Arabic Language Course for Beginners — Complete Guide to Arabic

LEVEL 1 — ABSOLUTE BEGINNER

Unit 1 — First Steps in Arabic

Welcome to your first real unit of communication in Arabic.

In the previous chapters, you discovered the Arabic language, its writing system, its letters, its vowels, and its main sounds. Now, we are going to start using this knowledge to understand and produce real words and real sentences.

In this unit, you will learn to:

• greet someone in Arabic;
• respond to a greeting;
• recognize and use some important letters;
• complete simple words;
• read your first Arabic words;
• write short words;
• say your name;
• ask another person’s name;
• say where you come from;
• begin a short and simple conversation.

Take your time. You do not need to memorize all the content immediately. The goal is to understand gradually, review the examples, and begin recognizing words naturally.

Lesson 28 — Hello and Greetings

Greetings are among the first words we learn in a new language. They allow us to start a conversation, welcome someone, and respond politely.

In Arabic, there are several ways to say hello. Some are very general, while others are connected to specific times of the day.

1. السلام عليكم — Hello / Peace Be Upon You

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ

Transliteration: as-salāmu ʿalaykum

Literal Translation: peace be upon you.

This is one of the best-known and most widely used greetings in the Arab world.

The usual response is:

وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ

Transliteration: wa ʿalaykumu as-salām

Translation: and peace be upon you too.

2. مرحبًا — Hello / Welcome

مَرْحَبًا

Transliteration: marḥaban

Translation: hello / welcome.

This is a simple and general greeting that you can hear in many situations.

3. أهلًا — Hi / Hello

أَهْلًا

Transliteration: ahlan

Translation: hi / hello / welcome.

4. صباح الخير — Good Morning

صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ

Transliteration: ṣabāḥ al-khayr

Translation: good morning.

You can use it in the morning.

A common response is:

صَبَاحُ النُّورِ

Transliteration: ṣabāḥ an-nūr

Literal Translation: morning of light.

5. مساء الخير — Good Evening

مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ

Transliteration: masāʾ al-khayr

Translation: good evening.

A common response is:

مَسَاءُ النُّورِ

Transliteration: masāʾ an-nūr

Literal Translation: evening of light.

6. كيف حالك؟ — How Are You?

When speaking to a man:

كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟

Transliteration: kayfa ḥāluka?

Translation: how are you?

When speaking to a woman:

كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟

Transliteration: kayfa ḥāluki?

Translation: how are you?

7. أنا بخير — I Am Fine

أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ

Transliteration: anā bikhayr

Translation: I am fine.

8. شكرًا — Thank You

شُكْرًا

Transliteration: shukran

Translation: thank you.

One possible response is:

عَفْوًا

Transliteration: ʿafwan

Translation: you're welcome / no problem.

9. إلى اللقاء — Goodbye

إِلَى اللِّقَاءِ

Transliteration: ilā al-liqāʾ

Translation: goodbye.

10. مع السلامة — Goodbye

مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ

Transliteration: maʿa as-salāmah

Translation: goodbye / go in peace.

10 Mini-Conversation Examples

Example 1

أ: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
ب: وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ

Translation:
A: Hello.
B: Hello to you too.

Example 2

أ: مَرْحَبًا
ب: أَهْلًا

Translation:
A: Hello.
B: Hi.

Example 3

أ: صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ
ب: صَبَاحُ النُّورِ

Translation:
A: Good morning.
B: Good morning.

Example 4

أ: مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ
ب: مَسَاءُ النُّورِ

Translation:
A: Good evening.
B: Good evening.

Example 5

أ: كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟
ب: أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ

Translation:
A: How are you?
B: I am fine.

Example 6

أ: كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟
ب: أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ

Translation:
A: How are you?
B: I am fine.

Example 7

أ: شُكْرًا
ب: عَفْوًا

Translation:
A: Thank you.
B: You're welcome.

Example 8

أ: مَرْحَبًا، كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟
ب: بِخَيْرٍ، شُكْرًا

Translation:
A: Hello, how are you?
B: Fine, thank you.

Example 9

أ: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
ب: وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ
أ: كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟
ب: أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ

Translation:
A: Hello.
B: Hello to you too.
A: How are you?
B: I am fine.

Example 10

أ: شُكْرًا
ب: عَفْوًا
أ: مَعَ السَّلَامَةِ
ب: إِلَى اللِّقَاءِ

Translation:
A: Thank you.
B: You're welcome.
A: Goodbye.
B: See you / goodbye.

Lesson 29 — The Arabic Alphabet: First Letters

You have already discovered the letters of the Arabic alphabet. In this lesson, we are now going to start using them in a practical way.

Our goal is not to learn all 28 letters at once. We will move forward gradually.

Let's begin with a few letters that are easy to recognize.

10 Examples for Recognizing Letters

1. بَاب — bāb — door
2. بِنْت — bint — girl
3. تَمْر — tamr — dates
4. مَاء — māʾ — water
5. نُور — nūr — light
6. لَبَن — laban — milk
7. سَمَك — samak — fish
8. كِتَاب — kitāb — book
9. دَرْس — dars — lesson
10. رَجُل — rajul — man

When you look at a word, do not try to read everything immediately. Start by recognizing one letter.

For example:

كِتَاب

You can gradually recognize:

ك + ت + ا + ب

Then learn to read them together:

kitāb — book