I know it is near the end of the month but I would not forget the monthly Arabic post!
This month I’ll provide some practical words that are very useful to know:
Days of the Week (and remember, the work week in Saudi is Saturday through Wednesday with weekends (at the moment) falling on Thursday and Friday:
Friday: yawm al jumah
Saturday: yawm al sabt
Sunday: yawm al ahad
Monday: yawm al ethnain
Tuesday: yawm al thalatha
Wednesday: yawm al arba
Thursday: yawm al khamees
Tomorrow: bukrah
Yesterday: ams
After tomorrow: ba’ed bukrah
After two days: ba’ed yawmain
Day before yesterday: qabi a’ms
One week: osboo wahed
Two weeks: osboain
Weeks: asabee’
Black: aswad
Blue: azraq
Green: akhdar
Orange: portacallie
Pink: wardi
Red: ahmar
White: abyad
Yellow: asfar
Brown: boonie
Filed under: Saudi Arabia, Saudi education, travel, Uncategorized Tagged: | KSA, language, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, travel
thanks teacher
am thankful for your untiring efforts in making known a lot lot
Carol,
Does “yawm” mean day? So, for example “yamn al jumal” means “day the Friday” in the exact translation.
Are there any books that just cover the langauge strcuture of Arabic? I need to know as I learn language best when I see, on paper, the grammactical structures. ( except Ican understand certain dialects of Arabic, the North African and some of whcih is from the Gulf”
I see the correlation here now: Ain means two, right?
Well, Iam just analyzing the phoentically written arabic.
Interesting!!!
how are your Arabic skills Carol?
whispers: qabil ams…. you just insulted yesterday.^_^
Jacee,
Arabic is like French in that adjectives or descriptors usually follow the noun they are describing, hence “al yawm al Jumah” is literally “the day of Friday”. I guess we could go further and mention that the word “Jummah” itself refers to the congregational prayers all Muslim men are required to pray every Friday. So I guess you could say it is “the day of the congregational prayer”.
Structure and grammer wise, Arabic is a very hard language. I speak German and German is a cakewalk for a native English speaker compared to Arabic.
What helps me is the fact that Arabic words are formed around “root” words made up of 3 or 4 letters. So if you know the root word you’ll have the general idea of any word that goes back to that same root.
A good book to learn Arabic from is called “Ahlan wa Sahlan”. I used that in a couple of classes and the professor who required us to use it said that the book itself,if finished, was equal to two years of university Arabic.
Plurals are difficult in Arabic as things are divided into singular, plural (double) and plural (more than two). The structure of the word changes completely depending on how many of the noun there are, unlike German were it is not uncommon for the article to be the only thing that changes in a plural word.
Gender changes things too. “Samra” is a discriptor for a female with dark skin, where as “Asmar” is for a male, but when you look at the fact that they both contain the same root, just adjusted to note gender, it makes it easier to remember and deal with.
Another thing that makes Arabic so hard is the large array of dialects and the many words you have to learn to cover just one word in English. A goood example is Carol using “ahmar” for red, when I would normally use “hamra”, both meaning red.
Fun! Linguistic question: Why does Arabic have so many words that start with A, especially proper nouns? any ideas?
@srinivas: you are welcome and glad you enjoy them!
@Jacee,
Yes; yawm means day. And while literally translated it would read day
“the” friday. But you’ll find when referring to days in spoken arabic
the al is dropped.
My favorite book is Alif Baa which I think is excellent for learning
the grammar and written word. Alternatively I also like the Rosetta
Stone software package too.
@Aamer – my arabic skills continue to improve but I’d never claim to
be anywhere near native!
@mimi — (smile)
@abu sinan — you give some very good examples. Another thing I
really like about learning arabic is once you have mastered the
alphabet you are able to read arabic (and write too) because unlike
English, what you see/read is what you get! There are no worries
about the “e” being short or long or silent for example.
@tanya – ummmm….because Arabic and Arabia both start with A’s? (she
guesses with a smile…)
Abu Sinan–I learned that ahmar is for describing masculine objects and hamra for feminine objects–
I was on the compound bus with some Egyptian ladies and I told them that I had learned “Gulf ” Arabic and they said “no problem–speak any Arabic, we don’t mind and we will understand” so I said “shu ism-ik” and they said laa, laa, –you must say ismiki–:)
actually in Khaleeji you don’t have to add the whole ya’a as long as you add elkasrah to it like:
aysh ismik/ismak(actually, in the male it’s more sikoon than fat7ah. because with fat7ah it sounds more like shami dialect)? or you could say: elism? literally” the name?” meaning: “what’s your name?”
sha5barak/sha5barik? Also, Shlonak/shlonik?>How are you?
and like the egyption gals said their are cases where the ya’a is needed like in want:
tabgee/ tabga
It’s nice to revisit my Arabic. khastan o elinglizy taba3y rayi7 feeha, bedaleel: “their are cases” lol
I hope you find this handy
In 4 weeks I’ll be back home in sha’a Allah, until that time I will keep haunting your blog so exessively.^_^ I hope you don’t mind.
In the case of the feminine form of colors:
red = 7amra’a (someone already mentioned up there)
black= sawda’a
brown= booniyah
white= beyda’a
green= khadra’a
orange= bortoogaliyah
blue= zrga’a
yellow=safra’a
grey= ramadiyah
pink= wrdiyah like ahlam wardiyah= dreams pink= pink dreams=sweet dreams
^^1Arabic2literal translation3rearrange4its English alternative/meaning
how come no purple?
purple= banafsaji(m), banafsajiyah(f)
of course ah at the end is written ta’a marboo6ah “toon” but almost always pronounced ha’a marbootah”ah”.
Mimi, that’s cool: a certain colour of yellow is called Saffraan in Dutch! Another Arabic word which made into my language!
Also the spice of course.
Bedu, so clever that the day is called yawm…
It’s morning here and I was just yawning when I read that.
Very good post, Bedu. Very first arabic words that I ever needed here seemed to be the colors, the numbers (for haggling in the souq), and the days of the week for making plans.
The other words needed badly in Saudi, which weren’t arabic, but that were used widely here were WC – for ‘water closet’ and/or ‘toilet’ for the bathroom. If you said you were looking for the bathroom or a restroom (and you needed to go urgently!)…you were in big trouble because most people had no clue what you were talking about!!! : )
sirius, you got it right concerning the color red. Well done, keep it up.
orange = Bortoqali. it’s pronounced with “qaf” and not “kaf”
Jacee, I do agree that knowing the syntax of a language [literally]hones our understanding of a language. Please feel free to ask if you have any question related to the structure of Arabic. I’m not an expert in Arabic language, but I studied it a bit, so I might be of help.
Check this link out for some basic syntactic features of Arabic:
http://americanbedu.com/2008/12/19/lets-learn-some-saudi-arabic-some-essential-and-useful-words/
Also check these earlier post, you might find them of help:
http://americanbedu.com/2009/02/23/monthly-saudi-arabic-posting-time/
http://americanbedu.com/2009/01/20/in-saudi-arabia-time-to-learn-more-arabic/
Thanks Carol a zillion for these great lessons/classes
@Abu Sinan–yes, I find spoken Arabic really difficult. I took both Spanish and French for two years in high school and still remember them enough to read and I have been struggling with Arabic. It only took me a few weeks to read and write arabic alphabet but speaking it is soo difficult because there are half a dozen sounds that are impossible for me to make! Also there are a few words that are hard for me to say because they sound like bad words in English for example,
“I am thinking” or “pedestrians only”
@Sirius,
I get you! I cannot, for my life, roll “R”s. That, in itself, causes me a lot of problems.
@mimi: shukran aleki!!
@Aafke,
Your comment reminds me of when I was taking arabic classes and one of
the students gave a presentation on how many Spanish words are in
arabic and vice versa. It was quite interesting and illustrates how
all languages tend to take and modify from one another.
@Miriam:
I agree with you completely and especially for the ‘hamam” (washroom/toilet).
This reminds me of when I was in an Outback Restaurant with several
Saudis in the States. Now I remember the women’s washroom door (bab)
said “Sheilas.” I don’t remember what was said on the men’s door but
one of the Saudis came and got me to show him which one was the men’s
since he did not want to make a terrible gaffe.
@sirius I have also studied French and Spanish and found the
challenge I had to overcome was learning the new alphabet as well as
training myself to read from right to left. But you are right..some
of the combinations and sounds are either difficult to pronounce to
the untrained tongue and ear or sound inappropriate until familiar
with them!
@khalid – you are welcome and thank you a zillion for the great links too!
Arabic is a difficult language, right up there with korean.
We took a lot of words from Spain since Muslims used to rule there so many Arabic words for European countries comes from spanish:
Angliasy=English
Alemania=Germany
And other words such as that.
Thanks Carol and Khalid!!!
I love studying languages and the origins or language. ( I speak Italian and studied Latin in high school)
Thanks again!!
Great post, and so many great comments:
Tanya–so many start with “a” because of the article “al” “the” being used with the noun and elided or assimilated, eg. below
Abu Sinan–ah the German/English “R” and the difficulty switching to a rolled Italian/Spanish/Arabic (in order of increasing trills) “R” or vice versa! LOL
Khalid–overly modest as usual
, ask him anything about linguistics folks! 
Mohamed S–the vocabulary goes back and forth, alot of Spanish is originally Arabic, especially the words starting with “al” (alcoba. alofifa, alcazar or the “assimilated al” azucar) and then went back in their modified versions into Arabic, especially in the former Spanish colonies eg. Northern Morocco, and the “Spanish Sahara” (currently still being fought over, and about which I will say nothing further in case there are blurking Algerians, Sahraouis, Mauretanians, or UN negotiators
).
Aafke-It’s great to know!
Sirius- LMAO. I totally get you. There’s an English word that I avoid using because if you spell it differently it’s pure dirtiness.
I got the “only” part…. What’s wrong with”mooshah”?:S
I have this theaory: if you learn all the languages there are, you’ll find it hard to speak because words from one language will sound like curses from another.
Oh, about the hammam. I hate it when i’m in public and i have to use the bathroom & my parents or some other Arabic person thinks it’s okay to say hamam at loud, assuming nobody speaks Arabic. I think that most English speakers can make the connection between what they already know as a Turkish hammam and the ordinary bathroom that I must be refering to since I’m not in a spa setting. also, in general I am able to tell if someone’s Arabic or not (don’t ask how) even if they are all blonde n white or trying too hard to look like 50 cents. Of course, one time I failed miserably at this and the lebanese group right behind my brother and I in a que had heard everything I said. I don’t talk about people when I am talking in my native tongue. Sometimes it’s just my normal talk, mostly it’s something embarrassing I wouldn’t want teh world to know. I sense that many of you have been there and done that^_^ If it’s ok, I wanna hear your stories. please.
I would love to be able to afford the Rosetta Stone for Arabic! It’s $699 Canadian though. I have “Arabic for Dummies” that comes with CDs. Gives the basics and it’s nice to have on an IPOD to listen to when doing chores. I wish I was near a place where I could take Arabic lessons. My husband is NOT a teacher.
(
@mimi,
I think you’d be surprised to know that almost no English speakers are going to be aware what “hamam” is. I say that as a native speaker who had actually been to Turkey before I converted to Islam and before I learned Arabic.
What we laugh about are the Arabic words that sound like something in English. My wife tells a story of when she was young and getting impatient with her mother when she was standing at a cashier. She kept repeating “Fukr” because she needed change…….but I am sure the English speaking cashier thought it was something different.
I am used to surprising Arabs when I speak to them in Arabic. Usually they stand there for a second, trying to process what I said thinking I said something in English, then they realise it is Arabic.
Here in the Metro DC area I have been surpised like that as well. I remember talking to a couple of Lebanese guys in Arabic that I met standing in line at a Borders book store. After they had left a white guy comes up to me and says something, but I couldn’t figure it out.
Turns out he was speaking Arabic to me, and I was trying t process it thinking in English. Now I knew what all of those Arabs over the years have been thinking.
As to telling who is Arabic or not, my wife said “Arabs can smell each other”. lol
“am used to surprising Arabs when I speak to them in Arabic. Usually they stand there for a second, trying to process what I said thinking I said something in English, then they realise it is Arabic…”
I love when this happens…they have such a perplexed look on their face as if thinking…now I know English pretty well…but what the heck did she just say? Love it.
I was just at the bookstore today and there were a dozen different versions of learning Arabic…everything from just simple books with basic words…to CD’s with workbooks etc…some cheap and some expensive…some even taught writing and reading…but they all had one thing in common….Egyptian arabic. Ive been waiting forever for someone to realize that since Im in Bahrain and not likely to go to Egypt I would like a book that teaches Bahraini slang Arabic…as Im sure Arabic learners from other countries that do not use Egyptian arabic.
Seems like an obvious thing to think of to me.
@mimi
I think from my Arabic practical dictionary is afakkar –at the hospital in the UAE all our doctors wore name tags that (unlike in the US) used Dr. and first name. For example, Dr. Dave, Dr. Grant, and Dr. Nick . Maybe it’s just in the gulf but Dr. Nick caused a lot of giggling and his name tag was quickly changed to Dr. Nicholas.
@Abu Sinan–what blew my mind was the Lebanese fluently speaking three languages in one sentence!
@Coolred,
That is common now, Egyptian Arabic is dominate. That is because of the entertainment sector. Personally, I am not a fan of the Egyptian dialect, it actually grates of my nerves.
I have seen books on different dialect, but they are rare. I think the people doing the ordering arent aware of the differences or the fact that there are so many dialect.
I hope next time they look for a book on English it is all about Glaswegian or Belfast accents so see how much good that does them!
@Sirius,
My wife and her sisters do stuff like that all of the time. They switch back and forth between Arabic and English, fluent in both.
What I get a kick out of is when they are speaking Arabic and use a single English word they say it with an Arabic accent, even though they speak English with a normal/native speaking accent.
I mentioned that to them and they didnt even realise they did it. We chalked it up to thinking in one language, so you pronounce the foreign word with that accent.
Just a small error there:
Day before yesterday: “qabl a’ms” (not qabi)
Brown: its more of “bonnie” with a strong ‘n’.
Keep it going…. reminds me of my arabic classes that were taught by an Indian teacher!!
But Abu Sinan, Egyptian Arabic is funny.
@Wendy,
I believe in general that Arab spouses usually DO NOT make good
teachers but if you have the opportunity I have found that Arab MIL’s
and SIL’s make excellent teachers and tutors!
@coolred,
While Egyptian Arabic still seems to be the most dominant, at Borders
and other bookstores I am seeing more and more books referring to
Iraqi and/or Saudi Arabic. Sounds like a business opportunity for
some enterprising linguist in Bahrain to publish?
Yes, you’re right about Arab speaking (he’s African) husbands do not make good teachers. Unfortunately I only see my in-laws once a year so I have to try and learn what I learn with CDs, etc.
@wendy,
I’m not sure where you are located but try http://www.meetup.com and through
this cite, find your location and the nearest arabic language group
near you. It will allow you to practice and a great way to meet
others as well.
@ sirius
Poor Nick.. I mean Nicholas xD
@coolred
“I love when this happens…they have such a perplexed look on their face as if thinking…now I know English pretty well…but what the heck did she just say? Love it.” That is funny. If it’s not “Alsalam Alaikom,” I most likely wasn’t listening to you in Arabic. You reminded me of a different kind of look; the one people have when they are so proud of themselves that they know how to say alsalam alaikom ^_^ it’s soooo cute. Imagining the process that goes through their mind while they’re getting those two words ready, it’d probably go something like this:
thought#1 Is that a muslim? She’s wearing a headscarf.Must be.
#2 She’s walking in my direction.
#3 Hey, I know how to say hi in that language!
#4 What was it again? Oh yeah, aslalam alaikom!
#5 Hold it. Hold it. Now!
Then they have that look, like they’re doing theTurk dance inside(scrubs).
I ‘ve always wondered why people taught themselves Egyption dialect when they decide to learn Arabic. I’ve been told people choose to because it’s easier. Now I know it’s because they hadn’t much of a choice:P.
@Abu Sinan
That’s hilarious. Moms say the darnest things:P.
And yea why are people not aware they do that weird thing where they say a word from another language in the accent of the language they are speaking in? Strange .
If your native tongue is English, I suppose you can’t get away with saying what you want and expecting ppl not to know what it means. I’ve always wanted to know how you guys feel ’bout that. Do you sometimes forget that many many people speak English, so your tongue drifts and says things, or do you purposefully
say things for the other party to hear and get.
Well for me it was easier to learn by total immersion- I don’t do well with books (maybe a nightmare about grammar from my far off past who knows)- but I have a better knack of putting a language together based on watching the people speak- so movies for me get me going- and believe it or not I learned a lot more Arabic watching Hindi films than I ever thought- My problem is that in my clan too many different languages are spoken at one time so if I am not constantly talking Arabic or listening to Hindi I lose it quickly- because most of the time I am speaking English or Spanish….
And my hubby is no help (good with the grammar though) but he also spends all day speaking English so we have to both try very hard to maintain the language….
And getting good Arabic movies that are not Egyptian is like looking for needles in haystacks…
In my experience people say the foreign word with the accent because it elides better in the sentence, and because others understand it better.
eg. in French Avant de devenir princesse, elle s’intitulait Laaddddeeee Deeeeeannnnnaaaa
Nelly Yoong [Neil Young] est canadien d’origine.
Egypt dominated tv, films, theatre, literature and music for so long, most Arabs also at least understand, if not speak, this dialect. Politics is putting an end to that dominance though.
Re: startling Arabophones–well I rather enjoy making a newly arrived student, or preferably a group, startle with pleasure, by tossing out a nice “shokran” if they’ve done anything remotely warranting it. I usually get a big smile (or many) in return.
nice practice for me but i thought gadan is for tomorrow. or is it obsolete now.
mimi ameer…I know the look exactly. My mother has it on her face everytime she says salam to one of my friends….or even me…lol.
Hi Muktar,
I have not heard gadan used for tomorrow. My own classes plus in
general discussions with Saudis at least, bukra is the predominant
word used for tomorrow.
Regards,
Carol
Orange: portacallie — thats wrong because there is no letter P in the arabic language. you got it right the first time in the pic.
@an arab – that is correct there is no “P” in the arabic alphabet or
language and orange should be pronounced bortacallie. Same as for
Pakistan is pronounced ‘Bakistan.’