Quickstart Arabic keywords
yes
no
please (to a man/woman)
Excuse me; please (to a man)
Excuse me; please
(to a woman)
Thank you.
You’re welcome; Excuse me.
Hi; Hello.
Hello; Welcome.
Good morning.
Good evening.
Goodbye.
I don’t understand.
Could you repeat that?
Do you have …? (to a man)
Do you have …? (to a woman)
Is there …?
Where is …?
Can I …?; Can you …?
How much?
At what time?
My name is …
I like …
I don’t like …
I want … (m/f)
we want …
good; okay (m/f)
very good; excellent (m/f)
quickstart Arabic
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naaam; aywa
laa’
min faDlak/min faDlik
law samaHt
law samaHti
shukran.
afwan.
marHaba; ahlan.
ahlan wa sahlan.
SabaaH al-khayr.
masaa’ al-khayr.
maaa assalaama.
ma fihimt.
marra tanya?
a
indak …?
a
indik …?
fiih …?
wayn …?; fayn …?
mumkin?
bi kaam?
as-saaaa kam?
ismi …
aHibb …
ma aHibb …
a
aawiz/ aawza …
a
awziin …
Tayyib/Tayyiba
mumtaaz/mumtaaza
a
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Pronunciation guide
Quickstart Arabic uses the language of Egypt and the Levant to equip
you to get by in most regions of the Arabic-speaking world.
Arabic pronunciation is quite regular, and only a couple of Arabic sounds
are difficult for English speakers. If you follow the guide, pronunciation
shouldn’t be a problem.
Vowels
sounds like …
a
aa
ae
o
ow
oo
i
ee
‘a’ in ‘hat’ (short)
‘a’ in ‘car’ (long)
‘ae’ in ‘aeroplane’
‘o’ in ‘doll’
‘ow’ in ‘know’
‘oo’ in ‘boot’
‘i’ in ‘hit’
‘ee’ in ‘keen’
Compound vowels
sounds like …
ai
ay
ow
e
ew
‘ai’ in ‘aisle’
‘ay’ in ‘day’
‘ow’ in ‘now’
‘e’ in ‘egg’
ay-oo
Consonants
The capital letters S, T, D and Z are used to represent ‘heavy’ or ‘thick’
versions of s, t, d and z. They’re pronounced with the tip of the tongue
touching the roof of the mouth against the front teeth. H represents
another ‘thick’ letter, pronounced with the back of the tongue almost
touching the back of the mouth, producing a ‘strangled’ h sound.
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