Arabic Cheatsheet
Unique Features
- Right-to-left script
- Complex writing system with diacritical marks
- Three short vowels (a, i, u)
- Gendered nouns and adjectives
- Dual form for nouns and verbs
- Verbs conjugate based on tense, person, and gender
- Formal and informal registers
Letters and Sounds
- Arabic has 28 letters
- Some letters have multiple forms depending on their position in a word
- Arabic has a few sounds that don’t exist in English, such as ح (haa) and ع (‘ayn)
Example
- The word for “book” is “kitab” (كتاب)
- The letter ك (kaf) has a different form when it appears at the beginning of a word
Vocabulary
- Arabic words are based on a root of three or four consonants
- Vowels and additional consonants are added to the root to create words
- Arabic has many loanwords from other languages, particularly from Persian and French
Example
- The root for “write” is “k-t-b” (كتب)
- The word for “writer” is “kateeb” (كاتب), which adds the suffix “-eeb” to the root
Grammar
- Arabic has two types of nouns: masculine and feminine
- Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify
- Arabic verbs have three tenses: past, present, and future
- Verbs also have different forms for each person and gender
- Arabic has a dual form for nouns and verbs to indicate two of something
- Arabic has a formal and informal register, with different verb conjugations and vocabulary
Example
- The word for “teacher” is “mu’allim” (معلم)
- The feminine form is “mu’allimah” (معلمة)
- The dual form is “mu’allimayn” (معلمان)
- The present tense “I teach” is “a’drus” (أدرس) for a male speaker and “a’dris” (أدرسين) for a female speaker
Resources