pressing the letters on the left side of the keyboard while holding the shift button.
  4. Most people can’t find the ذ letter at first. It’s located to the left of number 1 and under the “Esc” button on most keyboards.

2- Mobile Phones

  1. Holding down certain buttons such as ا and ي gives you options to choose betwen variations of these letters.
  2. Don’t forget to type in spaces between words, or else words will connect the wrong way.

7. How to Practice Typing Arabic

As you probably know by now, learning Arabic is all about practice, practice, and more practice! Strengthen your Arabic typing skills by writing comments on any of our lesson pages, and our teacher will answer. If you’re a ArabicPod101 Premium PLUS member, you can directly text our teacher via the My Teacher app—use your Arabic keyboard to do this!

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Searching for the Secrets of Arabic Verb Conjugations

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Arabic grammar has an unfair reputation of being needlessly complex and riddled with inconsistencies.

A better word might be intricate. There’s a lot to memorize, but also a lot of patterns that reveal themselves when examined.

One such pattern is within Arabic verb conjugation. Conjugation is the umbrella term for correctly using the different forms of Arabic verbs—which is not something you can just waltz in to. How many other languages can you think of that have different verb forms for talking to women and men?

This article is designed for people who are just starting out with Arabic grammar, and who want to know what makes Arabic verbs so intricate.

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Useful Verbs in Arabic Table of Contents
  1. Verb Roots in Arabic
  2. Arabic Verbs Love Arabic Pronouns
  3. Conjugating Arabic Verbs in Present Tense
  4. Conjugating Arabic Verbs in the Past and Future Tenses
  5. Can a Verb Be “Defective?”
  6. Conclusion

1. Verb Roots in Arabic

Top Verbs

Arabic, as a Semitic language in the same family as Hebrew and Amharic, has vocabulary based on roots. Most nouns and verbs are formed from twins, triplets, quadruplets, or quintuplets of consonants that then change their vowels or add consonants to make additional words.

The overwhelming majority of words in Arabic have three consonants (called triliteral), and there are barely any two-consonant roots (biliteral) at all. Some linguists propose that there used to be a lot more biliteral roots, but right now, there are only a few very short words like that.

This is good knowledge to have about Arabic in general, but especially when it comes to verbs.

Arabic verbs are usually thought of as belonging to one of fifteen different forms (though only ten get used very much). Form I verbs (they always get described with Roman numerals) are the “base” forms of the verb. 

Other Arabic verb forms have different vowel additions and are usually associated with certain types of verbs. For example, Form II verbs have a doubled middle root letter. They’re usually more intense versions of Form I verbs, like كَسَّرَ, meaning “to shatter,” from the word كَسَرَ, meaning “to break.”

  • لَقَد كَسَرتُ الزُجاج.
    laqad kasartu al-zuǧāǧ.
    “I broke the glass.”
  • لَقَد كَسَّرَت الرَصاصَةُ النافِذَة.
    laqad kassarat al-raṣāṣaẗu al-nāfiḏah.
    “The bullet shattered the window.”

We’ll leave detailed discussion of verb forms for another article. For now, just know that you should think of “verb forms” as corresponding to different words formed by the same root, and “verb conjugations” simply as different forms of the same word.

2. Arabic Verbs Love Arabic Pronouns

Pages Making a Heart

If you’ve already learned European languages like French or Spanish before, it may come as a surprise to you that Arabic verbs fuse together with Arabic pronouns. Each pronoun in Arabic has a suffix form that attaches to the verb to show the direct object.

Therefore, if you say “I saw him,” you’re really saying “Isawhim” all pushed together as one word. Not so far off from how we actually speak the language! How does that look in practice?

We haven’t gotten to Arabic conjugation rules yet, so don’t worry about the actual verb tenses in the following examples.

  • آدَم يَراه.
    ʾādam yarāh.
    “Adam sees him.”
  • إنَّهُ يَرى آدَم.
    ʾinnahu yarā ʾādam.
    “He sees Adam.”
  • لا يُمكِنُني أَن أَجِدَك.
    lā yumkinunī ʾan ʾaǧidak.
    “I couldn’t find you.”
  • لا يُمكِنُكَ أَن تَجِدَها.
     lā yumkinuka ʾan taǧidahā.
    “You couldn’t find her.”

This is very important for you to know, because in different tenses, the attached form of the pronouns will, in fact, change ever so slightly. 

This is one aspect of learning where doing a lot of listening and reading aloud will help you. Native speakers have the muscle memory for what forms of the pronouns go with which Arabic verb tenses, but they didn’t get there through magic.

It’s all practice!

With that said, let’s start looking at Arabic conjugation charts.

3. Conjugating Arabic Verbs in Present Tense

More Essential Verbs

In Arabic, there’s no difference between the present and present progressive tenses. So saying “I run” in Arabic could mean either “I am running” or “I usually run” in English, depending on the context and adverbs.

The present tense is considered one of the most difficult to remember, because it’s the one with both prefixes and suffixes—but only for some of the pronouns! Here’s an Arabic conjugation table for you:

EnglishRomanizationArabic
“I”‘a–أ–
“you” (masculine singular)ta–ت–
“you” (feminine singular)ta–iinaت–ين
“he” / “it”ya–ي–
“she” / “it”ta–ت–
“we”na–ن–
“you” (masculine plural)ta–uunaت–وت
“you” (feminine plural)ta–naت–ن
“they” (masculine)ya–uunaت–ون
“they” (feminine)ya–naي–ن

Yes, it’s definitely quite a bit to memorize. And unfortunately, this is just for Form I verbs! Although Form II and others do share similarities with these patterns, you’ll definitely have to do a fair bit of studying before all of the Arabic verb conjugation patterns make sense to you.

We don’t have space here for fourteen more charts covering each form, but you can definitely turn to some excellent online grammar guides if you wish to know more about conjugating different Arabic verb forms.

One of the best ways to get used to these forms is to read a lot of example sentences. On the one hand, practicing writing out the chart from memory is good for your recall, but it’s only good if you combine it with a strong sense of what “feels right” built up from lots of reading and listening.

  • لا يُمكِنُني أَن أَتَذَكَّرَ ما قالَهُ الأُستاذ.
    lā yumkinunī ʾan ʾataḏakkara mā qal-ahu al-ʾustāḏ.
    “I can’t remember what the teacher said.”
  • مِن فَضلِكَ ذَكِّرني غَداً.
    min faḍlika ḏakkirnī ġadan.
    “Please remind me tomorrow.”
  • أَنا أُعَلِّمُكَ كَيْفَ تَتَحَدَّث العَرَبِيَّة.
    ʾanā ʾuʿallimuka kayfa tataḥaddaṯ al-ʿarabiyyah.
    “I am teaching you to speak Arabic.”

4. Conjugating Arabic Verbs in the Past and Future Tenses

Hourglass and Dark Background

Good news! The past and future tenses are considered much easier than the present. There’s only suffixes, no prefixes. And on top of that, every single verb form has the same suffixes in the past tense!

EnglishRomanizationArabic
“I”–tu–تُ
“you” (masculine singular)–ta–تَ
“you” (feminine singular)–ti–تِ
“he” / “it”–aVowelling sign “a” (fatha ” َ ” )
“she” / “it”–at–تْ
“we”–na–نا
“you” (masculine plural)–tum–تم
“you” (feminine plural)–tunna–تن
“they” (masculine)–uu–و
“they” (feminine)–na–ن
  • .ذَهَبتُ إلى حَفلَةٍ موسيقِيَّة اللَيْلَة الماضِيَة.
    ḏahabtu ʾilā ḥaflaẗin mūsīqiyyah al-laylah al-māḍiyah.
    “I went to a concert last night.”
  • سَرَقتَ مِحفَظَتي، أَلَيْسَ كَذَلِك؟
    saraqta miḥfaẓatī, ʾalaysa kaḏalik?
    “You stole my wallet, right?”
  • لَقَد اِصطادَت قِطَّتي طائِراً.
    laqad iṣṭādat qiṭṭatī ṭāʾiran.
    “My cat caught a bird.”

Wasn’t that a piece of cake? Just wait until you learn how to do Arabic conjugation for the future tense.

The future tense in Arabic is formed by adding the word sa and then the verb in present tense. That’s it! You may also see the word sawfa used in the same way, and you’re right. Both words are interchangeable for creating the future tense in Arabic.

Of course, you still have to conjugate the present tense form. But in a way, that’s even better because you’ll get practice with it every time you hear someone use the future form. Let’s see some examples:

  • هَل سَتَعودُ إلى المَنزِل لِلإحتِفالِ بِرَأسِ السَنَة الجَديدَة؟
    hal sataʿūdu ʾilā al-manzil lilʾiḥtifal-i biraʾsi al-sanah al-ǧadīdah?
    “Will you go back home to celebrate New Year’s?”
  • سَأَدرُسُ لِمُدَّةِ ثَلاثِ ساعات اليَوْم.
    saʾadrusu limuddaẗi ṯalāṯi sāʿāt al-yūm.
    “I’m going to study for three hours today.”

 5. Can a Verb Be “Defective?”

Someone Wearing a Cast on Their Foot

If you do any research at all on Arabic grammar, you’ll find that there’s a concept of “weak,” “defective,” “sick,” and “hollow” verbs. Don’t worry, Arabic is a very healthy language. This is just the way most people refer to the verbs in Arabic that have “weak” letters as part of the roots.

These weak letters are: و (waaw), ا (alif), and ي (yaa’). You can kind of picture that their sounds are indeed a little less distinctive than something like “t” or “j.”

They’re called “weak” because they end up assimilating into the nearby sounds. The rules for this are quite predictable, but at the same time, they’re relatively complicated since there are three weak letters and three places where they could go in a word.

One example is when a و  is the first letter of the root, like “to arrive,” which has the pattern w-s-l. Instead of the first person conjugation being ʾwaṣil, the first sound drops off and you’re left with ʾaṣil. 

Pretty intuitive! The rest of the rules are quite easy to pick up as well, and since they’re based on natural sound changes, they’re easy to remember as long as you do enough speaking practice.

6. Conclusion

Even if it may seem like a lot to take in now, speaking Arabic with correct conjugations is going to be extremely impressive to native speakers.

When you actually start speaking Arabic, try writing down what you say at the same time so you can use all the time you need to get the correct verb forms and pronouns right.

As we mentioned before, reading and listening to lots of Arabic is a great way to build your language skills without a ton of effort. That’s exactly what you can do right here on ArabicPod101.com

This lesson on the Arabic conjugation of verbs should serve as a good starting point for you, especially if you plan to continue discovering the language. If you have any questions on what you’ve learned about Arabic conjugation so far, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Useful Verbs in Arabic

100 Arabic Verbs for Every Action You Can Think of

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Verbs are the meat and potatoes of language. They’re in every sentence, and pretty much every fragment too.

If you’re putting together a dinner plate of communication, the verb is the main course.

For that reason, we’ve put together a massive list of 100 Arabic verbs that cover pretty much anything anyone could ask for, including some examples that show how Arabic verbs work.

Read this list through and watch as you slowly absorb verbs in Arabic and their structures without even having to work at it! 

Let’s go!

Log in to Download Your Free Cheat Sheet - Useful Verbs in Arabic Table of Contents
  1. The Basic Tourist Set—The 20 Most Important Verbs
  2. Abstract Yet Important
  3. Interacting with Others
  4. Move Your Body
  5. Follow That Car!
  6. Hobbies and Pastimes
  7. Using Your Words
  8. In the Kitchen
  9. Conclusion

1. The Basic Tourist Set—The 20 Most Important Verbs

Top Verbs

Step right up and take your pick. These are the key Arabic verbs you need when you’re traveling in an Arabic-speaking country—they’ll get you where you need to go, and even let you make small talk on the way.

 اِلتَقَطَ صورَة (iltaqaṭa ṣūrah) — take a photo 

هَل يُمكِنُني أَن أَلتَقِط صورَة لَك؟

hal yumkinunī ʾan ʾaltaqiṭ ṣūrah lak? 

Can I take a photo of you?

مَشَيَ (mašaya) — walk 

أُريدُ أَن أَمشي إلى الفُندُق.

ʾurīdu ʾan ʾamšī ʾilā al-funduq.

I want to walk to the hotel.

أَقامَ  (ʾaqāma) — stay overnight 

سَأُقيمُ في الفُندُق الَّذي بِجانِب النَهر. 

saʾuqīmu fī al-funduq allaḏī biǧānib al-nahr. 

I’m staying at a hotel near the river.

أَكَلَ (ʾakala) — eat 

أُريدُ أَن آكُلَ الأَكل المَحَلّي.

ʾurīdu ʾan ʾākula al-ʾakl al-maḥallī.

I want to eat local food.

شَرِبَ (šariba) — drink 

أَنا لا أَشرَبُ الخَمر.

ʾanā lā ʾašrabu al-ḫamr.

I don’t drink alcohol.

ذَهَبَ (ḏahaba) — go 

إلى أَيْنَ يُمكِنُنا الذَهاب؟

ʾilā ʾayna yumkinunā al-ḏahāb?

When can we go?

اِشتَرى (ištarā) — buy 

أَيْنَ يُمكِنُني شِراء فُرشاةِ أَسنان؟

ʾayna yumkinunī širāʾ furšāẗi ʾasnān?

Where can I buy a toothbrush?

نَظَرَ (naẓara) — look 

اِنظُر إلى ذاك الرَجُل!

inẓur ʾilā ḏāk al-raǧul!

Look at that man!

وَجَدَ (waǧada) — find 

لَم أَجِد مُفتاح غُرفَتي.

lam ʾaǧid muftāḥ ġurfatī.

I can’t find my room key.

غادَرَ (ġādara) — leave 

سَنُغادِرُ غَداً.

sanuġādiru ġadan.

We’re going to leave tomorrow.

وَصَل (waṣal) — arrive 

مَتى يَصِل باص القاهِرَة؟

matā yaṣil bāṣ al-qāhirah?

What time does the bus to Cairo arrive?

تَحَدَّث (taḥaddaṯ) — speak 

يُمكِنُني تَحَدُّث القَليل مِن العَرَبِيَّة و القَليل مِن الفِرِنسِيَّة.

yumkinunī taḥadduṯ al-qalīl min al-ʿarabiyyah wa al-qalīl min al-firinsiyyah.

I can speak a little Arabic and a little French.

قالَ (qala) — say 

كَيْفَ تَقول هَذا بِالعَرَبِيَّة؟

kayfa taqūl haḏā bilʿarabiyyah?

How do you say this in Arabic?

قَرَأَ (qaraʾa) — read 

هَل تُجيدُ أَن تَقرَأَ الإنجليزِيَّة؟

hal tuǧīdu ʾan taqraʾa al-ʾinǧlīziyyah?

Do you know how to read English?

نَطَقَ (naṭaqa) — pronounce 

لا يُمكِنُني نُطق هَذِهِ الكَلِمَة.

lā yumkinunī nuṭq haḏihi al-kalimah.

I can’t pronounce this word.

اِستَخدَمَ الحَمّام (istaḫdama al-ḥammām) — use the bathroom 

أَحتاجُ أَن أَستَخدِم الحَمّام.

ʾaḥtāǧu ʾan ʾastaḫdim al-ḥammām.

I need to use the bathroom.

سَبَحَ (sabaḥa) — swim 

أُريدُ أَن أَسبَحَ في المُحيط.

ʾurīdu ʾan ʾasbaḥa fī al-muḥīṭ.

I want to swim in the ocean.

رَكِبَ دَرّاجَة (rakiba darrāǧah) — ride a bike 

هَل يُمكِنُكَ رُكوب دَرّاجَة في المَدينَة؟

hal yumkinuka rukūb darrāǧah fī al-madīnah?

Can you ride a bike in the city?

2. Abstract Yet Important

More Essential Verbs

Here’s a short Arabic verbs list of words that are more abstract, but that you should know nonetheless.

أَحَبَّ (ʾaḥabba) — love 

أُحِبُّ زَوْجَتي.

ʾuḥibbu zawǧatī.

I love my wife.

ّفَكَّرَ ّ((fakkara) — think 


بِما تُفَكِّر؟

bimā tufakkir?

What are you thinking about?

أَصَرَّ  (ʾaṣarra) — persist 

 لَقَد أَصَرّوا عَلى أَن يَتَجادَلوا حَوْلَ الأَشيَاء البَسيطَة.

 laqad ʾaṣarrū ʿalā ʾan yataǧādalū ḥawla al-ʾašyaʾ al-basīṭah.

They persisted in arguing about tiny things.

وَضَعَ (waḍaʿa) — put 

ضَع القَلَم عَلى الطاوِلَة.

ḍaʿ al-qalam ʿalā al-ṭāwilah.

Put the pen on the table.

جَرَّبَ (ǧarraba) — try 

خُذ، جَرِّب هَذا الشاي.

ḫuḏ, ǧarrib haḏā al-šāī.

Take, try this tea.

فَعَلَ (faʿala) — do 

يُمكِنُهُ دائِماً أَن يَفعَل الصَوَاب.

yumkinuhu dāʾiman ʾan yafʿal al-ṣawab.

He can always do the right thing.

صَنَعَ (ṣanaʿa) — make 

لَيْسَ مِن الصَعب أَن تَصنَع سَندَويتش.

laysa min al-ṣaʿb ʾan taṣnaʿ sandaūītš.

It’s not hard to make a sandwich.

أَحَسَّ (ʾaḥassa) — feel 

أَحَسَّ بِالمَرَض

ʾaḥassa bilmaraḍ

I feel sick.

فَهِمَ (fahima) — understand 

يُمكِنُني أَن أَفهَم إن تَحَدَّثتَ بِبُطء.

yumkinunī ʾan ʾafham ʾin taḥaddaṯta bibuṭʾ.

I can understand if you speak slowly.

اِتَّفَق (ittafaq) — agree 

هَل تَتَّفِق مَعي؟

hal tattafiq maʿī?

Do you agree with me?

3. Interacting with Others

Women Looking Over Paperwork

These are super-useful Arabic verbs for beginners. It’s a bit of a strange name for a category, sure, but whether you’re doing business or hanging out with friends, these verbs are the ones that will come up again and again.

أَعطى (ʾaʿṭā) — give 

اِعطِني تِلكَ القارورَة.

iʿṭinī tilka al-qārūrah.

Give me that bottle.

أَخَذَ (ʾaḫaḏa) — take 

هَل يُمكِنُكَ أَن تَأخُذَ هَذا إلى الطابِق العُلوِي؟

hal yumkinuka ʾan taʾḫuḏa haḏā ʾilā al-ṭābiq al-ʿulwi?

Can you take this upstairs?

أَحضَرَ (ʾaḥḍara) — bring 

أَحضَرَ أَحذِيَتي.

ʾaḥḍara ʾaḥḏiyatī.

Bring me my shoes.

ساعِد (sāʿid) — help 

مِن فَضلِك ساعِد إبني في وَاجِباتِه المَنزِلِيَّة.

 min faḍlik sāʿid ʾibnī fī waǧibātih al-manziliyyah.

Please help my son with his homework.

صَلّى (ṣallā) — pray 

فَلنَذهَب لِنُصَلّي مَعاً.

falnaḏhab linuṣallī maʿan.

Let’s go pray together.

عَمِلَ (ʿamila) — work 

لا يُمكِنُني أَن أَعمَلَ مَع الآخَرين.

lā yumkinunī ʾan ʾaʿmala maʿ al-ʾāḫarīn.

I can’t work with other people.

بَحَثَ (baḥaṯa) — look for 

أَنا أَبَحَثُ عَن المُدير.

ʾanā ʾabaḥaṯu ʿan al-mudīr.

I’m looking for my boss.

أَنصَتَ (ʾanṣata) — listen to

هَل تُنصِتُ إلَيّ؟

hal tunṣitu ʾilayy?

Are you listening to me?

وَعَدَ (waʿada) — promise 

أَعِدُكَ أَنّني لَن أَقومَ بِذَلِك مُجَدَّداً.

ʾaʿiduka ʾannnī lan ʾaqūma biḏalik muǧaddadan.

I promise (directed to a male) I won’t do it again.

وَظَّفَ (waẓẓafa) — hire 

و أَخيراً, جوجِل وَظَّقَتني.

wa ʾaḫīran, ǧūǧil waẓẓaqatnī.

Finally, Google hired me.

4. Move Your Body

Family Running through Park Together

Are you a kid at heart or traveling with little ones? These are the Arabic action verbs you’re looking for. You’d be surprised how useful a lot of these are, even if it seems like you’re in a kindergarten class!

قَفَزَ (qafaza) — jump 

يَجِبُ عَلَيْكَ أَن تَقفِزَ فَوْقَ البَرَكَة.

yaǧibu ʿalayka ʾan taqfiza fawqa al-barakah.

You have to jump over the puddle.

جَرَى (ǧaraā) — run 

بِأَيِّ سُرعَة يُمكِنُكَ أَن تَجري؟

biʾayyi surʿah yumkinuka ʾan taǧrī?

How fast can you run?

اِستَلقى (istalqā) — lie down 

  أَنا أُريدُ فَقَط أَن أَعودَ إلى المَنزِل و أَستَلقي.

ʾanā ʾurīdu faqaṭ ʾan ʾaʿūda ʾilā al-manzil wa ʾastalqī.

I just want to go home and lie down.

وَقَفَ (waqafa) — stand up 

فَليَقِف الجَميع مِن فَضلِكُم.

falyaqif al-ǧamīʿ min faḍlikum.

Everybody stand up, please.

جَلَس (ǧalas) — sit down 

ظَهري يُؤلِمُني حينَما أَجلِس.

ẓahrī yuʾulimunī ḥīnamā ʾaǧlis.

My back hurts when I sit down.

صَفَّقَ (ṣaffaqa) — clap 

الجُمهور صَفَّقَ لِمُدَّةٍ طَوِيلَة.

al-ǧumhūr ṣaffaqa limuddaẗin ṭawilah.

The audience clapped for a long time.

تَمَرَّنَ (tamarrana) — exercise  

لا أُحِبُّ التَمَرُّن حين أَكونُ مَريضاً.

lā ʾuḥibbu al-tamarrun ḥīn ʾakūnu marīḍan.

I don’t like to exercise when I’m sick.

مارَسَ الرِيَاضَة (mārasa al-riyaḍah) — play sports 

لَقَد تَعَوَّدتُ أَن أُمارِسَ الكَثير مِن الرِيَاضَة عِندَما كُنتُ صَغيراً.

laqad taʿawwadtu ʾan ʾumārisa al-kaṯīr min al-riyaḍah ʿindamā kuntu ṣaġīran.

I used to play a lot of sports when I was young.

رَقَصَ (raqaṣa) — dance 

فَلنَرقُص اللَّيْلَة كُلَّها.

falnarquṣ al-llaylah kullahā.

Let’s dance all night.

أَخَذَ حَمّاماً (ʾaḫaḏa ḥammāman) — take a shower 

أُريدُ أَن آخُذَ حَمّاماً غَداً صَباحاً.

ʾurīdu ʾan ʾāḫuḏa ḥammāman ġadan ṣabāḥan.

I want to take a shower tomorrow morning.

5. Follow That Car!

In this section, we’ll learn all the verbs you need for driving in Arabic, as well as some handy phrases you can use when somebody is driving you around.

قادَ (qāda) — drive  

يُمكِنُني أَن أَقودَ أَيَّ نَوْعٍ مِن السَيَّارات.

yumkinunī ʾan ʾaqūda ʾayya nawʿin min al-sayyaārāt.

I can drive any kind of car.

قِف (qif) — stop 

أَوْقِف السَيَّارَة، مِن فَضلِك.

ʾawqif al-sayyaārah, min faḍlik.

Stop the car, please!

اِنعَطَفَ (inʿaṭafa) — turn 

اِنعَطِف يَساراً،  ثُمَّ اِنعَطِف يَميناً عِندَ الشارِع المُقبِل.

inʿaṭif yasāran, ṯumma inʿaṭif yamīnan ʿinda al-šāriʿ al-muqbil.

Turn left, and then turn right at the next street.

أَسرَعَ (ʾasraʿa) — speed up 

سَيَّارَةُ الشُرطَة أَسرَعَت لِكَيّ تَقبِضَ عَلى المُتَّهَم.

sayyaāraẗu al-šurṭah ʾasraʿat likayy taqbiḍa ʿalā al-muttaham.

The police car sped up to catch the suspect.

أَبطَأَ (ʾabṭaʾa) — slow down 

هَل يُمكِنُكَ أَن تُبطِئَ مِن فَضلِك؟

hal yumkinuka ʾan tubṭiʾa min faḍlik?

Can you please slow down?

عَمِل (ʿamil) — turn on / start 

سيارتي لا تَعمَل.

sīārtī lā taʿmal.

My car won’t start.

أَطفَأَ (ʾaṭfaʾa) — turn off 

هَل يُمكِنُكَ إطفاء المُكَيِّف الهَوَائي؟

hal yumkinuka ʾiṭfāʾ al-mukayyif al-hawaʾī?

Could you turn off the air conditioning?

رَكِبَ الحافِلَة (rakiba al-ḥāfilah) — catch a bus 

.ِ  إذا كُنتَ عَلى عَجَلَة، يُمكِنُكَ رُكوب الحافِلَة

ʾiḏā kunta ʿalā ʿaǧalah, yumkinuka rukūb al-ḥāfilah.

If you hurry, you can catch the bus.

6. Hobbies and Pastimes

Lovely Red Flowers

What do you like to do (besides learning Arabic, of course)? I bet you’ll find it on this list of hobby-related Arabic language verbs.

اِلتَقَطَ صُوَراً (iltaqaṭa ṣuwaran) — take photos 


.أُحِبُّ إلتِقاطَ صُوَر لِلطَبيعَة

ʾuḥibbu ʾiltiqāṭa ṣuwar lilṭabīʿah.

I like to take photos of nature.

تَستَمِعُ إلى الموسيقى (tastamiʿu ʾilā al-mūsīqā) — listen to music 

أُمّي تَستَمِعُ إلى الموسيقى الأَفريقِيَّة.

ʾummī tastamiʿu ʾilā al-mūsīqā al-ʾafrīqiyyah.

My mom listens to African music.

عَزَفَ عَلى الجيتار (ʿazafa ʿalā al-ǧītār) — play guitar 

أَنا أَعزُفُ عَلى الجيتار مُنذُ عَشَرَ سَنَوَات.

ʾanā ʾaʿzufu ʿalā al-ǧītār munḏu ʿašara sanawat.

I’ve been playing guitar for ten years.

رَكَضَ (rakaḍa) — go jogging 

هَل تُريدُ أَن تَركُضَ مَعي عِندَما يَتَحَسَّن الطَقس؟

hal turīdu ʾan tarkuḍa maʿī ʿindamā yataḥassan al-ṭaqs?

Want to go jogging with me when the weather is nicer?

شاهَدَ الأَفلام (šāhada al-ʾaflām) — watch movies 

أَكرَهُ مُشاهَدَةِ الأَفلام الحَزينَة.

ʾakrahu mušāhadaẗi al-ʾaflām al-ḥazīnah.

I hate watching sad movies.

اِستَرخى (istarḫā) — relax 

مِن المُهِمِّ أَن تَستَرخِيَ بَعد العَمَل بِجِد.

min al-muhimmi ʾan tastarḫiya baʿd al-ʿamal biǧid.

It’s important to relax after working hard.

أَخَذَ غَفوَة (ʾaḫaḏa ġafwah) — take a nap 

هَل مِن المُمكِنِ أَن آخُذَ غَفوَة في السَيّارَة؟

hal min al-mumkini ʾan ʾāḫuḏa ġafwah fī al-sayyārah?

Is it okay to take a nap in the car?

مارَسَ اليوغا (mārasa al-yūġā) — do yoga 

عادَةً ما أُمارِس اليوغا كُلَّ يَوْم أَحَد.

ʿādaẗan mā ʾumāris al-īūġā kulla yūm ʾaḥad.

I usually do yoga every Sunday.

دَرَسَ (darasa) — study 

هَل يُمكِنُنا أَن نَدرُسَ مَعاً؟

hal yumkinunā ʾan nadrusa maʿan?

Can we study together?

7. Using Your Words

Negative Verbs

As a language learner, you’re probably dialed in to communication in a general sense. These verbs help you talk about that communication, and help you describe how others are communicating around you.

دَردَشَ (dardaša) — chat 

إنَّهُما يُدَردِشان حَوْل السَيَّارات.

ʾinnahumā yudardišān ḥawl al-sayyaārāt.

They’re chatting about cars.

تَجادَل (taǧādal) — argue  

هَل عادَةً ما تَتَجادَل مَع وَالِدَيْك؟

hal ʿādaẗan mā tataǧādal maʿ walidayk?

Do you often argue with your parents?

أَهان (ʾahān) — insult 

لَقَد أَهانَتني أَمامَ زَوْجي!

laqad ʾahānatnī ʾamāma zawǧī!

She insulted me in front of my husband!

8. In the Kitchen

Cooking in the Kitchen

Cuisine across the Arab world is as diverse as it is delicious. Ideally, you’ll get a chance to not only sample this cuisine yourself, but also to cook it for others!

طَبَخَ (ṭabaḫa) — cook 

أَطبُخ الغَداء لِعائِلَتي مَرَّة في الأُسبوع.

ʾaṭbuḫ al-ġadāʾ liʿāʾilatī marrah fī al-ʾusbūʿ.

I cook lunch for my family once a week.

رَمى (ramā) — throw away 

هَل يُمكِنُكَ أَن تَرمي ذَلِكَ البَيْض؟

hal yumkinuka ʾan tarmī ḏalika al-bayḍ?

Can you throw away those eggs?

نَظَّفَ (naẓẓafa) — clean 

نَحنُ بِحاجَةٍ إلى تَنظيف هَذا المَطبَخ.

naḥnu biḥāǧaẗin ʾilā tanẓīf haḏā al-maṭbaḫ.

We need to clean this kitchen.

مَسَحَ (masaḥa) — mop 

حاوِل أَن تَمسَح الأَرضِيَّة بِسُرعَة.

ḥāwil ʾan tamsaḥ al-ʾarḍiyyah bisurʿah.

Try to mop the floors fast.

مَسَحَ (masaḥa) — wipe 

إمسَح الطاوِلَة بِمِنشَفَة.

ʾimsaḥ al-ṭāwilah biminšafah.

Wipe the table with a towel.

غَسَلَ (ġasala) — wash 

فَلنَغسِل الأَوَاني مَعاً.

falnaġsil al-ʾawanī maʿan.

Let’s wash the dishes together. 

قَطَّعَ (qaṭṭaʿa) — cut 

قَطَّعَ اللَحم إلى قِطَع صَغيرَة.

qaṭṭaʿa al-laḥm ʾilā qiṭaʿ ṣaġīrah.

Cut the meat into small pieces.

قَلى (qalā) — fry 

اِقلي الدَجاج لِمُدَّةِ حَوَالي خَمس دَقائِق.

iqlī al-daǧāǧ limuddaẗi ḥawalī ḫams daqāʾiq.

Fry the chicken for about five minutes.

غَلى (ġalā) — boil 

اِغلي المِيَاه و أَضِف المَعكَرونَة.

iġlī al-miyah wa ʾaḍif al-maʿkarūnah.

Boil the water and add the noodles.

9. Conclusion

Whew! What a list!

Arabic verbs do have some interesting grammar points about them, but as you can see, you can already pick up quite a bit just from reading all of these examples.

Simply reading and listening to a language is one of the best ways to acquire a really great feel for how it looks and sounds, and after enough of that, you’ll have an intrinsic sense for grammar.

ArabicPod101 just so happens to offer a huge amount of text and audio content precisely for that reason! On the same note, be sure to keep watching for our upcoming article on Arabic verb conjugation.

Before you go, let us know in the comments how you feel about Arabic verbs now. Are there any you still  want to know, or grammar points you’re not quite clear on? We look forward to hearing from you.

Happy Arabic learning! 

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