Greetings and polite phrases
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| مرحبا | hello | marhaba | مرحبا، كيف حالك؟Hello, how are you? |
| السلام عليكم | peace be upon you (greeting) | as-salamu alaykum | السلام عليكم يا صديقي.Peace be upon you, my friend. |
| صباح الخير | good morning | sabah al-khair | صباح الخير، هل نمت جيدا؟Good morning, did you sleep well? |
| مساء الخير | good evening | masa' al-khair | مساء الخير جميعا.Good evening everyone. |
| شكرا | thank you | shukran | شكرا جزيلا لمساعدتك.Thank you very much for your help. |
| من فضلك | please | min fadlik | من فضلك، ساعدني.Please help me. |
| عفوا | you're welcome / excuse me | afwan | عفوا، لا بأس.You're welcome, it's fine. |
| آسف | sorry | aasif | أنا آسف على التأخير.I am sorry for the delay. |
| نعم | yes | na'am | نعم، أنا موافق.Yes, I agree. |
| لا | no | la | لا، لا أريد ذلك.No, I don't want that. |
Numbers
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| واحد | one | wahid | عندي كتاب واحد.I have one book. |
| اثنان | two | ithnan | عندي أخوان اثنان.I have two brothers. |
| ثلاثة | three | thalatha | اشتريت ثلاثة أقلام.I bought three pens. |
| أربعة | four | arba'a | في الغرفة أربعة كراسي.There are four chairs in the room. |
| خمسة | five | khamsa | عندي خمسة كتب.I have five books. |
| ستة | six | sitta | الساعة السادسة مساء.It is six o'clock in the evening. |
| سبعة | seven | sab'a | الأسبوع فيه سبعة أيام.A week has seven days. |
| ثمانية | eight | thamaniya | عندنا ثمانية طلاب.We have eight students. |
| تسعة | nine | tis'a | اشترينا تسعة تفاحات.We bought nine apples. |
| عشرة | ten | ashara | عندي عشرة أصابع.I have ten fingers. |
| عشرون | twenty | ishrun | عمري عشرون سنة.I am twenty years old. |
| مئة | hundred | mi'a | دفعت مئة دولار.I paid a hundred dollars. |
Colors
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| أحمر | red | ahmar | السيارة حمراء.The car is red. |
| أزرق | blue | azraq | السماء زرقاء.The sky is blue. |
| أخضر | green | akhdar | الشجرة خضراء.The tree is green. |
| أصفر | yellow | asfar | الشمس صفراء.The sun is yellow. |
| أسود | black | aswad | القطة سوداء.The cat is black. |
| أبيض | white | abyad | الثلج أبيض.The snow is white. |
| بني | brown | bunni | الطاولة بنية.The table is brown. |
| برتقالي | orange | burtuqali | اللون البرتقالي جميل.The orange color is beautiful. |
| بنفسجي | purple | banafsaji | الزهرة بنفسجية.The flower is purple. |
Family
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| أم | mother | umm | أمي طبيبة.My mother is a doctor. |
| أب | father | ab | أبي يعمل في المكتب.My father works in the office. |
| ابن | son | ibn | ابني يدرس في الجامعة.My son studies at university. |
| ابنة | daughter | ibna | ابنتي تحب القراءة.My daughter loves reading. |
| أخ | brother | akh | أخي أكبر مني.My brother is older than me. |
| أخت | sister | ukht | أختي تسكن في القاهرة.My sister lives in Cairo. |
| جد | grandfather | jadd | جدي يحكي قصصا جميلة.My grandfather tells beautiful stories. |
| جدة | grandmother | jadda | جدتي تطبخ طعاما لذيذا.My grandmother cooks delicious food. |
| زوج | husband | zawj | زوجي مهندس.My husband is an engineer. |
| زوجة | wife | zawja | زوجتي معلمة.My wife is a teacher. |
Food and drink
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| طعام | food | ta'am | الطعام لذيذ جدا.The food is very delicious. |
| ماء | water | ma' | أشرب الماء كل يوم.I drink water every day. |
| خبز | bread | khubz | اشتريت خبزا طازجا.I bought fresh bread. |
| أرز | rice | aruz | نأكل الأرز مع الدجاج.We eat rice with chicken. |
| لحم | meat | lahm | هذا اللحم طري.This meat is tender. |
| سمك | fish | samak | نحب السمك المشوي.We like grilled fish. |
| فاكهة | fruit | fakiha | الفاكهة مفيدة للصحة.Fruit is good for health. |
| خضار | vegetables | khudar | أمي تشتري الخضار من السوق.My mother buys vegetables from the market. |
| سكر | sugar | sukkar | لا أحب السكر في الشاي.I don't like sugar in tea. |
| ملح | salt | milh | أضف قليلا من الملح.Add a little salt. |
| حليب | milk | halib | الطفل يشرب الحليب.The child drinks milk. |
| قهوة | coffee | qahwa | أشرب القهوة كل صباح.I drink coffee every morning. |
Travel and places
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| سفر | travel / trip | safar | السفر يفتح العقل.Travel opens the mind. |
| طريق | road | tariq | هذا الطريق طويل.This road is long. |
| سيارة | car | sayyara | سيارتي جديدة.My car is new. |
| طائرة | airplane | ta'ira | الطائرة تقلع الساعة الخامسة.The plane takes off at five o'clock. |
| فندق | hotel | funduq | نقيم في فندق جميل.We are staying at a nice hotel. |
| سوق | market | suq | السوق مزدحم اليوم.The market is crowded today. |
| مدينة | city | madina | القاهرة مدينة كبيرة.Cairo is a big city. |
| بيت | house | bayt | بيتي قريب من المدرسة.My house is near the school. |
| حافلة | bus | hafila | أركب الحافلة إلى العمل.I take the bus to work. |
| خريطة | map | kharita | أعطني خريطة المدينة.Give me the map of the city. |
Time and days
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| اليوم | today | al-yawm | اليوم يوم جميل.Today is a beautiful day. |
| غدا | tomorrow | ghadan | سأسافر غدا.I will travel tomorrow. |
| أمس | yesterday | ams | كنت في المدرسة أمس.I was at school yesterday. |
| ساعة | hour / clock | sa'a | كم الساعة الآن؟What time is it now? |
| أسبوع | week | usbu' | سأسافر الأسبوع القادم.I will travel next week. |
| شهر | month | shahr | هذا الشهر جميل.This month is nice. |
| سنة | year | sana | هذه السنة جيدة.This year is good. |
| صباح | morning | sabah | أستيقظ في الصباح.I wake up in the morning. |
| مساء | evening | masa' | نلتقي في المساء.We meet in the evening. |
| ليل | night | layl | الليل هادئ.The night is quiet. |
Common verbs
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| أكل | to eat | akala | أريد أن آكل.I want to eat. |
| شرب | to drink | shariba | أريد أن أشرب الماء.I want to drink water. |
| ذهب | to go | dhahaba | أريد أن أذهب إلى البيت.I want to go home. |
| جاء | to come | ja'a | هو يريد أن يأتي غدا.He wants to come tomorrow. |
| رأى | to see | ra'a | أريد أن أرى صديقي.I want to see my friend. |
| تكلم | to speak | takallama | هو يعرف أن يتكلم العربية.He knows how to speak Arabic. |
| قرأ | to read | qara'a | أحب أن أقرأ الكتب.I like to read books. |
| عمل | to work | amila | أعمل في المكتب.I work in the office. |
| أحب | to love / like | ahabba | أحبك.I love you. |
| نام | to sleep | nama | الطفل يريد أن ينام.The child wants to sleep. |
Adjectives
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| كبير | big | kabir | هذا البيت كبير.This house is big. |
| صغير | small | saghir | هذه الغرفة صغيرة.This room is small. |
| جميل | beautiful / nice | jamil | الطقس جميل اليوم.The weather is nice today. |
| سيء | bad | sayyi' | هذا الطريق سيء.This road is bad. |
| طويل | tall / long | tawil | هذا الجبل طويل.This mountain is tall. |
| قصير | short | qasir | هذا الطريق قصير.This road is short. |
| حار | hot | harr | الشاي حار.The tea is hot. |
| بارد | cold | barid | الماء بارد.The water is cold. |
| سريع | fast | sari' | السيارة سريعة.The car is fast. |
Question words
| Arabic | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ماذا | what | matha | ماذا تريد؟What do you want? |
| من | who | man | من يأتي؟Who is coming? |
| أين | where | ayna | أين أنت؟Where are you? |
| متى | when | mata | متى ستصل؟When will you arrive? |
| لماذا | why | limatha | لماذا تأخرت؟Why are you late? |
| كيف | how | kayfa | كيف حالك؟How are you? |
| كم | how many / how much | kam | كم عدد أولادك؟How many children do you have? |
| أي | which | ayy | أي لون تريد؟Which color do you want? |
Study tips for Arabic
- Arabic is written and read from right to left, and most letters connect to the ones next to them, so practice writing whole words rather than single isolated letters.
- Learn the short vowel marks (fatha, kasra, damma) early; they are usually left out in everyday writing, so recognizing words without them takes extra practice.
- Many Arabic adjectives change with gender: feminine nouns usually take an adjective ending in a taa marbuta (ة), as in kabir becoming kabira.
- Focus on Modern Standard Arabic vocabulary first, since it is understood across the Arab world, then add a spoken dialect like Egyptian or Levantine Arabic for daily conversation.
- Practice the guttural sounds like ع (ayn) and ح (ha) by listening to native speakers, since English has no close equivalents for them.
Frequently asked questions
What are some basic Arabic vocabulary words for beginners?
Useful starting words include marhaba (hello), shukran (thank you), na'am/la (yes/no), and numbers one to ten, all included on this page along with family, food and travel terms.
Is Egyptian Arabic vocabulary different from Modern Standard Arabic?
Yes, Egyptian Arabic is a spoken dialect that differs from Modern Standard Arabic in everyday words and pronunciation; for example, 'what' is matha in Modern Standard Arabic but eh in Egyptian Arabic, even though both share the same core vocabulary and script.
In what areas has Arabic influenced English vocabulary?
Arabic has influenced English vocabulary mainly in science, mathematics and astronomy, giving words like algebra, algorithm and zenith, as well as trade goods carried by Arabic-speaking merchants, such as coffee, sugar, cotton and saffron.
How do you say thank you in Arabic?
Thank you is shukran (شكرا) in Arabic, a word understood and used in both Modern Standard Arabic and most spoken dialects.