136 Core Arabic Words – Basic Arabic Words to Get You Familiar With The Language

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Learning any new language can be quite a tough process, but it is easier with the right tools and discipline. Learning Arabic, for example, may seem like a daunting task at first glance. Yet, what if I tell you that knowing a few basic Arabic words will help you in mastering the language?!

In this post, I’ll be writing using الابجدية (Arabic abjad), the Arabic alphabet. It’s better to start with learning the alphabet before diving into the language itself.

Additionally, please note that I am covering words in Modern Standard Arabic in this post.

Mmm… It may seem tricky and foreign. The good news? Arabic is actually a phonetic language that follows a very consistent pronunciation system.

Also, bear in mind that the transliterations I put between brackets aren’t following a guideline, rather, they’re just there to help you out.

This article is helpful as a guide to learning the Arabic letters and script.

Let’s get started!

11 Most Important Basic Arabic Words

If you’re only going to learn 11 Arabic words, these are the first ones you should consider!

• “Peace be upon you” – السلام عليكم (As-aalaam alaikum)
• “Good morning” – صباح الخير (Sabah al-khair)
• “Hello” – مرحبا (Marhaban)
• “Goodbye” – مع السلامة (ma-aa salama) or الى اللقاء (ila lika-e)
• “Yes” – نعم (Na-am)
• “No” – لا (La)
• “Okay” – حسنا (Hasanan)
• “Please” – من فضلك (min fadlik)
• “Thank you” – شكرا (chokran)
• “You’re welcome” – لا شكر على واجب (La chokra ala wajib)
• “I’m sorry” – انا اسف (Ana asif)
• “I don’t know” – لا أعرف (La aa-ref)

12 Arabic Pronouns

Before moving on to other things, let’s take a look at Arabic pronouns. Memorizing Arabic pronouns will help you a lot in your learning journey.

Arabic has 12 personal pronouns. We divide these pronouns into singular, dual (for two people), and plural pronouns in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person.

Also keep in mind that all nouns in Arabic grammar are either masculine or feminine (even pronouns).

Singular:

• “I” – انا (Ana)
• “You” feminine – انتِ (Anti)
• “You” masculine – انتَ (Anta)
• “He” – هو (Howwa)
• “She” – هي (Heyya)

Dual:

• “We” – نحن (NaHnu)
• “You” – انتما (Antuma)
• “They” – هما (Humaa)

Plural:

• “We” – نحن (NaHnu)
• “You” feminine – انتن (Antunna)
• “You” masculine – انتم (Antum)
• “They” feminine – هن (Hunna)
• “They” masculine – هم (Hum)

47 Basic Arabic Words

Spoken by over 200 million speakers, Arabic is the world’s 6th most spoken language. It has about 12.3 million words, which is 20 times the number of words in English. That is a lot of words to learn!

Yet, here’s the deal: You only need to learn about 5% to start speaking Arabic comfortably.
Benny Lewis, founder of Fluent in 3 Months, suggests that one of the best ways to hack a language is by learning it based on words used every day.

Here are the words you’ll often use when in an Arabic speaking environment.

Arabic Words for Time

• “Day” – يوم (Yawm)
• “Week” – أسبوع (usboue)
• “Month” – شهر (Cha-Hr)
• “Year” – سنة (Sana)
• “Today” – اليوم (Al’yawm)
• “Yesterday” – امس (Ams)
• “Tomorrow” – غدا (Ghadan)
• “Hour” – ساعة (Sa’aa)
• “Minute” – دقيقة (Daqiqa)
• “Time” – زمن (Zaman)
• “Before” – قبل (Qabl)
• “After” – بعد (Ba’aad)
• “Now” – الان (Al’aan)

Arabic Words for Places

• “Here” – هنا (Huna)
• “There” – هناك (Hunak)
• “Place” – مكان (Makan)
• “School” – مدرسة (Madrassa)
• “Shop” – متجر (Matjar)
• “Work” – عمل (Aamal)
• “Bathroom” – (Hamam) حمام
• “City” – مدينة (Madina)
• “Country” – دولة (Dawla)
• “Room” – غرفة (Ghurfa)
• “Mosque” – مسجد (Masjid)
• “Morocco” – مغرب (Maghreb)
• “Airport” – مطار (Matar)

Arabic Words for Things

• “Thing” – شيء (Chay’a)
• “Nothing” – لا شيء (La chay’a)
• “House” – منزل (Manzil)
• “Car” – سيارة (Sayyara)
• “Words” – كلمات (Kalimat)
• “Language” – لغة (Logha)
• “Water” – ماء (Ma-aa)
• “Movie” – فيلم (Film)
• “Food” – أكل (Akl)
• “Tea” – شاي (Chai)
• “Phone” – هاتف (Hatif)

Arabic Words for People

• “Woman” – امرأة (Imra-aa)
• “Man” – رجل (Rajul)
• “Girl” – بنت (Bint)
• “Boy” – ولد (Walad)
• “Friend” – صديق (Sadik)
• “Person” – شخص (Chakhs)
• “Husband” – زوج (Zawj)
• “Wife” – زوجة (Zawja)
• “Family” – عائلة (A-ila)
• “Name” – اسم (Ism)

27 Common Arabic Verbs

Of course, to form coherent sentences, you’ll need verbs.

Below are the 27 most common Arabic verbs you need to know.

• “To do” – يفعل (Yaf’al)
• “To be” – يكون (Yakun)
• “To become” – يصبح (YusbiH)
• “To say” – يقول (Yaqol)
• “To come” – ياتي (Ya’ati)
• “To go” – يمشي (Yamshi)
• “To arrive” – يصل (Yasil)
• “To see” – يرى (Yaraa)
  2* “To send” – يرسل (Yursil)
• “To have” – يملك (Yamlek)
• “To take” – يأخذ (Ya’akhuz)
• “To wait” – ينتظر (Yantadir)
• “To meet” – يلتقي (Yaltaqi)
• “To live” – يعيش (Yaa’ish)
• “To think” – يفكر (Yufakker)
• “To give” – يعطي (Yua’ti)
• “To receive” – يتلقى (Yatalaqa)
• “To know” – يعرف (Ya’arif)
• “To make” – يصنع (Yasnaa)
• “To use” – يستعمل (Yasta’mil)
• “To learn” – يتعلم (Yata’alam)
• “To eat” – يأكل (Ya’akul)
• “To drink” – يشرب (Yashrub)
• “To laugh” – يضحك (YadHak)
• “To read” – يقرا (Yaqraa)
• “To like” – يحب (Yuhibb)
• “To write” – يكتب(Yaktub)

19 Simple Arabic Adjectives and Adverbs

I think it’s magical how people can describe the same thing in many different ways in Arabic. It adds a lot of personality and flavor to conversations!

Here are 19 simple Arabic adjectives and adverbs that will boost your conversational skills.

• “Many, lots of” – كثير (Katheer)
• “Few” – قليل (Qalil)
• “Big” – كبير (Kabir)
• “Small” – صغير (Saghir)
• “Tall” – طويل (Tawil)
• “Short” – قصير (Qasir)
• “Near” – قريب (Qarib)
• “Far” – بعيد (Ba’id)
• “Good, nice” – جيد (Jayyed)
• “Bad” – سيء (Saye’)
• “Easy” – سهل (Sahl)
• “Difficult” – صعب (Saab)
• “Beautiful” – جميل (Jamil)
• “Ugly” – قبيح (QabiH)
• “Delicious” – لذيذ (Laziz)
• “Hot” – سخن (Sakhn)
• “Cold” – بارد (Bared)
• “Very” – جدا (Jidan)

5 Core Arabic Conjunctions and Connectors

Conjunction and connectors are very essential in making you sound more fluent. Also, it gives you a chance to take a moment to better organize your thoughts and express yourself.

Below are the five most common ones that you’ll use daily.

• “But, however” – لكن (Lakin)
• “Also” – و (Wa)
• “For example” – مثلا (Mathalan)
• “So” – لذا (leza)
• “Then” – ثم (Thomma) or بعدها (baedaha)

Bonus: 15 Cool Arabic Phrases to Talk in The North African Street Slang

Being the official language spoken in 25 countries, it is reasonable that various Arabic “dialects” exist.

Here, we’ll focus on Darija, the dialect of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is a bit more difficult compared to other regional dialects of Arabic. But, knowing some basics will definitely make you loved by the locals.

Want to sound more natural while enjoying your time in Morocco? Here are 15 phrases that’ll make you stand out.

• “What’s up?” – لاباس عليك؟ (Labas ‘lik?)
• “I want to go.” – بغيت نمشي (Brit nmchi)
• “I want” – بغيت (Brit)
• “Do you understand me?” – فهمتيني؟ (Fhemtini?)
• “What is it?” – شنو هادا؟ (Shnu hada?)
• “How much is it?” – شحال هادا؟ (Shehal hada?)
• “That is too expensive.” – هادا غالي بزاف (Hada rali bezzaf)
• “No, that is too much” – لا,هادشي بزاف (La, hadchi bezzaf)
• “This is a good price” – هادا ثمن مزيان (Hada taman mezyan)
• “I need…” – خصني (Khassni)
• “All clear” – صافي (Safi)
• “All right” – واخا (Wakha)
• “God willing” – ان شاء الله (Insha-Allah)
• “Let’s go.” – يلاه (Yallah)
• “Nothing” – والو (Walou)

Modern Standard Arabic vs Dialects

I understand how overwhelming it may be to learn Arabic, especially if you’re not familiar with its alphabet and pronunciations. But it’s definitely an enriching journey that you won’t regret!

Having said that, there’s one thing you need to know.

If you’re learning Arabic to consume the media or for a professional setting, Modern Standard Arabic is the way to go. But, if your goal is to learn to speak Arabic, I’d suggest choosing a variety of Arabic and sticking with it.

Why is this important?

Well, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) isn’t actually spoken as a native language in any country. Each country has its own “form” of Arabic. In fact, you may be surprised to find that different dialects of Arabic are spoken in the same country.

To sum it up, define first what your learning objectives are. If they fall within a formal context (think political), start with MSA. If it’s to hold a conversation and get to know people, proceed to pick the country or culture you’re most interested in and learn its “dialect.”

Check out this article to know more about why you shouldn’t learn MSA before a dialect!

How to Learn and Speak Arabic Words Fluently Faster

Now that you know some basic Arabic words, you might be wondering where to go next.
If possible, immersion is the best way to learn any language, least of all Arabic. That way, you are forced to interact with native speakers and pushed to learn as much as possible.

But, if that’s not possible for you, using frequency lists is super helpful! This is actually a great tool even while staying in your target country.

Frequency lists are simply a collection of words most frequently used in a language. For example, learning the 100 most frequently used words in English is equivalent to learning about 25% of all English writing. Big time and energy saving, isn’t that right?

Start by choosing a daily target of the number of words to learn regularly. Let’s say you want to learn 8 words per day. Be consistent and adamant on achieving this goal every day. Practice using the words you’ve learned so far in simple sentences.

I’m trying the frequency lists method to learn Turkish. And while I’m far from trying to read any Turkish book, I’m confident I’ll get there in no time.

Talking with native speakers (whether that is online or face-to-face) is also a great way to learn Arabic. You can use platforms such as Preply to find great tutors. It’s a Fi3M favorite!

You can try it along the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp and start speaking fluently in as little as 90 days.

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