Arabic Language Course for Beginners — Complete Guide to Arabic

Lesson 30 — The Arabic Alphabet: Completing Letters

Reading Arabic requires recognizing letters in different positions.

But another skill is also very important: learning to observe a word and understand which letter is missing.

In this lesson, we will use simple words and learn to identify the letters needed to complete them.

Example 1

بَا_

The complete word is:

بَاب

Missing Letter: ب

Transliteration: bāb

Translation: door.

10 Examples of Words to Complete

1. بَا_

   Complete Word: بَاب — bāb — door.

2. كِتَا_

   Complete Word: كِتَاب — kitāb — book.

3. _َاء

   Complete Word: مَاء — māʾ — water.

4. نُو_

   Complete Word: نُور — nūr — light.

5. دَر_

   Complete Word: دَرْس — dars — lesson.

6. _َجُل

   Complete Word: رَجُل — rajul — man.

7. لَ_َـن

   Complete Word: لَبَن — laban — milk.

8. _َمَك

   Complete Word: سَمَك — samak — fish.

9. بِن_

   Complete Word: بِنْت — bint — girl.

10. أَ_

    Complete Word: أَب — ab — father.

How Should You Think?

Let's take this example:

كِتَا_

You already recognize:

ك + ت + ا

The known word is:

كِتَاب

Therefore, the missing letter is:

ب

Little by little, you will learn to look at words as groups of letters that you can recognize and reconstruct.

Lesson 31 — Reading and Writing Your First Words

You now know several letters and several vowel signs. It is time to use them together.

Reading an Arabic word means looking at the letters, recognizing their sounds, and putting them together.

Example: كتاب

كِتَاب

We can observe:

كِ + تَ + اب

Then read:

kitāb

Translation: book.

10 First Words to Read

How Do You Write a Word?

Remember that Arabic is written from right to left.

Let's take the word:

بَاب

You can identify the letters:

ب + ا + ب

When you write, carefully observe the shape of the letters and their position in the word.

At the beginning, write slowly.

It is better to write a small number of words correctly than to try to write too many words too quickly.

10 Examples to Observe for Writing

1. أَب — ab — father
2. أُمّ — umm — mother
3. بَاب — bāb — door
4. بِنْت — bint — girl
5. وَلَد — walad — boy / child
6. مَاء — māʾ — water
7. نُور — nūr — light
8. كِتَاب — kitāb — book
9. قَلَم — qalam — pen
10. دَرْس — dars — lesson

Lesson 32 — Introducing Yourself

Now that you know several greetings and several words, you are going to learn how to introduce yourself.

Introducing yourself means being able to say at least:

• hello;
• your name;
• ask another person's name;
• say where you come from;
• respond simply to another person.

1. أنا — I / Me

أَنَا

Transliteration: anā

Translation: I / me.

2. اسمي — My Name Is

اِسْمِي

Transliteration: ismī

Literal Translation: my name.

To say your name:

اِسْمِي أَحْمَد

Transliteration: ismī Aḥmad

Translation: my name is Ahmed.

3. ما اسمك؟ — What Is Your Name?

To a man:

مَا اسْمُكَ؟

Transliteration: mā ismuka?

Translation: what is your name?

To a woman:

مَا اسْمُكِ؟

Transliteration: mā ismuki?

Translation: what is your name?

4. أنا من... — I Am From...

أَنَا مِنْ...

Transliteration: anā min...

Translation: I am from...

10 Examples for Introducing Yourself

Example 1

اِسْمِي أَحْمَد

Transliteration: ismī Aḥmad

Translation: my name is Ahmed.

Example 2

اِسْمِي فَاطِمَة

Transliteration: ismī Fāṭimah

Translation: my name is Fatima.

Example 3

أَنَا مِنْ فَرَنْسَا

Transliteration: anā min Faransā

Translation: I am from France.

Example 4

أَنَا مِنْ كَنَدَا

Transliteration: anā min Kanadā

Translation: I am from Canada.

Example 5

مَا اسْمُكَ؟

Translation: what is your name? (to a man)

Example 6

مَا اسْمُكِ؟

Translation: what is your name? (to a woman)

Example 7

اِسْمِي عَلِيّ

Transliteration: ismī ʿAlī

Translation: my name is Ali.

Example 8

اِسْمِي سَارَة

Transliteration: ismī Sārah

Translation: my name is Sarah.

Example 9

أَنَا مِنْ مِصْر

Transliteration: anā min Miṣr

Translation: I am from Egypt.

Example 10

أَنَا مِنْ المَغْرِب

Transliteration: anā min al-Maghrib

Translation: I am from Morocco.

Lesson 33 — Your First Simple Conversation

You now know several important elements:

• how to say hello;
• how to ask how someone is;
• how to answer;
• how to say your name;
• how to ask someone’s name;
• how to say where you come from.

We can now begin putting these elements together.

Conversation 1

أ: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
ب: وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ
أ: مَا اسْمُكَ؟
ب: اِسْمِي أَحْمَد

Translation:
A: Hello.
B: Hello to you too.
A: What is your name?
B: My name is Ahmed.

Conversation 2

أ: مَرْحَبًا
ب: أَهْلًا
أ: مَا اسْمُكِ؟
ب: اِسْمِي فَاطِمَة

Translation:
A: Hello.
B: Hi.
A: What is your name?
B: My name is Fatima.

Conversation 3

أ: كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟
ب: أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ، شُكْرًا

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

Conversation 4

أ: كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟
ب: أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ

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

Conversation 5

أ: مَا اسْمُكَ؟
ب: اِسْمِي عَلِيّ
أ: أَنَا مِنْ فَرَنْسَا

Translation:
A: What is your name?
B: My name is Ali.
A: I am from France.

Conversation 6

أ: مَا اسْمُكِ؟
ب: اِسْمِي سَارَة
أ: أَنَا مِنْ مِصْر

Translation:
A: What is your name?
B: My name is Sarah.
A: I am from Egypt.

Conversation 7

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.

Conversation 8

أ: مَرْحَبًا، مَا اسْمُكَ؟
ب: اِسْمِي أَحْمَد
أ: تَشَرَّفْنَا

Translation:
A: Hello, what is your name?
B: My name is Ahmed.
A: Nice to meet you.

Conversation 9

أ: مَرْحَبًا
ب: أَهْلًا
أ: أَنَا مِنْ كَنَدَا
ب: أَنَا مِنْ مِصْر

Translation:
A: Hello.
B: Hi.
A: I am from Canada.
B: I am from Egypt.

Conversation 10

أ: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
ب: وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ
أ: مَا اسْمُكَ؟
ب: اِسْمِي عَلِيّ
أ: مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟
ب: أَنَا مِنْ المَغْرِب

Translation:
A: Hello.
B: Hello to you too.
A: What is your name?
B: My name is Ali.
A: Where are you from?
B: I am from Morocco.

Unit 1 Summary

1. You learned several common Arabic greetings.
2. You learned how to ask someone how they are.
3. You learned how to say that you are fine.
4. You reviewed and used several important Arabic letters.
5. You practiced completing simple Arabic words.
6. You began reading and writing real Arabic words.
7. You learned how to say your name.
8. You learned how to ask another person's name.
9. You learned how to say where you come from.
10. You began building your first simple conversations in Arabic.

End of Unit 1

Congratulations!

You have completed your first real unit of communication in Arabic.

You can now recognize several letters, read simple words, use basic greetings, introduce yourself, and begin a short conversation.

Do not worry if you do not remember everything perfectly yet. The most important thing is to review the examples regularly and gradually reuse what you have learned.

In the next unit, you will continue developing your vocabulary and learn new essential expressions for communicating in Arabic.

Lesson 35 — The Nominal Sentence

One of the most important things to understand in Arabic is that you can form a complete sentence without using the word “to be” in the present tense.

In English, we say:

“Ahmed is a student.”

In Arabic, we can simply say:

أَحْمَدُ طَالِبٌ

Transliteration: Aḥmadu ṭālibun

Translation: Ahmed is a student.

There is no separate word corresponding to “is” in this sentence.

The Simplest Structure

A simple nominal sentence can be constructed like this:

Person or thing + information

For example:

هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ

Transliteration: Hiya ṭālibatun

Translation: She is a student.

We have:

• هِيَ — she
• طَالِبَةٌ — female student

Together: هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ = She is a student.

10 Examples of Nominal Sentences

1. أَنَا طَالِبٌ

Transliteration: Anā ṭālibun

Translation: I am a student.

2. أَنَا طَالِبَةٌ

Transliteration: Anā ṭālibatun

Translation: I am a female student.

3. هُوَ مُدَرِّسٌ

Transliteration: Huwa mudarrisun

Translation: He is a teacher.

4. هِيَ مُدَرِّسَةٌ

Transliteration: Hiya mudarrisatun

Translation: She is a teacher.

5. الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ

Transliteration: Al-baytu kabīrun

Translation: The house is big.

6. الْبَابُ مَفْتُوحٌ

Transliteration: Al-bābu maftūḥun

Translation: The door is open.

7. الْكِتَابُ جَدِيدٌ

Transliteration: Al-kitābu jadīdun

Translation: The book is new.

8. الْقَلَمُ صَغِيرٌ

Transliteration: Al-qalamu ṣaghīrun

Translation: The pen is small.

9. الْوَلَدُ صَغِيرٌ

Transliteration: Al-waladu ṣaghīrun

Translation: The boy is small.

10. الْبِنْتُ صَغِيرَةٌ

Transliteration: Al-bintu ṣaghīratun

Translation: The girl is small.

Important Rule

In the present tense, a simple Arabic sentence can often be constructed without writing the verb “to be”.

أَنَا طَالِبٌ therefore literally means: I + student, but is naturally translated as: I am a student.

Lesson 36 — Masculine and Feminine

In Arabic, nouns can be masculine or feminine.

This is important because some words change depending on the person or thing we are talking about.

The Masculine

Here are some examples of masculine words:

The Feminine

Very often, the feminine is marked by the letter: ة.

This letter is called تَاء مَرْبُوطَة — tāʾ marbūṭa.

Compare:

The Adjective Must Also Agree

When we describe a person with an adjective, the word must also agree with the masculine or feminine form.

Compare:

وَلَدٌ صَغِيرٌ

Transliteration: Waladun ṣaghīrun

Translation: A small boy.

بِنْتٌ صَغِيرَةٌ

Transliteration: Bintun ṣaghīratun

Translation: A small girl.

10 Masculine and Feminine Examples

1. هُوَ طَالِبٌ

Transliteration: Huwa ṭālibun

Translation: He is a student.

2. هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ

Transliteration: Hiya ṭālibatun

Translation: She is a student.

3. هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ

Transliteration: Huwa muʿallimun

Translation: He is a teacher.

4. هِيَ مُعَلِّمَةٌ

Transliteration: Hiya muʿallimatun

Translation: She is a teacher.

5. الْوَلَدُ كَبِيرٌ

Transliteration: Al-waladu kabīrun

Translation: The boy is big.

6. الْبِنْتُ كَبِيرَةٌ

Transliteration: Al-bintu kabīratun

Translation: The girl is big.

7. الْوَلَدُ صَغِيرٌ

Transliteration: Al-waladu ṣaghīrun

Translation: The boy is small.

8. الْبِنْتُ صَغِيرَةٌ

Transliteration: Al-bintu ṣaghīratun

Translation: The girl is small.

9. الْمُعَلِّمُ جَدِيدٌ

Transliteration: Al-muʿallimu jadīdun

Translation: The male teacher is new.

10. الْمُعَلِّمَةُ جَدِيدَةٌ

Transliteration: Al-muʿallimatu jadīdatun

Translation: The female teacher is new.

Remember

To begin with, remember especially that many feminine words end with ة.

But be careful: this rule is common, but it does not apply to absolutely all feminine nouns.