Table Of ContentiKnow
A R A B I C
WORDS + PHRASES + CONVERSATIONS
Beginner Level Arabic Program
Transcript
Welcome to Living Language iKnow Arabic. This audio fl ash card
program lets you see and hear all of the essential words, phrases,
and conversations that you need to get by in Arabic. Just listen to yu, wu
the native speakers of Arabic and repeat in the pauses. The small hook over a letter (Damma) is pronounced “u.”
Before we get started learning new words, phrases, and sentences,
let’s fi rst take a look at Arabic script.
yi, wi
The slash under a letter (kasra) is pronounced “i.”
Arabic Script 1
Note, however, that two of the long vowels can also be consonants.
Are you ready to learn how to read Arabic script?
Make sure to go through these sections in order (Arabic Script 1,
way, yay
then Arabic Script 2, etc.), because they build on each other.
The letter yaa’ is the consonant “y,” as in “yes,” when it follows or precedes
another vowel.
We’ll start with vowels. There are three “long” vowels in Arabic.
yaw, waw
aa The letter waaw is the consonant “w,” as in “water,” when it follows or
The letter ’alif is pronounced “aa,” as in the “a” in “bath.” precedes another vowel.
uu way, yay
The letter waaw is pronounced “uu,” as in the “oo” in “pool.” Notice that when a consonant, such as “y,” ends a word, a small circle
(sukuun) is written on top of it.
Now let’s learn more about consonants.
ii
The letter yaa’ is pronounced “ii,” as in the “ee” in “see.”
Most Arabic consonants have four forms, depending on where
they’re used in a word.
There are also three “short” vowels, which are represented by symbols
above or below a letter, and not by actual letters of the alphabet.
b, t, th
Independent forms are used on their own.
ya, wa
The slash over a letter (fatHa) is pronounced “a.”
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b, t, th baab
Initial forms are used at the beginning of words. door
b, t, th buyuut
Medial forms are used in the middle of words. houses
b, t, th thaabit
Final forms are used at the end of words. fi xed, fi rm
Next, let’s practice each consonant on its own.
’ab
You will see all the forms of each consonant listed in a row, from
father
independent and initial to medial and fi nal.
Note that when a consonant is followed by another consonant (as
in the following word, with y + t), the small circle, sukuun, is written
b on top of it.
The letter baa’ (b) is pronounced like the “b” in “boy.”
bayt
t house
The letter taa’ (t) is pronounced like the “t” in “take.”
Arabic Script 2
th Here are more Arabic consonants you should know.
The letter thaa’ (th) is pronounced like the “th” in “think.”
You can already read some words now!
j
The letter jiim (j) is pronounced like the “j” in “jam” or the “s” in “pleasure.”
Here are words that use the letters you’ve learned so far.
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H d
The letter Haa’ (H) is pronounced like a forceful “h,” as in the English “Hah!” The letter daal (d) is pronounced like the “d” in “day.”
kh dh
The letter khaa’ (kh) is pronounced like the “ch” in Scottish “loch.” The letter dhaal (dh) is pronounced like the “th” in “this.”
’ukht r
sister The letter raa’ (r) is pronounced like a rolled “r.”
Habiib z
sweetie, darling The letter zaay (z) is pronounced like the “z” in “zebra.”
wujuub baHr
obligation, necessity sea
Hijaaj raadaar
argument, debate radar
khabiith zawaaj
wicked marriage
Some Arabic consonants do not connect to the letters that come
after them.
dharib
sharp
This means that the independent and initial forms of these
consonants look alike, as do their fi nal and medial forms.
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tardiid sharibtu
repetition I drank
Arabic Script 3
s
The letter siin (s) is pronounced like the “s” in “sea.”
Saad (S)
sh The letter Saad (S) is pronounced similar to the “s” in “sad,” but gives
The letter shiin (sh) is pronounced like the “sh” in “shoe.” the vowels around it a deeper, throaty sound.
saadis Daad (D)
sixth
The letter Daad (D) is pronounced similar to the “d” in “day,” but gives
the vowels around it a deeper, throaty sound.
siyaasiyy
political
Taa’ (T)
The letter Taa’ (T) is pronounced similar to the “t” in “take,” but gives
shayb
the vowels around it a deeper, throaty sound.
gray hair, old age
shaykh DHaa’ (DH)
sheikh, chief
The letter DHaa’ (DH) is pronounced similar to the “th” in “this,” but
gives the vowels around it a deeper, throaty sound.
darastu
I studied
SaaHib
owner
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DabaTa Saghiir
he grabbed small
Tabiib baghdaad
doctor Baghdad
HaDHiiDH rabiix
lucky spring
SabaaH f
morning The letter faa’ (f) is pronounced like the “f” in “fi rst.”
x q
The letter xayn (x) is pronounced deep in the throat, with tight The letter qaaf (q) is similar to the “c” in “cat,” but comes from further back
constriction. in the throat.
gh fii
The letter ghayn (gh) is similar to the French “r” in “rue.” in
xarabiyy Dayf
Arabic guest
ghayr qaSiir
not short
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xuquud kursii
contracts chair
Sadiiq naxam
friend yes
k saakin
The letter kaaf (k) is pronounced like the “k” in “kite.” resident
l ’ismuka
The letter laam (l) is pronounced like the “l” in “lip.” your (m.) name
m ’akaltu
The letter miim (m) is pronounced like the “m” in “me.” I ate
n jamiil
The letter nuun (n) is pronounced like the “n” in “no.” beautiful
layalii qalam
nights pen
laHm h
meat The letter haa’ (h) is pronounced like the “h” in “house.”
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nahr shadda
river The symbol shadda, which looks like a small 3 on its side, is used to double
consonant sounds.
dhahabat
she went kull
every
huwa
he Hammaam
bathroom
Arabic Script 4
Now let’s look at other important Arabic symbols, characters, and laa
letters. laam-’alif is used when the letter ’alif is written right after the letter laam.
Taa’ marbuuTa (t) laa
no
Taa’ marbuuTa (t) is only found at the end of words. It is usually not
pronounced, and it is always preceded by fatHa (a).
laazim
necessary
baqara
cow
’al
’al is the defi nite article in Arabic, like the English “the.” It is joined to the
beginning of words.
’amiira
princess
’al- kitaab
the book
madiina
city
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’al- walad ’ar- rajul
the boy the man
If a word begins with a short vowel sound, it’s written with the letter
Arabic Script 5
’alif, which “hosts” the vowel’s symbol.
If the defi nite article is used with a word like that, the word is written
with the letter ’alif followed by the letter laam-’alif.
’
hamza
hamza is a glottal stop, or a short “catch” like the one in the word
’al-’ism
“uh- oh!”
the name
Words that start with a short vowel sound all begin with hamza,
written with the letter ’alif and the short vowel.
’al-’usra
the family
’anaa
If a word begins with one of the following letters, the l in the I
defi nite article is pronounced like that letter:
’ustaadha
t, th, d, dh, r, z, s, sh
professor (f.)
S, D, T, DH, n
’ibn
son
aT- Tawiila
the table Inside a word, hamza can be written in a number of ways.
With practice, you’ll come to recognize word- internal hamza.
’ash- shams
the sun
’imra’a
woman
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sa’ala ’ilaa
he asked to
sa’uul Hakaa
curious, nosy he told
You may come across one of the three tanwiin symbols. These mark
short vowel endings, -an, -un, and -in.
xaa’ila
family
-an
Taa’ira
airplane
-un
hamza can also come at the end of a word.
-in
masaa’
evening
shukran
thank you
nisaa’
women
kathiirun
numerous
’alif maqSuura (aa)
’alif maqSuura looks just like , but without the dots. It’s pro-
nounced like a long “aa,” and it only comes at the end of words. kitaabin
(of) a book
Now practice reading a few useful phrases and sentences that bring
everything together.
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