Posts under Vocabulary

Fruits

Posted by Aziza

In this post, I give a list of words related to fruits. In future posts, I will give more lists related to other types of food, like vegetables, bakery, sweets, etc. I hope you learn them and find them useful.

فَاكِهة

fruit

تُفَّاح

apple

بُرتُقال

orange

مَوز

banana

كُمِّثرى

pear

بَلَح

date

مِشمِش

apricot

خوخ

peach

بَرْقوق

plum

فَرَاوِلة

strawberry

كِريز

cherry

عِنَب

grapes

مَوز

banana

شَمَّام

melon

بَطِّيخ

watermelon

أَناناس

pineapple

كيوي

kiwi

 

Meals

Posted by Aziza

The work day in the Arab world is usually shorter than the work day in the West, especially for the bureaucratic class of employees, which represents a major percentage of the work force and of society as a whole. Work starts usually at around 8.30 am, and ends at around 2.30 pm. Therefore, people do not usually need to have lunch at work. Instead, lunch (الغَدَاء) is eaten at home, and it is the main meal of the day. In this way, meals (الوَجَبات) in the Arab world are different from the West, as most people in the West have their main meal at supper or dinner (العَشَاء). Breakfast (الإفْطار) is a very important meal for families, especially if they have children. Meals differ considerably from one country to another in the Arab world. Each country has its own distinctive dishes. An Egyptian breakfast would typically have cheese (جُبن), falafel (فلافل), bread (خُبْز) and tea (شَاي). An Egyptian lunch would typically have salad (سَلَطة) or soup (شوربَة), meat (لَحْم), vegetables (خُضرَوات) and rice (أَرُزّ) or bread (خُبْز) and fruits (فَواكِه). Dinner would be light, such as sandwiches (سندوتشات). These are only examples and the options are many.

 

Vocabulary head and face

Posted by Aziza

In this post, I give some more vocabulary items about the body. I give a detailed list of different parts of the head and the face. I made sure full vowelling is included. It may be a good idea after you read the list to look into a mirror or a picture and try to name the different parts. You can also use appropriate adjectives to make descriptions like the example below:

الفتاة شعرها أشقر وطويل.

“The girl has long blond hair”

رَأْس

Head

شَعْر

Hair

جَبْهَة

Forehead

وَجْه

Face

بَشْرَة

Skin/complexion

حَاجِب

Eyebrow

عَين

Eye

رُموش

Eyelashes

جَفْن

Eyelid

أُذُن

Ear

أَنْف

Nose

خَدَّ

Cheek

فَمّ

Mouth

شَفَة

Lip

لِسَان

Tongue

سِنّ

Tooth

ذَقْن

Chin

شَارِب

Moustache

لِحْيَة

Beard

رَقَبَة

Neck

 

Parts of the body

Posted by Aziza

In this post, I provide some vocabulary that can be useful when talking about parts of the body. The list is not comprehensive, but it includes the major parts from head to foot. If you would like to learn other parts, please post your question in a comment, I will be happy to provide the translation.

الجِسْم

The body

رَأْس

Head

جِسْم

Body

عَظْم

Bone

هَيْكَل عَظْمي

Skeleton

جِلْد

Skin

دَمّ

Blood

شَعْر

Hair

وَجْه

Face

عَيْن

Eye

أَنْف

Nose

خَدّ

Cheek

أُذُن

Ear

فَمّ

Mouth

كَتِف

Shoulder

صَدْر

Chest, bust

قَلْب

Heart

بَطْن

Tummy

ذِرَاع

Arm

كُوع

Elbow

يَدّ

Hand

إِصْبَع

Finger

رِجْل

Leg

رُكْبَة

Knee

قَدَم

Foot

يَدِي تُؤْلِمُني.

“My hand hurts.”

العُيُون السَّوْداء جَمِيلَة.

“Black eyes are beautiful.”

مِنْ فَضْلِك، اِفْتَح فَمَك!

“Please, open your mouth!”

يدي تؤلمني.

“My hand hurts.”

العيون السوداء جميلة.

“Black eyes are beautiful.”

من فضلك، افتح فمك!

“Please, open your mouth!”

 

Telling the time

Posted by Aziza

What is the time?

كم الساعة؟

It is half past ten

الساعة العاشرة والنصف

 

Telling the time in Arabic is very easy. We use ordinal numbers with hours, except one o’clock, as follows:

One O’clock

الساعة الواحدة

Two O’clock

الساعة الثانية

Three O’clock

الساعة الثالثة

Four O’clock

الساعة الرابعة

Five O’clock

الساعة الخامسة

Six O’clock

الساعة السادسة

Seven O’clock

الساعة السابعة

Eight O’clock

الساعة الثامنة

Nine O’clock

الساعة التاسعة

Ten O’clock

الساعة العاشرة

Eleven O’clock

الساعة الحادية عشرة

Twelve O’clock

الساعة الثانية عشرة

 

To say ‘past’ in Arabic, we use ‘و‘ which comes after the hour, so half past two in Arabic would literally be ‘two o’clock and a half’ الساعة الثانية والنصف

past

و

Five past

وخمس دقائق

Ten past

وعشر دقائق

Quarter past

والربع

Twenty past

والثلث

Half past

والنصف

 

To say ’to’ in Arabic, we use ‘إلا which comes after the hour, so ‘quarter to three’ in Arabic would literally be ‘three o’clock less a quarter’ الساعة الثالثة إلا الربع

To

إلا

Five to

إلا خمس دقائق

Ten to

إلا عشر دقائق

Quarter to

إلا الربع

Twenty to

إلا الثلث

 

Now, can you make these expressions in Arabic?

It’s five o’clock.

It’s half past ten.

It’s five to six.