Arabic is the fourth most widely-spoken language in the world and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is spoken in many popular destinations in North Africa and the Middle East. There are many regional dialects, but a standard Arabic language is maintained due to religious needs and region-wide media.
Arabic is written from right to left. It has its own alphabet, different from the Roman alphabet used for English.
For communication purposes while travelling and using this guide, it is very important to note that Arabic is divided into Classical Arabic (mostly used in print) and Colloquial Arabic. Colloquial Arabic is further subdivided into regional colloquial dialects. The main regions being the Egypt, the Levant, Persian Gulf, and North Africa. These regional, colloquial dialects sometimes differ enough to be mutually incomprehensible. Nevertheless, standard Arabic is taught in all schools in Arabic-speaking countries so, even if you do not speak the local dialect, everyone who has been to school will be able to communicate in standard Arabic if needed.
Pronunciation guide
Vowels and diphthongs
a:
ā (ا): (long)
as a general rule, when a or ā appear around the consonants (ص ض ط ظ ق) sdtz q, a or ā are pronounced as in the English word father (IPA: /ɑ ɑː/). This rule may apply to some other consonants with regional variations, but with many exceptions.
aw (و): sometimes pronounced as a long vowel, ō (IPA: [oː]), in those cases it would be written in the article as au.
ay (ي): sometimes pronounced as a long vowel, ē (IPA: [eː]), in those cases it would be written in the article as ai.
ē (ي): appears in loanwords.
ō (و): appears in loanwords.
Consonants with great regional pronunciation difference
j (ج): written consistently (with exceptions) in the article as j, even though you should be careful if you intended to pronounce as Egyptians, you must pronounce it as g.
z (ظ): is pronounced closer to z (IPA: [zˤ]) in Egypt, Sudan and the Levant, while elsewhere pronounced closer to dh (IPA: [ðˤ~ðˠ]).
q (ق): colloquially, but with some exceptions, it's pronounced as ' in Egypt and the Levant, while g in Arabia and (IPA: /q/) in most of north Africa.
Arabic pronunciation varies widely from place to place, almost to the extent of making it unintelligible even for native Arabic speakers.
Standard Arabic will be understood by most educated people, as it is what they hear frequently in news casts.
إسعاف (is`āf); other emergencies: طوارئ (tawāre' )
I'm lost.
أنا تايه (tāyeh) (M); أنا تايهة (ana tāyha) (F)
I lost my bag.
I lost my bag. (لقد فقدت حقيبتى)
Laqad faqadtu haqībati
I lost my wallet.
I lost my wallet. (لقد فقدت محفظتى)
Laqad faqadtu mahafazati
I'm sick.
I'm sick. (انا مريض (M) OR انا مريضة (F))
Ana marīd (m) Or Ana marīda (f)
I've been injured.
I've been injured. إنني مصاب(Innani Musabun)
I need a doctor.
I need a doctor. (أحتاج دكتور)
ahtāj doktōr.
Can I use your phone?
Can I use your phone? (هل ممكن أستخدم التلفون؟)
hal mumkin astakhdim at-telefōn?
Numbers
Hindo-Arabic numerals
٠
0
١
1
٢
2
٣
3
٤
4
٥
5
٦
6
٧
7
٨
8
٩
9
0
صفر sifr
1
واحد wāhid
2
إثنان ithnān
3
ثلاثة thalātha
4
اربعة arba`a
5
خمسة khamsa
6
ستة sitta
7
سبعة sab`a
8
ثمانية thamāniya
9
تسعة tis`a
10
عشرة `ashara
11
احد عشر ahad `ashar
12
اثنا عشر ithnā `ashar
13
ثلاثة عشر thalāthata `ashar
14
اربعة عشر arba`ata `ashar
15
خمسة عشر khamsata `ashar
16
ستة عشر sittata `ashar
17
سبعة عشر sab`ata `ashar
18
ثمانية عشر thamāniyata `ashar
19
تسعة عشر tis'ata `ashar
20
عشرون ishrūn
21
واحد وعشرون wāhid wa-`ashrūn
22
اثنان وعشرون ithnān wa-`ashrūn
23
ثلاثة وعشرون thalātha wa-`ashrūn
30
ثلاثون thalathūn
40
اربعون arba`ūn
50
خمسون khamsūn
60
ستون sittūn
70
سبعون sab`ūn
80
ثمانون thamanūn
90
تسعون tis`ūn
100
مئة mi'a
200
مئتين mitayn
300
ثلاث مئة thalāth mi'a
1000
الف alf (as in The Thousand and One Nights - الف ليلة وليلة Alf Layla wa Layla)
2000
الفين alfayn
1,000,000
مليون milyōn
1,000,000,000
مليار, بليون milyōn, bilyōn
1,000,000,000,000
تريليون tirilyōn
number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
رقم / Raqam (...)
half
نصف nisf
less
اقل aqal
more
اكثر akthar
Transportation
Directions
Go
ذهب dhahaba
Stop
وقف Waqif
Turn left
لف يسار Lif Yassar
Turn right
لف يمين Lif Yameen
straight ahead
إلى الامام il al-amām; على طول `ala tūl (Egyptian); dughri (Jordan/Egyptian)
slowly
ببطء bi-but'; شوي شوي shway shway (Levantine)
Wait or stay
انتظر (intadhir)
Show me.
أرني (arini); وريني warrīni (Egyptian)
here
هنا huna
there
هناك hunāk
before
قبل qabl
after
بعد ba`d
now
الأن al'ān
from
من min
to or at (a place)
إلى ilā
Wait one minute.
إنتظر دقيقه واحده intadhir daqīqa wāhida.
Pronouns
I
انا ana
you (m)
أنتَ anta; enta~inta (colloquial)
you (f)
أنتِ anti; enti~inti, init (colloquial)
he
هو huwa; huwwa~huwwe, hū (colloquial)
she
هي hiya; hiyya~hiyye, hī (colloquial)
we
نحن nahnu; احنا, نحنا (ehna, nihna) (colloquial)
you (two people)
أنتما antumā (rarely used out of the most formal Literary Arabic)
you (m/mixed)
أنتم antum; intu(m) (colloquial)
you (f) : انتن antunna (rarely used out of the most formal Literary Arabic)
they (two people) : هما huma (rarely used out of the most formal Literary Arabic)
they (m/mixed)
هم hum, humma
they (f)
هن hunna (rarely used out of the most formal Literary Arabic)
Asking questions
Who?
من man
What?
ما/ماذا mā/mādha
When?
متى mata
Where?
اين ayn
Why?
لماذا limādha
How much?
بكم bi-kam
How much is this?
بكم هذا bi-kam hādha
Where are you from?
من أين أنت min ayn anta
Understand?
مفهوم؟ mafhūm
Do you speak English?
هل تتكلم الإنجليزية؟ hal tatakallam el-ingliziyya?
What is this?
ما هذا؟ mā hādha?
Useful "I"s
I want
urīd أريد
I don't want
Lā urīd لا أريد
I have
لي lī / laday لدي / `andi عندي
I don't have
lays `andi ليس عندي
I don't understand
أنا لا أفهم ana lā afham / أنا مش فاهم ana mesh fāhem (Egyptian)
I work at the _____.
a`mal fi _____ _____أعمل في / ana bashtaghel fi _____أنا باشتغل في (Egyptian)
I don't speak Arabic
لا أتكلم العربية lā atakallam el-`arabiyya / mā bihki `arabi ما باحكي عربي (Levantine) / ma batkallemsh `arabi مابتكلمش عربي (Egyptian)
Things
money
مال, فلوس māl, fulūs
coffee
قهوة qahwa
sugar
سكر sukkar
salt
ملح malh
car
سيارة sayyāra
hotel
فندق funduq / اوتيل otēl
water
ماء mā'
tea
شاي shay
milk
حليب halīb
work
شغل shughl
airplane
طائرة tā'ira
street
شارع shāri`
Time
now
الآن (al'ān)
later
بعدين (ba`adayn)
before
قبل (qabla)
morning
صباح (sabāh)
afternoon
بعد ظهر (ba'ada zuhur)
evening
مساء (masā')
night
ليلة (layla)
Clock time
one o'clock AM
one o'clock AM (sa'ati wahad)
two o'clock AM
two o'clock AM (sa'ati ithnayn)
noon
noon (zuhr)
one o'clock PM
one o'clock PM (...)
two o'clock PM
two o'clock PM (...)
midnight
متصف الليلة, نص الليل (muntasf el-laila, noss el-lēl)
Duration
_____ minute(s)
_____ دقيقة (دقائق) (daqīqa (daqā'iq))
_____ hour(s)
_____ ساعة (ساعات) (sā`a (sā`āt))
_____ day(s)
_____ يوم (أيام) (yom (ayyām))
_____ week(s)
_____ أسبوع (أسابيع) (usbū` (asābī`))
_____ month(s)
_____ month(s) (shahr (shuhūr))
_____ year(s)
_____ سنة (سنوات) (sana (sanawāt))
Days
today
البوم (el-yaum)
yesterday
أمس (ams)
tomorrow
غداً (ghadan)
this week
الاسبوع (el-'usbu` )
last week
الأسبوع الماضي (el-'usbu` el-mādi )
next week
الأسبوع القادم (el-'usbu` el-qādim)
Days of the week
Sunday
يوم الأحد ((yaum) el'ahad)
Monday
يوم الاثنين ((yaum) el-ithnayn)
Tuesday
يوم الثلاثاء ((yaum) eth-thulātha)
Wednesday
يوم الأربعاء ((yaum) el'arbi`a')
Thursday
يوم الخميس ((yaum) el-khamīs)
Friday
يوم الجمعة ((yaum) el-jum`a)
Saturday
يوم السبت ((yaum) es-sabt)
Months
January
كانون الثاني, يناير (kānūn el-thāni, yanāyir)
February
شباط, فبراير (shbat, fibrāyir)
March
آذار, مارس (ādhār, māris)
April
نيسان, ابريل (nīsan, abrīl)
May
أيار, مايو (ayār, māyu)
June
حزيران, يونيو (hzayrān, yunyu)
July
تموز, يوليو (tammūz, yulyu)
August
آب, أغسطس (āb, oghostos)
September
أيلول, سبتمبر (aylūl, sebtambir)
October
تشرن الأول, أكتوبر (tishrīn el-awwal, oktōbar)
November
تشرن الثاني, نوفمبر (tishrīn eth-thani, novambir)
December
كانون الأول, ديسمبر (kānūn el-awwal, dīsambir)
Writing time and date
Even though Arabic is written from Right to Left, numbers in Arabic are written from Left to Right. Dates are written in an Arabic sentence from Left to Right as in English
Colors
black
أسود (aswad)
white
أبيض (abyad)
gray
رمادي (ramādi )
red
أحمر (ahmar)
blue
أزرق (azraq)
yellow
أصفر (asfar)
green
أخضر (akhdar)
orange
برتقالي (burtuqāli )
purple
بنفسجي (banafsaji)
brown
بني (bunni )
Transportation
Bus and train
How much is a ticket to _____?
adash tazkara ila ____? Bekam tazkara ila......?
One ticket to _____, please.
tazkara wahida ila ___ law samaht
Where does this train/bus go?
el-qitār/bās hādha biyruh ilā wain? ila ayn yadhhab hādha el-qitār/otobīs?
This is a usable phrasebook. It explains pronunciation and the bare essentials of travel communication. An adventurous person could use it to get by, but please plunge forward and help it grow!